Category Archives: holidays

December 24, 2020

Look Park Holiday Light Display (Look Park, Florence, MA)

By New England Nomad

Date Of Visit: Dec, 23, 2020 (display is up until Jan. 3, 2021)

Location: Frank Newhall Look Park, 300 North Main St, Florence (Northampton), MA

Cost: Free (donations are appreciated)

Parking: There are roughly 50 parking spots at the entrance and several areas to park at along the trail

Universally Accessible: Yes

Dog Friendly: Yes

Highlights: lighted holiday sculptures

Summary: 23 lighted sculptures dot the grounds of Look Park

The pandemic hasn’t stopped the holiday cheer at Look Park in Florence (a village in Northampton) MA. Twenty three lighted displays as well as a few lighted bridges and gazebos brighten up the landscape at Look Park. This socially distant event can be seen from your vehicle. Or, you can walk around the park and view the displays up close. However, it is very dark at night. So do use caution. If you did miss the display before the holiday don’t fret. The display will be up until January 3.

14 Comments | tags: Christmas, holiday, lights, Look Park, Massachusetts, New England, Northampton | posted in Christmas, holidays, lights, sculptures

December 22, 2018

Last-Minute Tacky Shopping Night (Yankee Candle Village, South Deerfield, MA)

By New England Nomad

Date Of Event: December 19, 2018

Location: Yankee Candle Village, 45 Yankee Candle Way, South Deerfield, MA

Highlights: band, ballet dancers, wine and food tasting, ugly Christmas sweaters, extra savings during event

Nothing goes better together than Christmas and…ugly sweaters.

For the second year in a row, Yankee Candle Village hosted a special event to encourage holiday shoppers to dress in their most tacky sweaters.

Yankee Candle is known for their holiday decor and wide selection of all things Christmas. But before you even enter the store, there is a beautiful light display.

2 The Top provided some holiday spirit with their Christmas song covers and a few more contemporary covers.

Dancers from Pioneer Valley Ballet performed in the candle fragrance section of the store.

There was also a wine tasting and food tasting area.

And, of course, there was a holiday sweaters. Some of the sweaters lit up.

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There were sweater families.

And festive friends in sweaters.

The coordinator of the event was on the look for winning sweaters.

And, yes, I did win a prize for one of the best “tacky sweaters.” It’s also my clubbing shirt.

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4 Comments | tags: ballet, Christmas, holidays, Massachusetts, New England, photographs, Photography, photos, South Deerfield, ugly sweaters, Yankee Candle Village | posted in Christmas, holidays, Massachusetts, New England, photographs, photography, photos, South Deerfield, ugly sweaters, Uncategorized

December 17, 2018

Hancock-Adams Common Light Display (Quincy, MA)

By New England Nomad

Dates Of Visit: December, 2018

Location: Hancock-Adams Common, 1305 Hancock St, Quincy, MA

Hours: Dusk until dawn

Handicapped Accessible: Yes

Dog Friendly: Yes

Parking: 1 and 2 hour street parking is available. There is also a parking garage located at 1250 Hancock St

Highlights: holiday lights on display at the Hancock-Adams, Quincy, MA

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The newly constructed Hancock-Adams Common (it was dedicated in Sep. of this year) is home to one of the most festive holiday displays.

The Hancock-Adams Common, named after two of the more prominent residents of Quincy (technically John Hancock was born in what was then known as Braintree but it was later incorporated into what is now known as Quincy). At the north end of the display is John Adams

John Hancock is located at the south part of the display, closer to Quincy Center (or as it is now being called The New Quincy Center)

The center piece of the display is the 60 foot tree.

But the Santa, nutcracker and snowman are all a very close second.

Speaking of Santa, these two Santa Clauses took some time away from the North Pole to check out the display.

Thousands of lights illuminate the common.

The trees reflection so pretty in the gazing ball at City Hall.

The 174 year old Quincy City Hall was also dressed up for the holidays.

The Christmas light display is dog friendly. Al, a 2 year old English Bulldog posed in front of the tree for me.

5 Comments | tags: Christmas, dogs, Hancock-Adams Common, holidays, lights, Massachusetts, New England, photographs, Photography, quincy, Santa | posted in holidays, lights, Massachusetts, quincy, Uncategorized

November 4, 2018

Boston Christmas Festival (Seaport World Trade Center, Boston, MA)

By New England Nomad

Date Of Event: November 2-4, 2018

Location: Seaport World Trade Center, 1 Seaport Lane, Boston, MA

Hours: Friday: Noon-7pm, Saturday: 10 am-6 pm, Sunday: 10 am-5 pm

Cost: $14 per person, kids under 14 get in for free

Parking/Public Transportation:

Seaport Hotel Parking Lot – Sat/Sun = $22 special event parking (flat fee). 200 Seaport Blvd – 4 entrances one on each side of the block across the street from the Boston Christmas Festival. Friday hourly rates apply
391 Congress St – Friday = $24 Saturday and Sunday = $15 per space
SBWTC (South Boston Waterfront Transportation Center) brand new garage – $38 max. Use World Trade Center ramp to walk to Festival

You can also get there by taking the Red Line on the MBTA to South Station and taking the SL 3 (Chelsea) train on the Silver Line to the World Trade Center stop. The World Trade Center is across the street from the train station on WTC Ave

Handicapped Accessible: Yes

Dog Friendly: Service dogs may be allowed

Website: Boston Christmas Festival

Highlights: gingerbread houses, over 350 vendors, cafe, family friendly activities

Tips: you can buy tickets in advance of the website, Fridays are usually the least crowded days to visit, there is a coat check available at the event

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After so many Halloween celebrations, the Christmas spirit is in the air. To kick off the official holiday spirit, the Seaport World Trade Center held their 32nd annual Boston Christmas Festival.

The festival is usually held annually the first weekend of November. Besides the various vendors, the festival also features a Gingerbread house contest.

This Gingerbread Ship won Most Creative.

This house won the Kid’s Choice award.

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I liked this one best. It won “Most Tasty.” You can’t go wrong with that!

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This house won for best decoration.

And, this wintry display won Best In Show.

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Of course, the biggest part of the festival are the shops. With over 350 vendors, there was something for everyone.

There’s nothing like colorful wreaths and trees to get you into the spirit.

The best time to visit the event, in terms of crowds, is Friday (preferable when it begins at noon time on Friday) or early on Saturday and Sunday, although I have remembered walking past the World Trade Center last year during this festival and seeing people waiting outside to get in before the doors opened. Many people were either still at work or more interested in getting home on a Friday night. The festival was actually pretty quiet and I did not have to wait in line to get in. There was lots of room to roam around during my visit. These aisles were surely more packed on Saturday and Sunday.

I particularly liked the wooden decorative displays at Wired Primitives. Based out of Auburn, MA, Wired Primitives uses pine to make these displays. They are all hand made and each piece is hand drawn and made by Beth, the owner of the company.

Another cute shop was this vendor who makes all of the outer shells of her ornaments out of egg shells.

The ladies at One Simple Chick have some home made wreaths and other holiday items.

We’ll be needing these soon enough. In fact, I’m pretty sure some of us New Englanders have already used them.

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Kathleen at Holiday House Treasures makes seasonal figurines,

Lynne at Garden Treasures Designs makes floral arrangements for weddings as well as arrangements and decorative items for the holidays.

Pauline at Country Snowmen and Friends makes all of her holiday decorations by hand. Her shop is located in Portsmouth, NH.

These holiday goods are made out of re-purposed or “up purposed” items.

Some of the vendors and shoppers got in the holiday spirit.

Nothing says “Merry Christmas” like illuminated hats! I purposefully underexposed this photo (yeah, I did it on purpose, sure let’s go with that) to show off the lights on these hats.

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This vendor was dressed for the season. He told me he was planning on wearing a different holiday themed suit for each day of the festival.

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I saw so many people dressed with antler headwear and other holiday headwear. I love the snowman hat in this photo!

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Although it may be too late to attend the festival this year, this annual event occurs every year at the World Trade Center in Boston. See you there next year!

10 Comments | tags: arts and crafts, Boston, Boston Christmas Festival, Christmas, holidays, Massachusetts, New England, photographs, Photography, photos | posted in Boston, Christmas, holidays, Massachusetts, New England, photographs, photography, photos, Uncategorized

December 24, 2016

Holiday Trellis (Christopher Columbus Waterfront Park, Boston, MA)

By New England Nomad

Dates Of Event: Official lighting was November 21. Photos were taken December 9, 2016

Location: Christopher Columbus Waterfront Park, 110 Atlantic Ave, Boston, MA (near Tia’s and the Marriott Long Wharf Hotel)

Hours: Lights go on at dusk every day through out the holidays

Cost: Free

Parking: Parking in this part of the city is tough. If you can’t find street parking spaces, there is a parking garage at the Vpne parking garage located at 200 State St which is nearby. The Aquarium (on the MBTA’s Blue Line) and South Station (the Red Line on the MBTA) stops are also within walking distance.

Handicapped Accessible: Yes

Dog Friendly: Yes

Highlights: Festive lights and decorations

Web Site: Holiday Trellis

There are several holiday displays in the city of Boston. You can skate and shop at the new Boston Winter attraction. You can view the light display at Faneuil Hall. Or, you can check out the tree at the Boston Common.

But, there is one holiday display that often goes unnoticed despite its festive display.

The Holiday Trellis display at Christopher Columbus Park in Boston’s historic North End, is home to one of the more beautiful light displays in the city.

The 260 foot trellis is lit up with 50,000 blue lights. A wreath decorated with a red bow and white lights hangs at the entrance to the trellis. Fourteen trees in the park are also lit up.

The lighting of the trellis is a big event at Christopher Columbus Waterfront Park. Refreshments are provided and a musical guest performs each year (this year the musical performance was by Sharon Zeffiro).

While playing with my camera, I noticed how the path and lights looked much brighter with certain settings.

While those phoros look cool, the actual colors are not as bright.

The trellis is pet friendly and the dogs seem to really like the lights which seem to sparkle when they shine on the path. Denali, a 1 year old Golden Retriever, stopped chasing the spots on the path to pose for a quick photo.

Happy holidays, however you celebrate (or don’t)! Thank you all for the holiday cheer and for all of your support throughout the year!

18 Comments | tags: Boston, holiday, lights, Massachusetts, New England, photographs, Photography, photos, trellis | posted in Boston, holidays, Massachusetts, New England, photographs, photography, photos, trellis, Uncategorized

December 20, 2016

Christmas By Candlelight at Old Sturbridge Village (Sturbridge, MA)

By New England Nomad

Dates of Event: Every weekend in December, 2016, except Christmas Eve and Christmas Day (photos taken on December 16, 2016)

Location: Old Sturbridge Village (1 Old Sturbridge Village Rd.
Sturbridge, MA) (about an hour and half west of Boston and 45 minutes east of Springfield, MA)

Price: Adults: $22 | Youth ages 4 –12: $14 | Children 3 and under: Free (there are discounts if you’re in the military and if you purchase your tickets before December 1st for future reference)

Hours: 3:00 pm – 9:00 pm for the Christmas By Candlelight event (regular November hours are 9:30 -4:00 but their hours and the days they are open change depending on the time of the year)

Parking:There are an ample parking in the parking lot but it does get full during big events like the Christmas By Candlelight event

Handicapped Accessible: No, unfortunately, many of the houses do not have ramps

Dog Friendly: No

Highlights: family-friendly, historical, living museum, actors, carolers, animals, horse drawn carriage

Web Site: Christmas By Candlelight At Old Sturbridge Village

Stage coach rides, carolers, time period actors, Christmas trees; these are a few of the magical attractions at the annual Candlelight Christmas event at Old Sturbridge Village in Sturbridge, Massachusetts.

The first exhibit at the Old Sturbridge Village Museum is the gingerbread house contest. The contest is broken into 4 categories: adult professional (there are professional gingerbread house makers?), adult, youth and family. Some of the designs are very creative. Each visitor to the museum could vote for their favorite.

There are many houses with living actors who answer questions about the traditions and how Christmas was celebrated during the colonial and post colonial days,

There were also stations where you could get some mulled cider and, appropriately enough, freshly roasted chestnuts…on an open fire no less.

The houses were all decorated with lights (for safety purposes, lights replaced the candles which would have been used to light up the houses). I have tried to show a progression of how the houses looked as darkness descended on the village so there may be some duplicate photos of the same buildings.

All of the houses were open to the public, especially since it was another cold New England afternoon. The homes were all decorated in different eras. In fact, one could see the decor of diffeerent eras in each room in the house.

This shoppe was a realistic version of the shoppes of the day.

There were actors throughout the village. The last two gentlemen pictured below were playing instruments of the day. The man in the second photo is playing a Psaltery, an instrument dating back to the 3 B.C.E.

In one of the houses, The Ghost of Christmas Present waited for us. He told me he hasn’t had to scare anyone since Scrooge (not even any reality stars or politicians, apparently). So, he’s a pretty easyy going guy I guess. Tiny Tim’s cane leaned on a chair in the corner.

This actor was pretty quiet. He didn’t tell me much about his character. Hey, wait a second…

Of course there were carolers roaming the village and breaking into song when the mood struck them. They also sang, appropriately enough, “Oh Christmas Tree!” at the Christmas tree lighting ceremony.

It was too cold outside (single digits at some points of the evening) for most of the animals. But, the chickens and some chicks were in the barn.

There were also some bulls on the farm. They’re such beautiful animals.

And, of course, the horses that pulled the horse drawn carriage and stage coach. Don’t you just love how they walk?

Happy holidays too all and don’t forget to leave out your shoes in the hopes of getting carrots!

Below are some videos from my visit to Candlelight Christmas! You’ll have to turn your head or device to watch the tree lighting ceremony ( :

14 Comments | tags: Christmas, holiday, Massachusetts, New England, photographs, Photography, photos | posted in Christmas, holidays, Massachusetts, museum, New England, photographs, photography, photos, Uncategorized

December 17, 2016

Candlelight Stroll at Strawbery Banke (Portsmouth, NH)

By New England Nomad

Dates Of Event: December 3-18 (weekends only), photos taken December 10, 2016

Location: Strawbery Banke Museum (14 Hancock Street
Portsmouth, NH)

Hours: Saturdays, 5-9 pm. Sundays, 4-8 pm

Cost: Tickets are $25/adults, $12.50/children (ages 5-17), and $60/family (covers 2 adults + 2 children age 5-17). Children under 5, free. Active duty military and their families, and veterans, free. Group and corporate rates are available

Parking: There are about 100 parking spots in the lot which fill up quickly. The besgt bet is to park at one of the lots nearby (there are a couple on Court St within walking distance) or ake the Vintage Christmas Trolley

Handicapped Accessible: The main trail is but some of the houses are not handicapped accessible as they do not have ramps

Dog Friendly: No

Highlights: living history museum, ice skating rink, horse drawn carriage rides, musical entertainment, family friendly

Web Site: Strawbery Banke Candlelight Stroll

Christmas in New England was once very different than the Christmas we celebrate these days. The actors at the living history museum do their best to recreate the life of Christmas during the 18th, 19th and early 20th centuries.

The festivites begin with a candlelight stroll in the Portsmouth neighbor. We missed the candlelight stroll because we photographed the Nubble Lighthouse.

The houses are decorated with holiday decor and the actors explain what life was liked in colonial and post colonial America. I love some of the little decorations that gave the museum a Christmassy feel. It’s funny how a well place wreath or a colorful decoration can brighten up a room or doorway.

One of my favorite buildings is (of course) the old time candy shoope. Candies, snacks and foods of all kinds are stocked on the shelves and you can even get some recipes for some of theese foods.

Another one of my favorite buildings was the lantern shop. One of the lantern makers was at work when we visited the shoppe. And, yes, all of the lanterns photographed were hand made and for sale.

In one of the houses, Mrs. Shapiro prepared a Hanukah celebration her 1919 Russian Jewish kitchen.

There was also a horse drawn carriage.

There is also musical entertainment at Strawbery Banke. Carolers, a live band an a pianist are at Strawberry Banke. If you’re lucky, they might even be serving hot apple cider like they were during our visit.

There is also an ice skating rink for skaters of all skill levels to enjoy. The best part of the rink is when the living actors skate together (see video below). The less experienced skaters can use “walkers” to help keep them on their feet which you may see in the video below. A firepit is nearby to help keep the visitors warm.

Although dogs are not allowed at Starwbery Banke (service dogs may be an exception), we did see Meave, a 2 year old mixed breed dog.

Below is a video ofsome of the skilled skaters at the living musuem.

6 Comments | tags: carollers, dog, family friendly, fun, holiday, museum, New England, new hampshire, photographs, Photography, photos, Strawbery Banke Museum | posted in carolers, holidays, New England, new hampshire, photographs, photography, photos, Strawbery Banke Museum, Uncategorized

December 11, 2016

Boston Winter (Boston, MA)

By New England Nomad

Dates Of Event: December 7, 2016 – December 31, 2016 (the skating rink will be open until the end of February, 2017)

Location: Boston City Hall Plaza
1 City Hall Square

Hours:

Chalets
Sunday – Thursday 11am – 7pm
Friday & Saturday 11am – 8pm
Christmas Eve 11am – 4pm
Christmas Day Closed
New Year’s Eve 11am – 6pm
New Year’s Day Closed

Site (Skating & Attractions)
Sunday – Thursday 11am – 9pm
Friday & Saturday 11am – 10pm
Christmas Eve 11am – 4pm
Christmas Day Closed
New Year’s Eve 11am – 6pm
New Year’s Day Closed

Cost: Free

Parking: There are several parking gaarages in the area or you can try street parking (good luck). If you don’t feel like driving, the Government Center Train Stop on the Green Line is directly across from Boston Winter.

Handicapped Accessible: Yes

Dog Friendly: No

Highlights: ice skating rink, shops, dj, shops, lights and ddecorations

Web Site: Boston Winter

In an effort to make the city even more festive, Boston has installed a temporary skating rink and holiday attraction. The 11,000 square foot ice skating path (it’s not really a rink but more of a circular ice path) is open to all skaters of any skill level.

The opening of Boston winter, the attraction nott the actual season, was delayed from December 2nd to December 7th because it was not cold enough to sustain the temperatures needed to keep the rink frozen. Sadly, that is not a problem now.

People of all ages, backgrounds and ability took to the ice and reveled in the ice and atmosphere. It’s a great event for couples and it is very family friendly. I’m always surprised to some degree how well behaved and (usually) considerate people are at these events. The walk ways and standing areas – there is no seating available and I’m sure that is by design – is narrow and congested in some areas but people are pretty courteous.

A dj keeps the event fun and loose. He announced different people’s birthdays and tried to get the crowd excited. He reminded me of the dj’s they used to have at roller skating rinks.

In addition to the skating rink, there are vendors selling a variety of goods from belts and clothing to novelty items.

The lighting and decor of the event is both tasteful yet festive. Very often when people and businesses decorate for the holidays they overdo it. I don’t think this was the case at Boston Winter (ok the tree with the spirals that light up may have been a bit much but I liked it!).

Below is a video of some of the skaters at Boston Winter.

18 Comments | tags: Boston, holiday, ice, ice skating, Massachusetts, New England, photographs, Photography, photos | posted in Boston, holidays, ice, ice skating, New England, photographs, photography, photos, Uncategorized, winter

November 30, 2016

Illuminate Thanksgiving (Plymouth, MA)

By New England Nomad

Date Of Visit: November 19, 2016

Location: Downtown Plymouth, MA (Water, Court and Main Streets)

Hours: 24 hours a day, everyday until the holidays

Cost: Free

Handicapped Accessible: Yes

Dog Friendly: Yes

Highlights: holiday decorations

Web Site: Illuminate Thanksgiving

Plymouth, MA, is beautiful enough on its own. But, Plymouth during the holiday season is simply magical.

As part of their holiday season in Plymouth, MA, Plymouth 400, an organization which promotes the celebration of the upcoming 400th anniversary of the Plymouth Rock landing which will occur in 2020, helped illuminate Plymouth.

The festivities began with a celebration of some of the residents of Plymouth, MA and the surrounding area and some entertainment at the Hedges House on Water Street. The entertainment consisted of interpretive dance, an acapella rendition of John Lennon’s song “Imagine” and a celebration of a family in Massachusetts who helped start a charity which helps buy cellphone minutes for soldiers overseas (Cellphones For Soldiers).

After the Plymouth 400 celebration, the city was aglow with holiday decorations (both Thanksgiving and Christmas).

I was a little disappointed at the lack of decorations and some of the decorations weren’t lit by the time we got there. In fact, some of the better decorations were not on Main and Court Streets but off Water Street like these decorations at CabbyShack and The Tavern On The Wharf.

It is not a long walk to get from Court Street and Main Street. Just walk straight on either street (Main Street becomes Court St and vice versa). I was able to take a few photos of the holiday decorations on Main and Court Streets. It still was enough to get me into the holiday spirit, although it pales in comparison to some of the other displays in New England. At the same time, the scaled down decorations somehow gave it a more “small town” and tasteful feel to it which is also nice. Let’s face it, some places can overdo it with the lights and decorations.

The decorations are still up and a few more have more than likely been added. Plus, there is the annual Kiwanis Christmas Tree Lighting Friday, December 2 from 5:30 to 8 which will really get the city’s holiday season in gear.

I did see a cute dog at the Plymouth 400 celebration. Tully, a 3 and a half month old Labrador, was in the holiday spirit!

2 Comments | tags: Christmas, decorations, dog, fun, Massachusetts, New England, photographs, Photography, photos, Plymouth | posted in Christmas, decorations, dog, fun, holidays, lights, Massachusetts, New England, photographs, photography, photos, Plymouth, Uncategorized

December 10, 2015

Faneuil Hall (Boston, MA)

By New England Nomad

There may be nothing more festive than the holidays in the city. The city is so alive. Lights illuminate the dark city streets. Children gaze at all the trees and decorations. Even adults get into the spirit of the season. This was not more evident than at Faneuil Hall in Boston.

There are many statues and memorials at Faneuil Hall. This statue of Samuel Adams stands in front of Quincy Market. You can see some of the lights in the background. There is so much to photograph in the area and I will include other shots from the area in a blog post another time. I wanted to focus mainly on the holiday decorations and lights in this post.