Season’s greetings! We can’t get enough of the holiday season on the North Shore, between the snowy weather, the robust arts and music programming, and the sense of community everywhere you turn. Below are twelve of our favorite ways to get out and celebrate the season. You’ll find details on recurring classics like Winterlights, the Marblehead Christmas Walk, and Rockport New Year’s Eve, along with some can’t-miss new happenings this year like a fantastic lineup of shows at Rockport Music’s Shalin Liu and a new exhibit at the PEM. Read on for more, and happy holidays!
Christmas at Castle Hill
Nov. 29 – Dec. 29
Every December sees Castle Hill on the Crane Estate get all dressed up for the holidays, and this year is no different. Following the theme “festival of color,” each room in the house will follow a different color scheme — but they’ll all be opulent and holiday-themed. Guests can expect freshly baked cookies and hot chocolate during their visit, but if you’re feeling a little hungrier, enjoy a special Christmas tea in the Great House.
thetrustees.org/place/castle-hill-on-the-crane-estate
Winterlights at the Stevens-Coolidge House & Gardens
Nov. 29 – Jan. 4
Another holiday tradition from the Trustees, Winterlights returns to the Stevens-Coolidge House & Gardens in North Andover this year. Opening on Friday, Nov. 29 and running through Saturday, January 4, the event features thousands of twinkling lights in festive displays as you stroll throughout the property’s grounds, enjoying music and seasonal snacks, too. Winterlights also returns to Naumkeag in Stockbridge and the Eleanor Cabot Bradley Estate in Canton.
thetrustees.org/place/stevens-coolidge-house-and-gardens
Holiday Shows at Rockport Music
Dec. 1 – 15
Throughout December, get into the holiday spirit with one of Rockport Music’s many festive shows. Enjoy an Irish holiday celebration in song and dance with Christmas with the Celts on December 12, catch the Back Bay Ringers on December 15, listen to folk legend Livingston Taylor on December 21, or head to one of the Shalin Liu’s other holiday shows this season.
tickets.rockportmusic.org/events
A Christmas Carol at North Shore Music Theatre
Dec. 5 – 22
Another tradition that’s synonymous with the holidays here on the North Shore? A Christmas Carol at North Shore Music Theatre in Beverly. David Coffey reprises his iconic role as Ebenezer Scrooge in the classic Charles Dickens tale about the spirit of Christmas and the power of generosity. NSMT’s award-winning production has been seen by over a million viewers since its inception in 1989, and is now back for its 35th year. They’ll play 15 shows over the span of two and a half weeks, and tickets are already going fast.
Newburyport Holiday Invitation Nights
Back for another year, Holiday Invitation Nights return to downtown Newburyport this December for three nights of shopping, dining, and holiday cheer. On three Fridays in December — the 6th, the 13th, and the 20th — you can expect live music and shopping discounts throughout downtown Newburyport along with the Tannery and Merrimac Place, all from 6 to 9 p.m. You’ll find complimentary refreshments at plenty of retailers, too.
business.newburyportchamber.org/events
Riverwalk Brewing Holiday Market
Dec. 14 – 15
Shop small this holiday season and visit the holiday market at Riverwalk Brewing during the second weekend in December. Over two dozen local artisans and vendors will set up shop at the Newburyport brewery on Saturday, December 14 and Sunday, December 15 from noon to 5 p.m., giving patrons the perfect spot to pick up a couple holiday gifts while enjoying a beer and some food with friends or family.
© The Phoebus Foundation, Antwerp
Saints, Sinners, Lovers, and Fools: 300 Years of Flemish Masterworks at PEM
Dec. 15 – May 4
Opening on Saturday, December 14, Saints, Sinners, Lovers, and Fools: 300 Years of Flemish Masterworks brings a lineup of new medieval, Renaissance, and Baroque paintings and sculptures to the Peabody Essex Museum in Salem. The exhibit runs through early May and will display masterpieces by artists like Hans Memling, Jan Gossaert, Catharina van Hemessen, Peter Paul Rubens, and Jacob Jordaens, who worked in what is today northern Belgium and southern Netherlands between the 15th and 17th centuries.
pem.org/exhibitions/saints-sinners-lovers-and-fools-300-years-of-flemish-masterworks
Firebird Pops Orchestra at Hammond Castle
Dec. 20 – 22
The weekend before Christmas, head to the Hammond Castle Museum in Gloucester for a night of festive chamber music. Set in the castle’s stunning Great Hall, “Christmas at the Castle” will see the Firebird Pops Orchestra’s strings, brass, and choir perform holiday favorites like “O Holy Night,” “Sleigh Ride,” and “Carol of the Bells.” The show returns for four performances this year: Friday, December 20 at 7:30 p.m.; Saturday, December 21 at 5 p.m. and 8 p.m.; and Sunday, December 22 at 5 p.m. And, as always, the museum will be decked out for the holidays through January 1.
Rockport New Year’s Eve
Dec. 31
For almost thirty years, New Year’s Eve has brought a huge celebration of the arts to downtown Rockport. This year sees the same, with dozens of artists and performers heading to Rockport on December 31 for an evening of bustling family-friendly fun throughout the whole town. Buttons, for sale online and at various businesses around Cape Ann, give you entry to all of the night’s events like music and theater performances. But some events remain free and open to all, like psychic readers, a lineup of food trucks, stargazing with the Gloucester Area Astronomy Club, and the midnight ball drop in Dock Square.