It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas in NYC.
The iconic Rockefeller Center Christmas tree made its debut in Midtown on Saturday morning.
The 11-ton, 76-foot tall Norway spruce traveled to the city on a 100-foot-long trailer — which was driven onto Center Plaza at Rockefeller Center as hundreds of awestruck onlookers gathered to catch a glimpse of it during “Meet the Tree Day.”
The massive tree, which hailed from West Edmeston, NY, will be standing proudly between 49th and 50th streets and 5th and 6th avenues, preparing for its closeup on NBC on Dec. 2 — when it will be illuminated by over 50,000 multicolored LED lights and a 900-pound Swarovski star.
On Saturday morning, fake snow pumped into the Plaza as a spike was driven into the tree’s trunk with a sledgehammer, and it was lifted off its trailer and positioned into its place above the equally iconic ice skating plaza to mark the start of the holiday season.
Mike and Tammy Valvano of Florida happened to be on the last day of their NYC trip when they got an early Christmas present — the news of the tree’s arrival.
“It’s a legend. It’s one of these things that, you see, you hear about, and you figure, you know, once in a lifetime, we’re already here, we might as well come and see it,” Mike, 56, marveled to The Post.
“I’ve always wanted to come to the city for Christmas, because New York’s magical,” Tammy, 58, added.
“It’s been cool to see all these shops getting their Christmas stuff going, and the fact that we get to be here for this before we have to leave, at least we get to see the tree.”
Emily Avedikian and her daughter, Ava, have made an annual tradition of watching the tree go up before heading to see the Rockettes perform at the Radio City Christmas Spectacular.
“We come for this and the Rockettes. This is my third time coming. It’s how we kick off the Christmas season. It’s one of my favorite traditions,” said Emily, 35, of Houston, Texas.
“It’s so special to be in New York at this time of the year. You definitely feel the Christmas spirit in the air. The tree is a big part of celebrating Christmas.”
“I love it,” added little Ava, 6. “It’s fun.”
The spruce will be on display until Jan. 9.
After it’s taken down, it will be turned into lumber for Habitat for Humanity.
