It’s the holiday season and that means lots of events across the state. Whether you want holiday strolls, open house tours, winter carnivals or first night celebrations it’s all here in Massachusetts.
GREATER BOSTON | NORTH OF BOSTON | SOUTH OF BOSTON | CAPE COD & THE ISLANDS | CENTRAL MASS | WESTERN MASS
STATEWIDE
GREATER BOSTON
Magic of Lights – Gillette Stadium – November 13-January 2
Commonwealth Ave. Mall Lighting – November 21
Macy’s Christmas Tree Lighting and Christmas Windows Unveiled – November 22
Zoolights – Franklin Park Zoo – November 22-January 4
Boston Modern Orchestra Project: “Klezmer Madness” – November 23 – Jordan Hall
Columbus Park Trellis Lighting – November 25 @ 5:00 pm
Massachusetts State House Tree Lighting – November 26
Light Up The Seaport – November 29
Miracle on 34th Street – November 29-December 22 – Greater Boston Stage Company, Stoneham
Mass Horticultural Society: Festival of Trees – November 29 – December 29
Boston Ballet’s “The Nutcracker” – November 29-December 29
Handel’s “Messiah” – Symphony Hall, Boston – November 29 – December 1
Boston Tuba Christmas – November 30 – Faneuil Hall Marketplace
69th Quincy Christmas Parade – Hancock Street, Quincy – December 1
Copley Square Tree Lighting – December 2
WBZ-TV Holiday Spectacular – December 3
Holiday Pops – Boston Pops – December 4-24
Blink – Faneuil Hall – December 4-January 1
Boston Common Tree Lighting – December 5
Christmas on Uranus – December 5-22
Medfield Holiday Stroll – December 6
Moscow Ballet’s Great Russian Nutcracker – December 6 – Wang Theatre
Boston Baroque: Handel’s “Messiah” – December 6-7 – Jordan Hall
Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer – December 6-8 – Shubert Theatre
Black Nativity – December 6-8, 13-15, 20-22
Holiday Open House – Old South Meeting House – December 7
Back Bay Ringers Holiday Handbell Concert – December 7, 8, 13 & 15
Harvard Square Holiday Fairs – December 7-8, 13-15, 19-22
What Makes It Great? Dreaming of a Jewish Christmas – December 8 – Jordan Hall
Christmas Celtic Sojourn – December 11-22
Craftboston Holiday Show – December 13-15
Musicians of the Old Post Road: “Christmas Pilgrimage” – December 13 & 15
The Christmas Revels – Sanders Theatre, Cambridge – December 13-29
What the Dickens – December 14-22 – John Hancock Hall
KISS 108 Jingle Ball – TD Garden – December 15
Bach, Beethoven, and Brahms Society: “A Brandenburg Christmas” – December 15 – Faneuil Hall
Irving Berlin’s White Christmas – December 17-19 – Wang Theatre
Urban Nutcracker -John Hancock Hall, Boston – December 19-28
Boston Camerata: La Estrella: A Hispanic Christmas- December 20-22
The Nutcracker Ballet – December 22 – Hopkinton Center for the Arts
Lighting of the Boston Common Menorah – December 22
New Year’s Eve Fireworks Dinner Cruise – December 31
New Year’s Day Brunch Cruise January 1
NORTH OF BOSTON
Winterlights – Stevens-Coolidge Place in North Andover – November 21 – December 29
Methuen Annual Festival of Trees – November 22-December 7
Zoo Lights – November 22-January 4 – Stone Zoo
Newburyport Santa Parade & Tree Lighting – December 1
Gloucester Parade and Tree Lighting – December 1
Handel’s “Messiah” – December 2 – Rockport
Essex Holiday Festival – December 5-7
Marblehead Christmas Walk – December 5-8
Holiday Party and Art Auction – December 6 – Whistler Museum of Art
Lexington Symphony Holiday Pops – December 6 & 8
40th Annual Christmas in Salem House Tour – The House of The Seven Gables – December 6-8
A Christmas Carol – December 6-22 – North Shore Music Theatre
Santa’s Arrival in Rockport and Tree Lighting – December 7
Holiday Parade & Christmas Tree Lighting – Amesbury – December 7
Annisquam Christmas Fair – December 7
Holiday Craft Fair – December 7 – Hammond Castle
A Visit with Saint Nicholas- Louisa May Alcott’s Orchard House, Concord – December 7-8
Old North Festival Chorus: Holiday Concerts – Old North Church, Marblehead – December 7-8
A Charlie Brown Christmas Live– Lowell Memorial Auditorium – December 7
Santa at Sea – December 8 – Gloucester
Lobster Trap Lighting – December 14 – Gloucester
Holiday Artisan’s Market – December 7-8 & 14-15 – Western Ave. Studios, Lowell
Rockport’s Live Christmas Pageant – December 21
Holiday Pops – Lowell Memorial Auditorium – December 22
SOUTH OF BOSTON
Edaville Railroad: Christmas Festival of Lights – November 18 – January 1
Marshfield Holiday Light Show – November 22-December 29
Winterlights: Eleanor Cabot Bradley Estate – Canton – November 22-December 29
Enchanted Village – Jordan’s Furniture, Avon – November 23-January 1
Festival of Lights at the National Shrine of Our Lady of La Salette – Attleboro – November 28-January 5
Middleborough Festival of Lights – December 7-15
Christmas at the Estate – Daniel Webster Estate, Marshfield – December 7-15
A Spirited Winter Village – Plimoth Plantation – December 7, 13, 14, 20, 21
28th Annual Historic Holiday Tour – December 14-15 – New Bedford
CAPE COD & THE ISLANDS
Glassblowers Christmas – Sandwich Glass Museum, Sandwich -November 15-December 30
Holiday Gift Shop at Featherstone Center for the Arts – Oak Bluffs – November 15 – December 13
Festival of Wreaths – Nantucket – November 27-December 1 (closed Thanksgiving)
Annual Lighting of the Pilgrim Monument – Provincetown – November 27
Train to Christmastown, Buzzards Bay to Hyannis – Weekends November 29-December 23
Gardens Aglow – Heritage Museums & Gardens, Sandwich – Weekends November 29-December 29
Enchanged Village at the Cape Codder Resort, Hyannis – November 30 – December 23
Christmas on Cape Cod – December 1-31
Visit ChristmasonCapeCod.com for a list of festive Christmas strolls, concerts, fairs, harbor lightings and parades across Cape Cod, as well as accommodations package, holiday shop-opportunities and the chance to win hundreds of dollars in Santa’s Helpers gift cards!
Christmas Tree Lighting – December 6 – Plymouth
10 Annual Festival of Trees – December 6-7 – Osterville
Brewster for the Holidays – December 6-8
Christmas in Harwich – December 6-8
Nantucket Christmas Stroll – December 6-8
Festival of Trees – Nantucket – December 7-31
Hyannis Village Christmas Stroll– December 7
Holiday Tree Lighting and Sing Along – December 7 – Wellfleet
Holidays on the Green and Reindog Parade – December 7 – The Village Green at The Pinehills
Pilgrim Festival Chorus presents Wintersong – December 7-8
It’s a Wonderful Life live radio play – December 7-22 – Plymouth Center for the Arts
14th Annual Holiday House Tour – December 7 – Pilgrim Hall Museum
Mashpee Christmas Parade – December 7
Christmas In Edgartown Festival – Edgartown – December 12-15
Annual Holiday Cookie Stroll – Yarmouth – December 14
Holiday Pops With the Plymouth Philharmonic Orchestra – December 14-15
Winter Solstice Hayride – Deccember 21 – Daniel Webster Wildlife Sanctuary
First Light Reception + Fireworks – December 29 – Pilgrim Monument
CENTRAL MASS
Celebrating the Season in Sturbridge
Christmas Memories at the Salem Cross Inn
Winter Wonderland – Southwick’s Zoo – November 19-December 29
Winter Wonderland– Tower Hill Botanic Garden – November 29-December 30
Holiday Festival of Crafts – Worcester Center for Crafts – November 30-December 1
Dickens Weekend: A Christmas Carol (and more) with Gerald Charles Dickens – Vaillancourt Folk Art, Sutton – November 30-December 1
2019 Pops Tour – The Hanover Theatre – December 6
Festival of Lights Tree Lighting and Holiday Celebration – Worcester Common Oval – December 6-7
Christmas By Candlelight – Old Sturbridge Village – Weekends December 6-29
Sutton Chain of Lights – December 7
A Christmas Carol – The Hanover Theatre – December 15-23
A Christmas Celtic Sojourn – The Hanover Theatre – December 17
The Hip Hop Nutcracker – December 29 – Hanover Theatre
WESTERN MASS
Holiday Happenings in the Berkshires
Grinchmas at the Springfield Museums – Check website for a list of dates and events
Decembers in Deerfield – Traditional, festive events all season long
Hancock Holidays – Hancock Shaker Village – Various Dates
Bright Nights at Forest Park – Check website for dates
Annual Gingerbread Competition & Exhibit – Springfield Museums
Holiday Shows– Berkshire Theatre Group
A Christmas Carol – December 7-8 – Ventfort Hall – British actor Gerald Charles Dickens performs a one-man show of A Christmas Carol
Winterlights – Naumkeag in Stockbridge – November 21 – December 29
Festival of Trees – Mass Mutual Center, Springfield – November 23-December 9
Holiday in the Park – Six Flags New England – November 23 – January 1
Moonlight Magic – Shelburne Falls – November 29
Annual Tree Lighting Ceremony and Downtown’s Only Outdoor Ice Rink – November 29 – MGM Casino, Springfield
Menorah Lighting – North Adams – December 1 @ 5:00 p.m.
Merry Maple Lighting – Amherst Common – December 6
Stockbridge Main Street at Christmas – December 6-8
Greenfield Holiday Pop Up Market – December 6
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