Eight incredible things to do during Hanukkah in NYC this year

(New York Jewish Week) — Hanukkah starts on Christmas Day this year — which means chances are you (or your kids) will have some time off over the course of the eight-day holiday. 

Looking to stay entertained during this busy, chilly time of year? Here at the New York Jewish Week, we’ve got you covered: Don’t miss our roundup of Hanukkah events happening in the city, and be sure to check out our list of spots to buy sufganiyot or Hanukkah jelly donuts.

Still, if you’re not one of the 5.2 million people expected to travel through our local airports this holiday season, we’ve got some extra ideas to keep you busy here in NYC over the course of eight days (and nights). From family-friendly museum visits to a limited-time-only Hanukkah popup bar, keep scrolling for our list of eight incredible things to do over Hanukkah this year. Chag sameach!

1. Visit the Hanukkah House in Brooklyn

Inspired by the popular tradition of over-the-top Christmas decorations outside homes in Dyker Heights, Brooklyn, Gail Nalven Fuchs and her husband, David Fuchs, began to decorate their Midwood house with eye-catching, illuminated Hanukkah decorations in the late 1990s. Over the years, the “Hanukkah House,” as it is locally known, has become a bona fide neighborhood treasure, attracting neighbors, visitors, and children from the borough and beyond. Grab the kids or some pals and head to Midwood to catch a glimpse of the Hanukkah House this year — just look for the house on East 14th Street between Avenues J and K that’s all lit up with Hanukkah gear. “You can’t miss it,” Fuchs tells us.

2.  Dine at an Israeli restaurant

Have friends or relatives in town visiting over the holiday? Why not take a break from frying latkes and take the crew out for a nice dinner? Check out our guide to New York City’s most essential Israeli restaurants, where you’ll find everything from a kosher hole-in-the-wall spot in Brooklyn to a Michelin-starred Greenwich Village eatery from popular Israeli chef Eyal Shani. Many of these spots are serving specials for Hanukkah, including Breads Bakery, which is offering latkes and sufganiyot during the holiday, and Kubeh, which has a special holiday menu through Jan. 1, 2025.

3. Celebrate Yiddish culture and music

This one is somewhat time-limited, so act fast! The 10th annual Yiddish New York festival is underway across the city though Thursday, and the lineup is chockablock with concerts, singalongs, films, lectures and more. Among the highlights on the schedule for Wednesday and Thursday — the first two nights of Hanukkah —  is the annual Adrienne Cooper Dreaming in Yiddish Concert and Award, honoring klezmer violinist and educator Deborah Strauss, and an online lecture from folklorist Barbara Kirshenblatt-Gimblett called “Memories of the Yiddish Kitchen.” There’s also a screening of the iconic film “Hester Street” on Christmas Eve at 7 p.m., plus a Kleztronica afterparty at Drom (85 Ave. A) on Thursday at 7 p.m. Get all the details here.

4. Attend a public menorah lighting

Not too long ago, some Jewish New Yorkers (including, yes, New York Jewish Week staffers) were worried that the drought warning in and around New York City would put the kibosh on the lighting of public menorahs. Fortunately, recent rain- and snowfall means that we are in the clear, and the candles will be kindled, baby! Chabad centers across the city will be holding nightly public menorah lightings, including two that once vied for the title of the “world’s largest menorah” — the menorah at Grand Army Plaza in Brooklyn, outside Prospect Park, and the other one at Grand Army Plaza in Manhattan, at the southeast corner of Central Park.

5. Grab a bag of treats from one of the city’s oldest candy shops

To me, nothing says “holiday” more than a bag full of sweets. Head to Rivington Street on the Lower East Side to pay a visit to Economy Candy, a Jewish family-owned business that was founded as a pushcart in 1937. They have gelt, of course, and a selection of Hanukkah candy — but really, they stock just about every sweet treat you can imagine, from retro items like Mary Jane caramels and Necco wafers to more current trends like Mega Sour Fizz Bombs.

6. Check out a historic, miniature art-filled dollhouse

And now for something completely different: Head to the Museum of the City of New York (1220 Fifth Ave.) to take in the recently renovated Stettheimer Dollhouse, which was created by Jewish artist Carrie Stettheimer between 1916 and 1935. According to the museum, Stettheimer was born into a prosperous German-Jewish banking family,  and she and her sisters, Ettie and Florine, pursued their own artistic interests and hosted a well-known salon in their Manhattan home; their circle included luminaries such as Gertrude Stein and Georgia O’Keeffe. The dollhouse, described as “a delightful depiction of an upper-class residence,” is back on view after an extensive conservation project featuring miniature works by renowned artists like Marcel Duchamp and Gaston Lachaise.

7. Grab a drink at the pop-up Maccabee Bar

Christmas celebrants have no shortage of pop-up holiday venues — like a Mariah Carey bar inside Virgin Hotels New York that plays “All I Want for Christmas Is You” every 15 minutes. But if that’s not your thing — and if Hanukkah is — don’t miss the latest incarnation of the Maccabee Bar, this year at a new location: Saint Tuesday inside the Walker Hotel Tribeca (77 Walker St). The cozy, subterranean space is completely decked out in Hanukkah decorations, and the menu features exclusively Hanukkah-themed cocktails and treats. “I just really hope to provide a place where people get to celebrate and not in the same way that they already have access to,” Maccabee Bar creator Naomi Levy told us in 2022, the year she launched in New York City. This year, the Festival of Lights-themed popup opens daily at 5 p.m. from Dec. 23 through Jan. 4; check out their web site for more information.

8. Catch a concert by indie rockers Yo La Tengo

Tradition! Indie rockers Yo La Tengo will be playing a show at the Bowery Ballroom (6 Delancey St.) every night of Hanukkah this year, as they have done nearly every year since 2001. (The tradition started at Maxwell’s in Hoboken, New Jersey; it paused for a few years when the venue closed, then resumed in NYC in 2017. In 2020, the tradition was condensed into a one-night-only online show.) The band doesn’t repeat any songs, and each night they feature a stand-up comedy opener and special surprise guests. Proceeds go to a different charity each night, so it’s a great chance to have fun and do some good, too.