9 Best Things to Do in Massachusetts This Holiday Season

Whether you’re an out-of-stater planning a visit or a local looking to add a new tradition, here’s a sampling of the best holiday events in Massachusetts, inspired by Yankee’s 2021 feature “The New England Holiday Bucket List.” How many have you experienced?

9 Best Things to Do in Massachusetts This Holiday Season

ZooLights
Stone Zoo | Stoneham 
Stroll through large-scale light displays amid the local residents, including bald eagles, reindeer, porcupines, and arctic foxes.

Bright Nights
Forest Park | Springfield
The largest holiday light show in New England offers three full miles of wonder as you drive through brilliantly lit displays such as “Seuss Land” and “Jurassic World.” For a similar experience, but with amusement park rides, check out the Christmas Festival of Lights at Edaville Family Theme Park in Carver.

The Nutcracker
Citizens Bank Opera House | Boston
Boston Ballet’s The Nutcracker, aka New England’s biggest wow-factor take on this holiday classic, takes audiences on a captivating journey filled with athletic feats and special effects. The wildly bedecked Christmas tree, which grows to more than 40 feet before wondering eyes, is outsparkled only by the smiles of the dancers.

Handel’s Messiah
Symphony Hall | Boston
The 168th consecutive holiday season since the Handel and Haydn Society’s U.S. premiere of Handel’s Messiah also marks the last for outgoing artistic director Harry Christophers. Expect extra emotion to color a three-hour immersion into the legendary composer’s 18th-century sound world. 

Nantucket Noel
Nantucket 

The tang of salty ocean air meets the sweetness of balsam on the cobblestone streets of this island community during Nantucket Noel, a monthlong holiday celebration crowned by the Christmas Stroll: a weekend of marquee events ranging from the Festival of Trees at the Whaling Museum to Santa’s arrival by Coast Guard cutter.

Christmas at Castle Hill
Castle Hill on the Crane Estate | Ipswich 

The family who built this c. 1928 Stuart-style seaside mansion were such avid sailors that they had five wind indicators installed throughout the home. Now overseen by The Trustees, the home is decorated for holiday tours (don’t miss the antique sled on the first floor) and holds a festive Roaring ’20s cocktail party with some 200 guests in vintage attire. Tickets have a daily limit, so book early.

Holiday Pops
Symphony Hall | Boston
Under the direction of maestro Keith Lockhart, the Boston Pops and its choral collaborators offer up heartwarming, funny-bone-tickling tonics for the spirit during the annual Holiday Pops. And when it’s time for the traditional sing-along, it’s magic to hear untrained, unrehearsed voices in an anthem of human connectedness. 

Candlelight Carols
Trinity Church | Boston

A tradition since 1909, Candlelight Carols looked different last year, when 80 recorded-at-home voices offered comfort to those who viewed the broadcast from home or from outside Trinity Church’s wide-open doors. Even as the service of scripture and song moves back inside the glowing sanctuary, it will reflect a shift that has expanded church choirs’ repertoires to include more music by BIPOC composers.

Urban Nutcracker
Shubert Theatre | Boston

Urban Nutcracker, Anthony Williams’s ever-evolving revamp of the classic ballet, boldly sashays off in diverse dance directions: hip-hop and street tap, flamenco and swing. And no tutu troupe gets audiences grooving like City Ballet of Boston’s colorfully costumed, multicultural cast.

What would you add to the list of the best holiday events in Massachusetts? Let us know in the comments below!

And see more festive things to do in Massachusetts (and beyond) in “The New England Holiday Bucket List.”

Don’t miss our top holiday events in all six New England states! Check out Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont.