Watch the Archway Tree Blaze On at 5:30
You're standing under the Manhattan Bridge in Dumbo Archway Plaza on a Thursday evening in early December, mulled wine in hand, as local middle and elementary school students finish a set of holiday covers. At 5:30pm, the switch flips and the tree comes alive. The 2026 tree is new, decorated with Dumbo icons designed by Katie Wendt of Augenblick Studios. The lighting runs 4–7pm on Thursday, December 3, 2026, with treats from neighborhood restaurants and a Santa photo booth. Bring an unwrapped toy for ages 0–14 for the 84th Precinct's Operation Sleigh Ride, or packaged non-perishables for the Vinegar Hill Pantry. Both donation boxes sit at the Tree Lighting and in the Empire Stores lobby from November 25 to December 20.
Shop 80+ Artists' Studios in One Afternoon
On Saturday, December 5, 2026, from 12–6pm, more than 80 Dumbo artists open their studios for Shop the Studios, run by Team Dumbo and Art in Dumbo. Pick up a map at Brooklyn Flea in the Archway, then wander between working studios and buy directly from the people who made the work. The neighborhood holds 60+ indie shops and 80+ artist studios year-round, so the browsing doesn't stop when the studios close.
- Brooklyn Flea Holiday Market — Dumbo Archway and Plaza; Saturdays and Sundays, November 14–December 20, 10am–5pm; 40+ vendors selling gifts, vintage and jewelry, with mulled wine and performances.
- FAD Market — Empire Stores Lobby; daily November 30–December 20, 11am–6pm; NYC-based makers.
- Christmas tree sales — Vermont-grown trees, wreaths and maple syrup at the Westville courtyard, 81 Washington St, all December.
Skate Under the Brooklyn Bridge, Then Crawl the Bars
The Roebling Rink at Emily Warren Roebling Plaza sits directly under the Brooklyn Bridge and opens daily from November 14, with tickets from $10. Come evening, the neighborhood's facades — the BQE, the Manhattan Bridge, the buildings themselves — carry nightly holiday projections animated by Dumbo's own Augenblick Studios, and the sidewalk trees are wrapped in lights. If you want a more social circuit, the Holiday Bar Crawl starts Wednesday, December 2 from 5pm across 14 venues, with $12 specialty cocktails, $9 wine and mocktails, and $6 beers; ugly sweaters encouraged.
Post a Letter to Santa in the Archway
By the Holiday Tree in Archway Plaza, a Santa mailbox takes letters from Thanksgiving through Christmas Eve. Drop one in — an email address is required — and you're entered for a chance at $100 in Dumbo Dollars. It's a small ritual that pairs well with a slow loop past the lit trees and the projections after dark.
Plan Around the First Week of December
The season's anchors fall close together in 2026: the Bar Crawl on December 2, the Tree Lighting on December 3, and Shop the Studios on December 5. Book your stay around that stretch, keep the weekends open for Brooklyn Flea, and check the official Dumbo holidays page as the date approaches to confirm times before you go.