Arthur Avenue's holiday season: Bronx Little Italy tree lighting Dec. 5, Santa visits, a live nativity and Seven Fishes shopping

Arthur Avenue is getting ready for the holidays. The Belmont Business Improvement District, which runs the Little Italy in the Bronx brand, has posted its 2026 holiday calendar, anchored by a free Christmas Tree Lighting on Saturday, Dec. 5.

Tree lighting: Saturday, Dec. 5

• When: 4 to 6 p.m.
• Where: Ciccarone Park, at Arthur Avenue and East 188th Street (the BID lists the park's address as 2426 Hughes Ave.).
• What: meet Santa, sing carols, and get Italian cookies and hot chocolate from local businesses, according to the BID's event page. Supporters include Addeo Bakers, Artuso Pastry, DeLillo Pastry Shop, Madonia Bakery and Terranova Bakery.
• Toys: a toy giveaway with the Children's Cancer Society of America is first come, first served, and the child must be present.
• Cost: free.

Secret NYC, citing the BID, also lists Santa's elf and toy soldiers on stilts at the ceremony.

Santa on the avenue

After the lighting, Santa and his elf will make the rounds of neighborhood businesses from noon to 2 p.m. on Dec. 11 and 12, Dec. 18 and 19, and Dec. 23 and 24, the BID's Christmas Festivities page says. The Jolly Holidays, a group of Victorian, Dickens-style carolers, will sing in local eateries on select Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m.; the BID says that schedule is coming soon.

Thanksgiving to Christmas Eve

• Thanksgiving, Nov. 26: neighborhood delis including Tino's and Mike's offer complete Thanksgiving meals, Secret NYC reported.
• Small Business Saturday, Nov. 28: Secret NYC points shoppers to Artuso Pastry Shop, which marks its 80th anniversary this year, and Ann & Tony's Restaurant, which turns 100 on Arthur Avenue in 2027.
• Live nativity, Dec. 22 and 23: Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church plans a live nativity scene with a real manger and farm animals in front of the church, according to Secret NYC.
• Feast of the Seven Fishes: ahead of Christmas Eve, fish markets such as Cosenza's and Randazzo's stock baccalà, shrimp, octopus and more.

Getting there

Ciccarone Park is about an 18-minute walk from the Fordham Road station on the B and D trains, according to Hey Free NYC's listing. The BID suggests pairing a visit with the Bronx Zoo's Holiday Lights or the New York Botanical Garden's Holiday Train Show. Event details can change, so check the BID's site before you go.