1. Lantern Light Tours at Mystic Seaport
From November 28 through December 27 on select Friday, Saturday and Sunday evenings, tour Mystic Seaport in Mystic, Connecticut, by lantern light for a glimpse of Christmas past. Your tour guide will play the role of someone from the year 1876, and you'll be immersed in the drama as one family copes with loss and unanswered questions on the eve of Christmas. Reservations are strongly recommended, and tickets for Lantern Light Tours may be purchased online or by calling 860-572-5302, ext. 4224. Tickets are $26 for adults and $19 for children ages 4 to 18.
Stone Zoo in Stoneham, Massachusetts, is the place to be if you love animals and the holidays. The zoo dances with thousands of holiday lights and also is home to mechanically animated animals and live reindeer during the Christmas season. Santa Claus appears through December 23. See the glittering zoo nightly from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. through December 30; closed Christmas Day. Admission is $5 per person weeknights and $6 Friday through Sunday ($4 weeknights and $5 weekends if purchased online in advance); free for children under 2. Call 617-989-2000 for more information.
3. North Pole Express and Santa Special
Catch the Essex Steam Train's North Pole Express or Santa Special for a holiday train ride with Santa Claus weekends November 27 through December 20. Tickets are sold online or at the Essex Train Station in Essex, Connecticut. Many dates sell out in advance. For times, prices, reservations and further information, call 860-767-0103 or toll free 800-377-3987.
4. Twelve Nights of Christmas at Old Sturbridge Village
Soak up the spirit of the season and learn a bit about holiday history, too, as Old Sturbridge Village in Sturbridge, Massachusetts, presents 12 evenings of "Christmas by Candlelight" in select houses and shops around the Common from 4 until 9 p.m. on Thursday through Sunday evenings December 3 through 20. Take my virtual tour of Christmas at Old Sturbridge Village for a preview of what you'll see.
Ogunquit, Maine's annual Christmas by the Sea on December 11-13 features storytelling, caroling by the bonfire, a candlelight walk, shopping, hay rides, music, visits with Santa, a Chowder & Chocolatefest and more. Call the Ogunquit Chamber of Commerce for more information: 207-646-2939.
Escape the commercialism of Christmas at one of the annual Candlelight Carols services at Trinity Church in Boston on December 19 at 4 p.m. and December 20 at 7 p.m. What a spectacular setting! The American Institute of Architects named this Copley Square landmark one of the 10 greatest public buildings in the country. There is no admission fee, but the suggested donation is $10. Preferred tickets to a Candlelight Carols Benefit on December 20 at 4 p.m. are available in advance for $100, $65 and $35. Call 617-536-0944, ext. 210 for more information.
7. Christmas Time at Santa's Village
Santa's Village in Jefferson, New Hampshire, is at its most festive at Christmas time. Visit with Santa and his elves, enjoy theme rides and see magical shows from 11 a.m. until 7 p.m. on Saturdays and 11 a.m. until 6 p.m. on Sundays in December and also on Friday, November 27, from 11 a.m. until 7 p.m. and Monday and Tuesday, December 28 and 29, from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. My Santa's Village photo gallery will give you a visual preview of the park. For more information call 603-586-4445.
8. Christmas Prelude in Kennebunkport
Kennebunkport's annual Christmas Prelude from December 4 through 13 ushers in the holidays as only Maine can, with Santa arriving via lobster boat, the lighting of the lobster trap tree, a Down East lobster bake and many other festive events.
Woodstock, Vermont, hosts its 26th annual Wassail Weekend December 11-13 featuring concerts (including the Vienna Boys Choir this year), children's theater productions, a Medieval Wassail Feast, a yule log on the green and a parade of horses and riders. For more information, call 802-457-3555 or toll free, 888-496-6378.
10. Winterfest
The Connecticut Trolley Museum in East Windsor, Connecticut, celebrates Winterfest on Thursday through Sunday evenings November 27 through December 27, plus Monday and Tuesday, December 28-29. Bundle up and climb aboard the "electric sleigh," a restored antique trolley, for a three-mile ride through a "tunnel of lights" featuring more than 6,000 bulbs. Tickets are $10 for adults, $8 for those 62 and over, $6 for children ages 2 to 12 and $3 for children under 2. For more information, call 860-627-6540.
