9 Best Things to Do in Connecticut 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 Connecticut, inspired by Yankee’s 2021 feature “The New England Holiday Bucket List.” How many have you experienced?

9 Best Things to Do in Connecticut This Holiday Season

Stamford Downtown Parade Spectacular Park Party
Mill River Park

This year a free community park party takes the place of the parade, but with all of the same bells and whistles. You’ll find giant helium balloons, marching bands, and dance/performance groups set up around Mill River Park, allowing spectators to safely enjoy the festivities.

Christmas at The Mark Twain House & Museum
Hartford 

Despite its imposing High Gothic grandeur, this manse was brightened by the holiday spirit of its celebrated original owner, who once wrote that “that old hallowed Christmas legend … warms the torpid kindnesses and charities into life” and whose family would put together yuletide gift baskets for the less fortunate. Meanwhile, the speaking tubes in the nursery were “connected” to the North Pole so the children could tell Santa what they wanted.

Gingerbread House Festival at Wood Memorial Library
South Windsor 

The gingerbread house tradition began in 19th-century Germany, after which immigrants brought the lebkuchenhaus to America. Take in the wonder of modern-day cookie constructions at the Gingerbread House Festival, where gingerbread houses range from professional-grade village-scapes to little graham cracker cottages stuck together with oozy icing by festive 5-year-olds. 

A Christmas Carol
Hartford Stage | Hartford

Charles Dickens’s heartwarming classic returns with former Hartford Stage Artistic Director Michael Wilson at the helm. Come see Connecticut’s favorite family holiday tradition and spend some time with Ebenezer Scrooge, Tiny Tim, and the ghosts of Christmas Past, Present, and Future.

Winterfest and the Tunnel of Lights
East Windsor

Ride the rails at the Connecticut Trolley Museum and join the motormen in singing traditional carols as you glide through the “Tunnel of Lights” display. Afterward, warm up with some cocoa in the visitor center, where you can get a photo op with Santa.

Festival of Trees & Traditions
The Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art | Hartford

Find decorating inspiration—or just buy some impeccable examples to take home—at this Wadsworth Athenaeum fund-raising event. One-of-a-kind decorated trees and wreaths are displayed in the galleries, and all are for sale; music, kids’ activities, and visits from Santa keep things lively.

Lantern Light Village at Mystic Seaport
Mystic 

Horse bells jingle, bonfires sizzle, and costumed performers entertain strollers-by during Lantern Light Village evenings at Mystic Seaport. It’s drama with a seafaring twist, thanks to the softly lit backdrop of shimmering water and ships.

New Haven Symphony Holiday Extravaganza
Lyman Center for the Performing Arts | New Haven

Join the New Haven Symphony for a celebration sure to lift the spirits as it performs seasonal favorites like “White Christmas” and “Winter Wonderland” and leads a Christmas carol sing-along.

The Nutcracker
Garde Arts Center | New London
The venerable holiday ballet gets a Nutmeg State twist in this Eastern Connecticut Ballet production at the Garde Arts Center. Set in New London in the 1850s, the story plays out against a backdrop of tall ships, lighthouses, and other whaling-era icons.

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

And see more festive things to do in Connecticut (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.