Fall in Love with Massachusetts – Discover Holiday Delights

Sponsored by the Massachusetts Office of Travel and Tourism

By the time the year’s first flakes of snow appear in the Bay State, typically in late November, the unmistakable sparkle of the holidays has already arrived. From the North Shore to the Cape, and Boston to the Berkshires, the calendar fills up with a bona fide flurry of festive events. Historic homes dressed in holly and mistletoe throw open their doors. Nights are brightened by both the homey glow of candlelight tours and the Technicolor wonder of light shows. And friends and family head downtown to join in parades, fill their shopping bags with local gifts, and feel the holiday spirit rise on a tide of music, food, and fun.

Across faiths and generations, merry memories are waiting to be made in Massachusetts. Here are a dozen delightful ideas for making the most of the season.

1. Peek inside decked-out homes.

With its annual Christmas in Salem home tour (Dec. 2–3), the Witch City casts a different kind of enchantment as visitors step into the fascinating histories and fanciful decor of some of Salem’s most storied private homes. In Boston, experience a select group of remarkable private residences in one of the city’s most famous neighborhoods during the Beacon Hill Holiday House Tour (Dec. 10), presented by the Nichols House Museum. Another museum leads the way in Concord, home to famous New England authors such as Louisa May Alcott and Henry David Thoreau, for the 13th annual Holiday House Tour (Dec. 2), which benefits the Concord Museum’s education initiatives. Central Massachusetts offerings include the Westborough Holiday House Tour (Dec. 9), while in Western Massachusetts look for the Boys & Girls Club of West Springfield Holiday Tour of Homes (Dec. 2).

2. Go on a merry downtown stroll.

The streets of Nantucket fill with decorated trees and excited shoppers alike during the Nantucket Christmas Stroll (Dec. 1–3), a nearly half-century tradition that turns the island into a beacon of seasonal joy. Though Nantucket’s event is among the oldest and best-known holiday strolls, these special downtown celebrations — which both boost local business and treat attendees to a mix of classic Yuletide activities — can be found all across the Bay State, including the Marblehead Christmas Walk (Nov. 30–Dec. 3), Stockbridge Main Street at Christmas (Dec. 1–3), the Hudson Holiday Stroll (Dec. 2), Chatham’s Christmas by the Sea Stroll (Dec. 8–10), and Great Barrington’s Holiday Shop, Sip & Stroll (Dec. 9).

3. Shop for one-of-a-kind gifts.

Reward yourself with holiday-inspired snacks and libations after crossing off all the impossible-to-shop-for people on your list at Boston’s SoWa Winter Festival (Nov. 24–Dec. 17), laden with giftable creations from over 100 regional artists and artisans. The Hub is home to a number of other seasonal treasure troves, including The Holiday Market at Snowport (Nov. 10–Dec. 31) and the Harvard Square Holiday Fair (Dec. 15–17 & 21–23) — but that’s just the start of what the Bay State has to offer. Early birds can do pre-Thanksgiving shopping at the New England Craft & Specialty Food Fair in Topsfield (Nov. 10–12) and the Old Deerfield Holiday Sampler Craft Fair (Nov. 18–19), which showcases the work of 200+ juried artisans at the Eastern States Expo in West Springfield. Museums and other cultural institutions get in on the action, too, with the Worcester Holiday Festival of Crafts (Nov. 24–26) at the Worcester Center for Crafts; the Holiday Artisan Market at Fruitlands in Harvard (Dec. 2-3); the Winter Fine Arts & Craft Fair at Plimoth Patuxet (Dec. 2–3); and the Artists Holiday Market (Dec. 9–10) at Ventfort Hall Mansion Museum in Lenox, to name just a few.

4. Taste a Hanukkah tradition.

Fried in oil to symbolize the miracle of Hanukkah, crispy-crunchy, golden-brown latkes are a staple at Mamaleh’s in Brookline, Cambridge, and Boston, which offers them to-go or as a fry-at-home mix for your holiday table; among the other local Jewish delis to try are Michael’s in Brookline and Zaftigs in Brookline and Natick. For sit-down dining, Somerville’s recently opened Lehrhaus, billed as a Jewish tavern and house of learning, serves excellent potato and onion latkes topped with herbed labneh or mango-tahini sauce (amba tehina). Farther afield, look for latkes at Bay State delis including Helfand’s in Worcester, Chani’s Kosher Take-Out & Catering in Lexington (pre-order), and the Great Barrington Deli & Bagel Co. in the Berkshires (pre-order).

5. Be dazzled by light displays.

Continuing a cherished Attleboro tradition since 1953, the National Shrine of Our Lady of La Salette offers a stunning display of more than 400,000 lights to brighten visitors’ spirits at its Christmas Festival of Lights (Nov. 23–Jan. 1). For an outsized holiday spectacle, it’s hard to top New England’s largest drive-through light show, Bright Nights at Forest Park (Nov. 22–Jan. 1), in Springfield. Zoos and botanical gardens are family-favorite venues for holiday lights, too, and Bay State visitors can take their pick from Stone Zoo’s ZooLights (Nov. 17–Jan. 7) in Stoneham; Southwick’s Zoo’s Winter Wonderland (Nov. 18–Dec. 31) in Mendon; Heritage Museums & Gardens’ Gardens Aglow (Nov. 24–Dec. 23; see website for specific dates) in Sandwich; Night Lights: Starry Skies (Nov. 24–Dec. 31) at New England Botanic Garden at Tower Hill in Boylston. Meanwhile, The Trustees dress up three of their historical properties in a glittering Winterlights display: Stevens-Coolidge House & Gardens in North Andover (Nov. 24–Dec. 31), Naumkeag in Stockbridge (Nov. 24–Jan. 6), and the Eleanor Cabot Bradley Estate in Canton (Nov. 24–Jan. 6).

6. Explore the holidays of yesteryear.

Outfitted with 14 fireplaces and ornate carving throughout (in seven kinds of wood), the Eustis Estate in Milton is a Gilded Age gem that takes on extra sparkle in December, when it’s lavishly decorated to celebrate the season. In the Berkshires, you can tour not one but four vintage buildings done up in seasonal style on the Historic Holiday Property Tour (Dec. 2): the Merwin House in Stockbridge, the Devonfield Inn in Lee, Ventfort Hall Mansion and Gilded Age Museum in Lenox, and The Mount, Edith Wharton’s Home, in Lenox. And if you haven’t yet visited Gloucester’s majestic Hammond Castle Museum, there’s no better time than during its Deck the Halls celebration, which sees the 1920s-era estate filled with Christmas decor, music, and candlelight (note: Deck the Halls begins Nov. 18; see website for details on candlelight tours and other special events).

7. Marvel at gingerbread artistry.

The only thing sweeter than the stars of the Springfield Museums’ Annual Gingerbread Exhibition (Nov. 24–Dec. 31) — which is themed this year around Springfield’s own Dr. Seuss — is the childhood memories they evoke. Another beloved family destination, Old Sturbridge Village in Sturbridge, hosts candified creations during its Christmas by Candlelight program (Nov. 24–Dec. 30), as it exhibits the entries in its annual gingerbread contest. Among the Bay State’s other mouthwatering displays are The Home for Little Wanderers’ Gingerbread House Decorating Contest (Dec. 3) at the Mandarin Oriental, Boston; the Gingerbread “Creation” Contest (Dec. 9) during Gloucester’s Middle Street Walk; and the Wenham Museum’s 10 Days of Gingerbread (Dec. 10–20).

8. Stock up on festive treats.

Forget those drugstore candy canes: Hand-pulling them each November in its Gardner store, Priscilla Candy Shop has been turning these seasonal sweets into giftable creations since 1936. Handmade candy canes can also be found at a number of other Massachusetts sweet spots, including Salem’s Ye Olde Pepper Companie, billed as the nation’s oldest candy company, and the fourth-generation confectioner Hilliard’s Chocolates, with locations in North Easton, Mansfield, and Norwell. And who can resist the nostalgic pull of ribbon candy, like the kind you’ll find at Richardson’s Candy Company in Deerfield?

9. Catch a timeless Yuletide tale.

As stirring today as it was back in Victorian times, A Christmas Carol is an annual heart-warming highlight of countless theater groups and performance venues around the state, such as Worcester’s Hanover Theatre & Conservatory (Dec. 16–23) and the Berkshire Theatre Group in Stockbridge (Dec. 7–23). Another timeless tale that will be lighting up stages across the Bay State is The Nutcracker; Dance Prism alone is bringing it to Fall River, Sudbury, Worcester, Littleton, and Andover this year. One of the best-known productions is Boston Ballet’s The Nutcracker (Nov. 24–Dec. 31), which joins Langston Hughes’ Black Nativity (Dec. 1–17) and Urban Nutcracker (Dec. 16–23) as three of the hottest holiday tickets in town.

10. Sit down to a holiday seafood feast.

In Italy, it’s common for Catholics to forgo eating meat the night before Christmas, but the epic seafood banquet known as the Feast of the Seven Fishes is considered a uniquely Italian-American creation. Many Italian restaurants serve these feasts around Christmas, such as Prezza in Boston and Davio’s Northern Italian Steakhouse in Boston, Chestnut Hill, Braintree, Foxborough, and Lynnfield. But some non-Italian eateries get in on the celebration, too, such as Water Street Kitchen in Woods Hole (special dinners Dec. 21, 22 & 23; tickets go on sale Thanksgiving week).

11. Take a magical train ride.

It didn’t take long for the 1985 children’s book The Polar Express — written and illustrated by New England’s own Chris Van Allsburg — to transform into a Christmas staple. The tale of a little boy who travels by magical train to the North Pole was an instant best-seller, and then a movie, and finally a series of real-life train rides that aim to replicate the book’s wondrous journey. In Massachusetts there’s just one place to experience an official Polar Express trip: the Cape Cod Central Railroad in Buzzards Bay, where a vintage locomotive transports passengers to the realm of holiday imagination. (Nov. 24–Dec. 23; see website for specific dates and tickets).

12. Enjoy the sounds of the season.

Historic Mechanics Hall in Worcester provides an appropriately grand setting for the soaring music of Handel’s “Messiah,” performed by the Worcester Chorus in what has become a beloved tradition (Dec. 2). But music lovers in every Massachusetts region, from the Berkshires to Cape Cod, have no end of choices for auditory delights this season, including “Celtic Woman: Christmas Symphony Tour” in Lowell (Nov. 29); pianist David Benoit’s “A Charlie Brown Christmas” in Rockport (Dec. 7); “Hometown Holiday” with the Plymouth Philharmonic Orchestra (Dec. 9–10); “Candlelight Carols” at Boston’s Trinity Church (Dec. 16–17); “The Wizards of Winter” at the Colonial Theatre in Pittsfield (Dec. 22); and the string quartet Well-Strung’s holiday reunion show at Town Hall in Providence (Dec. 30).