86th ANNUAL CHRISTMAS AT ROCKEFELLER CENTER
NBC, 8:00 p.m. ET
The title is a bit misleading, because it sounds like this is the 86th year NBC has presented the Christmas tree lighting as a TV event. Not even close. But giant trees have been imported to midtown Manhattan outside Rockefeller Center for that long, and decorated and lit for the holiday season. Tonight the official lighting is televised live, along with performances by Tony Bennett, Diana Krall, Martina McBride, John Legend, and others – but the star is the tree, a 72-foot Norway Spruce trucked in from Wallkill, NY. Oh, and there’s another star, one that’s a true topper: A Swarovski star is atop the tree, too, designed especially for the occasion.