It’s the early bird special.
Locals and tourists looking to take in the glittering Rockefeller Center Christmas tree in all its splendor — without all the crowds — are flocking to the seasonal site hours before sunrise.
On Tuesday at 4:45 a.m, a handful of people gathered at Rock Center. It was 35 degrees out and the famous seasonal site wasn’t even lit — but that was the point.
“Everyone had been saying this is the best time to get a photo and see the lights switch on,” said George Day, a 42-year-old visiting the city for the first time from England with her husband, Howard.
At 5 a.m. sharp, the Swarovski crystal star above the 80-foot Norwegian spruce burst to life, followed by its 50,000 multicolor lights. Security guards removed gates and let the eager gawkers in toward the ice skating rink, a perfect photo spot usually thronged with selfie-seekers.
“It’s magical,” said Day.
Nearby, NYU sophomores Aly Shiu, in Minions pajama pants, and Rocky Masci, in warm Ugg boots, took in the Saks lights across the street. As freshmen last year, they started a tradition of early morning lights viewing before Masci goes home to Los Angeles for school break.
“We had to send her off right,” said Shiu, who’s from Manhattan.
This year, the two students finished finals on Monday, had a short nap, went to a 24-hour diner and arrived at the plaza by 4:40 a.m., enough time for Masci to be on the way to the airport at 6 a.m.
“The lights are so pretty right now,” Masci said.
The early riser trend has been a hit on TikTok, with users such as Janeen Torres of Bergen County, New Jersey, showing off the calm bliss of a relatively quiet Midtown. Torres had wanted to attend the official tree lighting ceremony earlier this month, but getting there seemed too harrowing
“I wanted it to feel more magical than stressful,” the 54-year-old told The Post.
Then she realized there’s a mini lighting ceremony every morning at 5 a.m. (The lights shut off for several hours at midnight each night until December 14. From the 15th until Christmas Eve, the tree is lit until 1 a.m. On Christmas Day, it stays on for 24 hours.)
So, last week, she stayed with a friend in Manhattan, got up at 3:30 a.m. and was at the tree within an hour. The pair high-kicked and danced around the empty plaza like Rockettes.
“We made our own little ceremony for it,” she said.
The strategy has been seemingly endorsed by the official Rockefeller Center TikTok account, who commented “honestly…the move” on a post in which another TikToker showed off the pre-dawn view of the big spruce.
Jemma Paynter, 34, came to see the tree early morning after a thwarted attempted at a daytime viewing.
“We saw the crowds and then walked away,” she said.
Jane Davy, a 35-year-old making a quick visit from Istanbul, enjoyed peacefully seeing the tree at 5 a.m. but planned to return to get a glimpse with the holiday crowds.
“I will probably come back tonight,” she told The Post, “if I don’t fall asleep.”