Christmas Events in New Jersey:
Best 2019 Holiday Events

Features Tree Lighting Celebrations, Parades,
Festivals, and more.

Discover the popular Christmas events and attractions in New Jersey, whether it's jingle bells, Christmas tree lighting, carol singing, or just reenactments of past New Jersey Christmas events.

The attractions during the Christmas season in NJ are always festive. Many of these events begin the day after Thanksgiving with the traditional start of the Christmas Holiday season.

Note: This information is provided by event sponsors as a free service to our viewers. Sometimes conditions require cancellations or changes of dates, times and location which are not reflected in the original schedule. Before planning a trip to visit one of the listed events, it is suggested that you call the event sponsor to confirm the event schedule or for additional information on the event.

Stay tuned --- we will be updating this list as the event sponsors confirm this year's events. 

Multidate 2019 North Jersey Christmas Events

Lambert Castle Holiday Boutique
Saturday, November 2, 2019 through Sunday, December 1, 2019; Wed. thru Fri., 10 a.m. to 8 p.m., Sat. & Sun. 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Lambert Castle Museum
3 Valley Road
Paterson, NJ 07503
Website
Phone: 973-247-0085, Email: info@lambertcastle.org
Cost: Wine and Cheese Preview Night – Friday, November 1, 2019 – 5 to 9:30 p.m. – $15 includes 2 return visits. Opening weekend (Nov. 2nd & 3rd) $7 admission/donation – includes 2 return visits General Admission November 6th through December 1st – $6 admission/donation – includes 2 return visits Children under 12 free – no child strollers permitted
The Passaic County Historical Society will be presenting their annual Lambert Castle Holiday Boutique where visitors can enjoy shopping for this year’s assortment of festive holiday gifts, jewelry, seasonal decorations, crafts, collectibles and gourmet food in the historic atmosphere and ambiance of Lambert Castle.

Skylands Christmas Light Show & Christmas Village
November 16th until December 30, 2019
Skylands Stadium
94 Championship Pl.
Augusta, NJ 07822
Website
973-383-7644
Cost:
Light Show: $20 per carload (all tickets to be purchased at drive-thru entrance or box office, there are no online ticket sales) Save $3! Buy Advance Sale tickets at the box office (Monday–Thursday, 9–2 PM)
Outdoor Village: FREE admission
With more than two million dazzling lights on a mile-long drive-through course PLUS a new outdoor village, it's a must-see holiday attraction for your whole family.
The attractions include:
Walk-Thru Lights: Experience their brilliant walk-through light displays, Santa's Workshop Come inside to take photos with Santa, Skating Rink presented by Pompton Sports Center with skating on a 20′ x 40′ outdoor rink, an 8′ Polar Bear Statue: Take cool photos with Champ, our lovable life-size polar bear, Yuengling's Ice Cream Shop and Hot Chocolate Bar with scrumptious ice cream and custom hot chocolate drinks, a S'mores Station with Roast marshmallows over a fire pit and make delicious s'mores snacks. Carnival Games, Concessions with hot food and beverages, including French bread pizza and craft beers, and vendors with hHoliday shopping with local artisans,
Please dress warmly to enjoy the new outdoor village activities. Warming stations will be located throughout the Pavilion.

Feasting with Family & Friends - Christmas in the Ballantine House
November 20, 2019 - January 5, 2020
Newark Museum
49 Washington Street
Newark, NJ
973.596.6690
Website
The Museum’s National Historic Landmark, the 1885 Ballantine House, offers visitors a taste of how Christmas was celebrated in late Victorian Newark, as English, German and Dutch holiday traditions merged into something not so very different from the way the holiday is celebrated in America today. This historically accurate installation offers the opportunity to step back in time to learn about 19th-century life and traditions. From the Christmas tree (a German tradition) to the wooden shoes by the hearth (a Dutch tradition) to the stockings on the chimney and plum pudding in the dining room (English traditions), visitors can get a sense of how Christmas evolved into a home-based secular holiday in the 19th century.

Holiday Lights Spectacular
Friday, Saturday, Sunday: November 22- 24, November 29-December 1 - Every Night: December 6 – 31 - Closed: December 24 & 25 5pm to 9pm
Turtle Back Zoo
560 Northfield Ave
West Orange, NJ
Website
Free Admission:Celebrate the season of giving by bringing donations of non-perishable food items, new toys, and gently used coats.
About 50 animal and holiday-themed figures will light up the winter night in Turtle Back Zoo and the surrounding Essex County South Mountain Recreation Complex. Over 100,000 lights will illuminate figures of bears, tigers and elephants, along with holiday lights designed to look like wooden soldiers, stars and winter scenes. Several animal exhibits will be open, including the Sea Lion Sound, Essex Farm, Tam-ring Gibbons Reserve, Tropical Currents Aquarium and the Reptile Building.

Morristown Christmas Festival
November 25, Until Dec 23, 2019
The Morristown Green
10 N. Park Pl.
Morristown, NJ 07960
Website
973-455-1133
This month-long family event kicks off on the Sunday after Thanksgiving with Santa's rooftop arrival and welcome ceremony. Family activities and entertainment on the historic Morristown Green, add to the dazzling "Lighting of the Green" ceremony with brilliant lights and wreaths adorning streetlights town-wide – a 100+ year tradition! Each weekend throughout December thousands of attendees from all over Northern New Jersey visit and enjoy Santa visits and photos, holiday crafts, miniature train rides around the Green, gingerbread house & ornament making, music by local choirs and entertainers, storytelling, ice sculpting demonstrations and free treats!

17th Annual Colonial Christmas - Jacobus Vanderveer House: Holiday Open House
November 29, 30, December 1, 7, 8, 2019; @ 7 p.m.
Jacobus Van derveer House
995 Route 202/206 South
Bedminster, NJ 07921
Website
The celebration begins with the Tree Lighting on Friday, November 29th. Join us for caroling, hot chocolate and hot pretzels, and a visit from Santa as we light our red, white, and blue Liberty Tree and ring in the holiday season.

Experience Historic Chester This Holiday Season!
November 29 until December 22, 2019
Historic Downtown Chester, NJ
Main Street, and throughout Historic Downtown
Chester, New Jersey 07930
Web Site
Phone: 973-223-2665, Email: toni@twdirection.com
Event Cost: Free
This family event features entertainment, strolling carolers, a visit by Santa, Ice works, Elvis the "Elf" and holiday shopping.
The activities include:
- SC3 Holiday Music / Outdoor DJ Entertainment, Fri., Nov. 29th & Sat., Dec. 21st from 12:00 noon to 4:00 pm.
- Small Business Saturday: November 30th, 2019
Keeping our neighborhood shops in business…that’s what Small Business Saturday is all about! Shop and Dine Historic Chester on Sat. Nov. 30th and support your local HCBA Member businesses throughout the entire holiday season!
- Chester Brass Works Quartet Ensemble, Sundays, Dec. 1st, 8th, and 15th from 1:00 pm to 4:00 pm.
- Strolling Dickens’ (Manhattan Holiday) Carolers, Saturdays, Dec. 7th & 14th from 12:30 pm-4:30 pm.
- Santa’s Comin’ to Town!, Sat., Dec. 7th, Sun., Dec. 15th, and Sat., Dec. 21st from 1:30 pm to 3:30 pm.
- Sculpted Ice Works, Sun., Dec. 8th from 12:00 noon to 4:00 pm.
- Ron Albanese as ‘Elvis the Elf”, Sundays, Dec. 15th and 22nd from 1:00 pm to 4:00 pm

Festival of Trees
December 7 - 14, 2019; 10am - 6pm
The Barn at Highland Ridge Park
100 North Road
Chester, NJ. 
Website
(908) 879-2202; or email info@srcnj.org
The Festival of Trees is a community celebration featuring a spectacular display of holiday trees in a winter-wonderland setting. The trees are individually decorated by families, businesses, and civic organizations and enjoyed by hundreds of people. The majority of the trees are offered for silent auction during the week-long event. Local musical talents entertain Festival attendees while touring the spectacle. Proceeds from the Festival support the activities and programs of the Senior Resource Center.

November 2019 North Jersey Christmas Events

The Nutcracker
Saturday, November 23, 2019: 2:00 pm and 7:00 pm.
Bergen County Academies
200 Hackensack Avenue
Hackensack, NJ
Tickets
njftheatrearts@optonline.net
Cost: $25 for Orchestra seating and $20 for all other seats
This production features "The Nutcracker" with a twist. Attendees will be introduced to a musical theatre presentation of 1800's with festive carolers on their way to the Silberhause Party singing songs of seasonal joy and merriment, with delightful dances entwined.

Swedish Christmas Fair
November 24, 2019; 10:00 AM – 4:00 PM
Commonwealth Club
26 Northview Avenue
Upper Montclair, NJ
Website
This Swedish celebration features a great selection of food, crafts, and gifts. Swedish handicrafts like handmade Christmas decorations, linen, and wooden items and a variety of cheeses, herring and other Swedish delicacies as well as home baked goods (bread, cookies, and cakes) are available for you to buy. In the Swedish café, you can enjoy delicious Swedish open-faced sandwiches, waffles, coffee-bread, pastries, and a large variety of drinks. Glögg, a typical Swedish spiced holiday drink, is also being offered. There will also be raffles with wonderful prizes. You will also get the chance to enjoy the Lucia pageant and her choir singing and lightening up the holiday season, a beautiful and truly unique Swedish tradition Members dress up in traditional costume. SWEA is a global non-profit organization promoting Swedish language, culture, history and tradition.

Dickens' Days
Friday, November 29th 11:00 AM & Sunday, December 1, 2019; 4:00 PM
Main St.
Clinton, NJ
908-730-8800
Website
This annual family event will transform Clinton into a Victorian Village. Attendees get to interact with Scrooge, Charles Dickens, and Father Christmas as they stroll through downtown Clinton entertaining shoppers. The town will be decorated for the holidays, with toy soldiers on the famous Clinton Bridge. Horse drawn carriage rides, in full Victorian costume, offer a glimpse into the past. There will be musical performances of all genres throughout the weekend. Santa's Workshop, an interactive experience for children, will be located on the terrace of the Hunterdon Art Museum. Santa will be at the workshop on Saturdays from noon – 3 pm.
On Friday, at 7 pm the annual Community Tree Lighting on Main Street will begin with caroling and a visit from Santa on our old time fire truck.

Jingle on Main
Nov 30, 2019; 10:00am — 4:00pm
Presbyterian Outreach Center
35 Main St.
Blairstown, NJ 07825
908-854-9887
Website
This family event features vendors, original artists, community groups, live music, free kids' activities, and delicious local food. Full of rural charm, Jingle on Main is set in Blairstown's Village area on Historic Main Street, right next to the Blair Falls, Roy's Hall, the Blairstown Museum and Blair Academy.
Don't miss the official Blairstown tree lighting, complete with holiday characters and caroling! Every dime raised goes towards this community event and the Greater Blairstown Business Association scholarship fund.

Jul Dans - Scandinavian Christmas Festival
Saturday, November 30, 2019
Viking Hall
Vasa Park
Budd Lake, NJ
Website
All night dancing around the Christmas tree with music provided by Jeanne Widman Anderson and Smorgasbandet. Fresh ham dinner, Swedish meatballs and other traditional Scandinavian specialties. Candle-lit ceremony and pageant of Sankta Lucia. A visit from Santa. Cocktail hour begins at 5:00 p.m. with Jul Glogg and cash bar.

Winter Walk Snowflake Stroll
Saturday, November 30, 2019; 4:00 PM - 5:00 PM
Taylor Park
78 Main St,
Millburn, New Jersey
Website
973-564-7000
A winter parade to kick off the Park Lighting
Featuring the Paper Mill Playhouse Show Choir, SoulFege acapella, holiday character appearances, and more!

December 2019 North Jersey Christmas Events

Newark Annual Tree Holiday Lighting Celebration
Tuesday, December 3, 2019; from 4 pm-8 pm (Tree lighting @ 6pm) Rain or shine
Prudential Center's Championship Plaza
232 Market Street
Newark, NJ
Website
(street and lot parking options are available)
(973) 622-2002
This year's celebration will feature music, free pictures with Santa including a special holiday gift, a bouncy house, a synthetic ice skating rink, a trackless train, numerous carnival games, children's characters and Victorian carolers. This is a free family-friendly event open to the public. Lighting and concert begin at 6:00 pm

14th Annual Hackettstown Hometown Holiday
Friday, December 6, 2019; 5:00 - 9:00pm
Moore St.
Hackettstown, NJ
908-850-5004
Website
The Annual family event features the lighting of the Centenary tree and the Seay Building with carriage rides through the historic streets of town; lively musical entertainment along Main Street corners; late-night shopping; and delicious food in the Holiday Bazaar Tent on Moore Street. Santa parades along Main Street to the gazebo and lights the Christmas tree.

18th Annual Lake Mohawk German Christmas Market 
December 7th, 2019;10am - 9pm;
December 8th, 2019: 10am - 5pm
Lake Mohawk Country Club 
Lake Mohawk
Sparta, New Jersey 07871 
 Website 
Ride locations are provided allowing for a stress free visit one being for handicapped. All proceeds go to charitable organizations.

31st Annual Holiday Festival (Friends of Lord Stirling Stable)
Saturday and Sunday, December 7 & 8, 2019; from 10:00 A.M. to 3:00 P.M
The Somerset County Park Commission Lord Stirling Stable
256 South Maple Avenue
Basking Ridge, NJ.
908 766-5955
Website
Children will enjoy hayrides through the woods to see Santa at his house (weather permitting). Santa's Workshop will be open for games, craft projects, food, and more. Pony rides will be available at various times throughout the Festival. Adults will enjoy exploring the offerings at the annual Silent Auction, which benefits the Lord Stirling School Horse Retirement Fund, another FLSS initiative. Themed gift baskets, specialty items, and gift certificates for local businesses will vie for bidders' attention. The FLSS gift shop will offer unique items for purchase. The riding apparel sale is also very popular. In conjunction with the festivities, guests are invited to enjoy the Winter Holiday Horse Shows that provide Lord Stirling students the opportunity to showcase the horsemanship skills they have learned in class. Horse shows begin at 9:00AM each day. The Junior Drill Team performs on Sunday and the Adult Drill Team is featured on Saturday, both during the lunch break. Spectators may enjoy the shows from the climate controlled viewing area. Admission and parking are free.

Santa at Van Vleck
Saturday, December 7, & Sunday, December 8, 2019
Van Vleck House & Gardens
21 Van Vleck St.
Montclair, NJ
Website
973-744-4752
Come take a fun family selfie with Santa or have our photographer take that perfect holiday shot. This might be the perfect photo for your annual holiday card. There will be arts & crafts along with writing that special letter to the man in red! Advance ticket purchase required.

Roxbury's 5th Annual Home for the Holidays Festival
December 7, 2019: 11am - 4pm
Roxbury Public Library
103 Main Street
Succasunna, NJ 07876
Web Site
Contact: Michele O'Halloran, Phone: 973-448-2002, Email: ohalloranm@roxburynj.us
Event Cost: Free
Come kick off the holiday season at our 5th Annual Home for the Holidays street festival.  You can shop, eat, meet Santa, listen to music and take a free carriage ride with jingle-belled horses!  We'll have food trucks, vendors & crafters selling unique gifts and strolling carolers singing holiday songs.  Explore "Santa Land" inside the Library from 1-4PM where you can get a photo with Santa, hear holiday book readings and do fun crafts.  Both churches will be open offering hot drinks and homemade treats.  There will be Irish dancers jigging in the street and a jazz band playing holiday tunes!  Free contests, crafts and games for kids.  This fun family festival is a great way to get in the holiday spirit and spend time with your family!  Come on down to Main Street in Roxbury for ho ho Home for the Holidays!

Candlelight Tours @ The Stickley Museum
Friday and Saturday, December 13 & 14, 2019; 6:00 p.m.
The Stickley Museum at Craftsman Farms
2352 Route 10 West
Morris Plains, NJ 07950
info@stickleymuseum.org
973-540-0311
Website
Cost: $5 Member; $12 Non Member. Advance reservations required;
Explore early 20th century holiday traditions and Gustav Stickley's own ideas about the season. Join in for these special after-hours guided Candlelight Tours of the decorated Log House.

More New Jersey Christmas Events

---