The Holiday Train Show and Thanksgiving Market Will Return This Holiday Season Along with Gift Wrapping Services for Shoppers
The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) today announced that the Grand Central Holiday Fair will return on Monday, Nov. 13, and will include new festivities and offerings. Presented by AmericanGreetings.com, the Grand Central Holiday Fair brings together small businesses and artisan merchants in Grand Central’s Vanderbilt Hall, a landmarked space steps away from more than 75 shopping and dining options from casual to fine dining. Shoppers traveling to the fair enjoy the convenience of region-wide mass transit; this season marks the inaugural year that Long Islanders can enjoy direct train service to the holiday festivities via Grand Central Madison.
“The holiday season at Grand Central Terminal is an exciting moment for us to showcase all that the iconic transit hub has to offer,” said MTA Metro-North Railroad President Catherine Rinaldi. “It’s a joy to see the storied halls come to life with holiday cheer, bringing in locals and visitors to shop, sip and savor offerings from the holiday programming and diverse collection of tenants.”
“Grand Central Terminal has traditionally been a very festive spot during the holiday season and the LIRR is delighted to connect riders to it for the first time,” said MTA Long Island Rail Road Acting President Rob Free. “Long Islanders now have a direct ride to the Grand Central Holiday Fair, the Holiday Train Show, the Thanksgiving Market and the Holiday Wrap-Up – all made possible by the opening of Grand Central Madison this year.”
The Grand Central Holiday Fair will run for six weeks with unique offerings from local vendors and small businesses. Whether you’re hoping to find a unique handcrafted bracelet for your jewelry-fanatic friend, the missing cityscape painting you’ve been needing to complete your wall decor, or homemade knitwear to keep your loved ones warm this winter, the Grand Central Holiday Fair is the place to be ahead of the holidays! Open 7 days a week from Nov. 13 through Dec. 24, from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.; 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Sundays; closed on Thanksgiving.
“As a global leader in the digital greetings marketplace, it’s such a natural fit for us to be the presenting sponsor of the 2023 Grand Central Holiday Fair,” said Rob Matousek, Executive Director-Direct to Consumer Business at AmericanGreetings.com. “Grand Central Terminal is the perfect place for us to share all the ways our ecard app can help you spread cheer as you journey toward your holiday celebrations.”
The Holiday Fair is just one of the many activities that make Grand Central Terminal a special place to be during the holidays. Others are:
- New York Transit Museum’s Holiday Train Show
Returning for the first time since 2019, the New York Transit Museum’s Grand Central Gallery plays host to an intricate display of model trains departing from a miniature replica of Grand Central Terminal. The collection of model train sets will amaze children and adults alike as they make their way past New York landmarks and on to the North Pole! This year, the show kicks off on Nov. 16 and runs through February 2024. $5 tickets an advance reservations are required.
In charge of the pie on Thanksgiving night? Don’t miss the one-day Thanksgiving Market, where Grand Central Terminal retailers will be selling a variety of delicious treats, baked goods, and seasonal bites. Open Wednesday, Nov. 22, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. at the west entrance of the terminal on Vanderbilt Avenue at 43rd Street.
If you plan on holiday shopping at Grand Central Terminal don’t worry about gift wrapping! Plus, you can snap a pic in the AmericanGreetings.com photo booth while you wait. Holiday Wrap-up will be free of charge for shoppers with receipts from any Grand Central Terminal tenant, so you can forget the stress of finding the perfect wrapping paper yourself. One-of-a-kind gift-wrap paper resembles the stunning celestial ceiling of the main concourse. Open Dec. 8 through Dec. 22, daily from 12 p.m. to 6 p.m. in the Biltmore Room.
For more information and to stay up to date with the Grand Central Holiday Fair and vendors, please visit https://www.grandcentralterminal.com/holiday-fair/ and follow Grand Central Terminal on Facebook, Instagram and X.
About Grand Central Terminal
Grand Central Terminal is one of America’s greatest transportation hubs and one of New York City’s most iconic buildings. It is the long-time terminus of Metro-North Railroad and home to a number of boutique restaurants, cocktail lounges, a gourmet market, and many specialty shops. In the last year, Grand Central’s historic footprint was expanded with the opening of Grand Central Madison, a 700,000-square-foot terminal and concourse designed to service the Long Island Rail Road (LIRR). LIRR access into Manhattan’s east side was the most transformative expansion of LIRR service in over a century. For more on Grand Central Madison, visit https://new.mta.info/grandcentralmadison. For the latest Grand Central news, reopenings, and operating updates visit https://www.grandcentralterminal.com/hf.