It doesn’t fully feel like Christmas in New York City until the iconic Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree shines bright in all its glory, but the massive tree has a much bigger purpose than just bringing us joy during the holiday season!
Each year the Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree arrives to NYC around mid-November. It gets decked out in 50,000 LED lights, topped with a Swarovski crystal star, and is lit on the Wednesday after Thanksgiving. And as much as we wish it could, the tree can’t stay up year-round. It was taken down this year on Saturday, January 11th.
But the removal of the tree certainly doesn’t mark the end of its life–a fun fact about the Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree that many people may not know is that once the tree comes down post-holiday season, it’s milled into lumber and donated to Habitat for Humanity to be given a new lease on life.
The tradition started back in 2007, when Tishman Speyer, the owner and operator of Rockefeller Center, generously donated the lumber to Habitat for Humanity for the first time. But that’s not where the fate of the tree ends. Company staff members then use the lumber to build a new house, alongside the help of the family preparing to call it their home. Jonathan Reckford, CEO of Habitat for Humanity International, stated:
Every year, Tishman Speyer generously donates one of the largest and most widely-recognized Christmas trees to Habitat. The Rockefeller Center Christmas tree is a reminder to reflect, be thankful and to remember to give back to others among the hustle and bustle of the holidays. That symbol will live on as part of Habitat homeowners’ lives in their new houses.
The 2024 Rockefeller Center Tree was the first tree to hail from Massachusetts in 65 years, courtesy of the Albert family in West Stockbridge. And being it stood a towering 74 feet tall and weighed 11 tons, it’s safe to say a hefty amount of lumber hailed from it.
Each year, Rockefeller Center selects a Norway Spruce as its holiday showstopper. Habitat for Humanity writes, “the wood of a Norway Spruce is more flexible and durable than lumber for load-bearing walls and therefore is ideal for blocking–the filling, spacing, joining or reinforcing of frames–as well as for flooring, furniture and cabinetry.” The tree is milled into two-by-four and two-by six beams, each of which are branded with the words “Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree” followed by the appropriate year.
Lumber from Rockefeller Center Christmas trees has been used to help build Habitat homes from New York to Mississippi. Though 2021 was the first time the tree was returned to its original community–the tree hailed from Elkton, Maryland and was used in Habitat homes in Elkton and Havre de Grace, Maryland.
Which Habitat homes contain lumber from a Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree?
- 2007: Habitat homes in Pascagoula, Mississippi
- 2008: Habitat homes in NYC
- 2009: Habitat homes in Stamford, Connecticut
- 2010: Habitat homes in Newburgh, New York
- 2011: Habitat homes in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
- 2012: Habitat homes in NYC and Madison, New Jersey
- 2013: Habitat homes in Bridgeport, Connecticut
- 2014: Habitat homes in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
- 2015: Habitat homes in Newburgh, New York
- 2016: Habitat homes in Newburgh, New York
- 2017: Habitat homes in Newburgh, New York
- 2018: Habitat homes in Newburgh, New York
- 2019: Habitat homes in New York’s Newburgh, Dutchess County, and Ulster County
- 2020: Habitat homes in New York’s Newburgh, Otsego County, and Ulster County
- 2021: Habitat homes in Elkton and Havre de Grace, Maryland
- 2022: Habitat home in Corinth, New York
- 2023: Habitat homes in Broome County, New York
- 2024: Habitat homes in communities to be announced
With the way things have been going we already know the 2025 holiday season will be here before we know it, so in preparation of this year’s festivities, here’s the best time to visit the Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree (and no, it’s not at night).
And we can’t wait to see if this year’s Christmas tree will stand taller than the tallest Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree back in 1999, which was the same height as nine subway cars.