Oh, Christmas tree, you\u2019re off to Albany.<\/p>\n
A Brooklyn-born mom illuminated the 2025 Rockefeller Christmas Tree<\/a> for the final time early Saturday in a small ceremony that marked the beginning of the spruce\u2019s second life.<\/p>\n Domonique Williams-Abubaker is one of the lucky few who will get a slice of the massive 74-foot-11-inch-tall tree inside her new Habitat for Humanity home <\/a>after it makes its journey back to the Empire State\u2019s Capital Region this summer.<\/p>\n Brooklyn native Domonique Williams-Abubaker participated in the final Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree lighting of the season on Jan 10, 2026. Habitat for Humanity\/Facebook<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s a surreal feeling. I had to shed a tear a little bit,\u201d Williams-Abubaker, 35, told The Post as the glow of the lights lit up her tear-streaked face.<\/p>\n \u201cThis tree \u2014 I\u2019m looking at it in its full form now and to know that a piece of this is going to be on my home, this is really, it\u2019s really a surreal feeling.\u201d<\/p>\n Williams-Abubaker, her husband and her 5-month-old son will close in on their Habitat for Humanity home in Albany next week, a dream the new mom previously didn\u2019t think was in the cards.<\/p>\n Williams-Abubaker, originally from East New York, moved to Albany a few years ago and was gutted to realize home prices were not much more affordable than in New York City.<\/p>\n She began volunteering with Habitat for Humanity as a means of contributing to her new neighborhood \u2014 and soon applied to get a house of her own with the nonprofit.<\/p>\n Williams-Abubaker will get a piece of the Christmas tree in her family\u2019s new Habitat for Humanity home in Albany. Habitat for Humanity\/Facebook<\/p>\n Within a year \u2014 one less than she had hoped for \u2014 Williams-Abubaker heard the good news that she was a winning candidate.<\/p>\n \u201cMy friends call me the manifestation person. I made that happen. I\u2019m closing in on my house,\u201d the IRS taxpayer advocate service representative said.<\/p>\n \u201cI can say I can afford my own home. Now I\u2019m married, and I have a baby, and my baby can grow up in this house, and he has his own room from the start. That\u2019s really big.\u201d<\/p>\n Williams-Abubaker applied for a Habitat for Humanity home after volunteering with the organization. Getty Images<\/p>\n It\u2019s not yet clear where the Christmas tree lumber will appear in Williams-Abubaker\u2019s home, or what form it will take, but the soon-to-be homeowner plans for it to be a centerpiece of the house.<\/p>\n \u201cI want it to be something close to me. A lot of people come from very far to see this and to know that this right here is getting ready to be in my house somewhere \u2014 I\u2019m going to show this off,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\tStart your day with all you need to know\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tMorning Report delivers the latest news, videos, photos and more.\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\tThanks for signing up!\n\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n At least seven other families in Albany will have the same honor, though Habitat for Humanity\u2019s Capital Region hopes that there might be enough lumber to spread the holiday joy even further.<\/p>\n This year marks the first time the Rockefeller Christmas Tree will be sent to Albany since the center and Habitat for Humanity struck their partnership back in 2007.<\/a><\/p>\n Judy Russ and her son Liam donated the tree from their home in East Greenbush in upstate New York. Angus Mordant<\/p>\n Judy and Liam at Rockefeller Center for the arrival of the Christmas tree on Nov. 8, 2025.<\/p>\n