The best Christmas towns in the U.S. to get you in the holiday spirit

Even without snow, this charming Danish-inspired city in southern California (less than an hour away from Santa Barbara) turns up the hygge for its annual Julefest. The Christmas celebration, which this season begins on November 28 and ends January 4, includes a Julefest parade (complete with marching bands) and a proper Santa’s Village, where photos with Santa are totally free. A tree-lighting ceremony on December 5 kicks off the festivities with caroling, ballerinas, and the arrival of Santa himself. For a true feeling of all things Nordic, look for the Solvang nisser (the Danish word for “gnome”) during the city-wide Christmas gnome hunt, where, if you find one, you win a prize. And, if those holiday gnomes stoked your curiosity, you can also take a candlelight tour led by a local guide dressed in classic Danish storybook clothing, to learn about the city of Solvang and Danish yuletide traditions.

Time Out tip: Did you really visit the most Danish town in the U.S. if you didn’t eat some pancakes? For some of the best of Solvang, head to Paula’s Pancake House.

You can visit Santa almost anywhere during the holiday season—even your local mall, if you must—but he accepts visitors all year in North Pole, Alaska. Is this really where Santa lives, you ask? Not exactly, considering that it’s about 1,700 miles from the real geographic North Pole (and Santa’s official “hometown” is Rovaniemi, Finland). Nevertheless, you can’t knock the small city’s year-round spirit. Here, according to TripAdvisor, the Santa Claus House is the main attraction (where you can meet Santa and his reindeer), while the city itself leans into its name with candy cane-striped light posts and street names like Kris Kringle Drive and Snowman Lane. Each year, the local post office receives hundreds of thousands of letters to Santa, and you can send mail to friends and family with a North Pole postmark to make your holiday correspondence extra special.

Time Out tip: Think you need to travel to Finland or Norway to see the northern lights? Think again. The northern lights are possible to see in North Pole eight months out of the year (from August to April). Pair seeing the aurora borealis while dipping in some hot springs by booking this Northern Lights & Chena Hot Springs Tour.

Judging by the name alone, you can tell this small Indiana town does not mess around when it comes to Christmas. From its Holiday World theme park (with rides like Rudolph’s Roundup and Reindeer Games) to Santa’s Candy Castle (a sweet shop featuring hard-to-find candies and homemade confections), the town of Santa Claus is Christmassy all year long. The local post office receives thousands of letters from kids yearly, and volunteer elves write back to each one. Once the Christmas season officially starts, there’s even more holiday cheer with Christmas-themed fireworks, reindeer rides and the Santa Claus Land of Lights—a 1.2-mile drive-through event that tells the story of Rudolph (you know: the one with the shiny nose).

Time Out tip: Kris Kringle gets all of the love, but Mrs. Claus deserves some attention, too. Meet her at Santa Claus Museum and Village on select dates throughout November and December.

Little old Martinsburg in West Virginia takes Christmas quite seriously. This season, the festivities begin at Christmas on Main on December 6. There will be an annual tree lighting ceremony, accompanied by live music, food trucks, the Naughty & Nice Bar and free children’s activities. A few days later is the Christmas Parade, which is taking applicants to be a part of until November 15 (though, note, there is only one Santa allowed—the real one, of course, so no one is permitted to dress as Santa Claus). In true West Virginia fashion, Colonial Christmas at the Adam Stephen House is another way to celebrate the holiday season. This year will include reenactment skits and a bonfire on December 6, 7, 13 and 14.

Time Out tip: History buffs, rejoice. The Belle Boyd House (part of the Berkley County Historical Society), named after the infamous Civil War spy, will host an annual Christmas open house on December 6 from 5 to 7pm where you can tour some exhibits as they’re decked out for the holidays.

Named “the most beautiful small town in America” by Rand McNally and USA Today, Bardstown delivers southern hospitality and plenty of season’s greetings. Beginning November 28, “Light Up Bardstown” creates a winter wonderland along Main Street, including an ice skating rink, where numerous homes and businesses are illuminated. You can also take in a Christmas parade with floats and bands, hop aboard the North Pole Express where kids will get to meet Santa and receive gifts like a hot cocoa cup. For a different kind of spirit, visit nearby Maker’s Mark Distillery, located just 30 minutes from Bardstown.

Time Out tip: When in Kentucky, bourbon is the theme year-round. Outside of popular Maker’s Mark, head to Heaven Hill Bourbon Experience and Bardstown Bourbon Company.

Unsurprisingly, a city nicknamed Corning (also known as Crystal City) celebrates its connection with the glass industry during the holidays. The Corning Museum of Glass features a Holiday Open House with free admission, glass-making projects, cookie decorating and a special Mr. and Mrs. Claus appearance. Plus, there’s a showstopping 14-foot-tall Christmas tree composed of 2,000 glass ornaments created on-site (you can also create your own handmade glass ornament if you’re feeling crafty). Marching bands and adorned floats go through downtown during the city’s annual Parade of Lights, and Corning’s Sparkle event offers choral performances of holiday music and horse-drawn carriage rides.

Time Out tip: Located less than an hour away is one of the most beautiful state parks in New York: Watkins Glen State Park. Though conditions can vary in the winter, if you want to check out some frozen waterfalls, make sure to stop by.

The quaint town of Frankenmuth, Michigan—dubbed “Michigan’s Little Bavaria”—goes all out for Christmas. It’s anchored by Bronner’s Christmas Wonderland, which bills itself as the largest Christmas store in the country and features a building with more than seven acres of year-round Christmas cheer. (And there are another 27 acres of landscaped grounds, including three 17-foot-tall Santas at the entrance.) The rest of Frankenmuth takes Christmas seriously, too, with offerings like the Golden Ticket Trolley for a Christmas Light tour, a ride with the Frankenmuth Fantasy Carriage Company to view the town from a horse-drawn carriage, the Silent Night Memorial Chapel to see a replica of the original chapel that marks the site where “Silent Night” was first sung on Christmas Eve in 1818 and the Frankenmuth Ice Rink. You can even see reindeers in training here at Grandpa Tiny’s Heritage Farm.

Time Out tip: Enjoy Bavaria sans passport by booking a stay at Baravian Inn Lodge. Check out the upside-down Christmas tree in the lobby, which nods to German tradition, and for something unexpected, head to the indoor Bavarian Inn Lodge Waterpark, which is great for kiddos and adults, as it’s home to Michigan’s first swim-up bar.

Leavenworth is truly a winter wonderland destination. Home to the Nutcracker Museum (where you’ll find over 9,000 festive figures), a reindeer farm that’s open year-round and the Gingerbread Factory (which serves tasty treats even when it’s not technically gingerbread season), this place has all the holiday cheer you can handle. In December, the Village of Lights: Christmastown amps up the Christmas celebrations with breathtaking light displays (complete with more than half a million bulbs), festive German food and carolers performing in the town’s lovely gazebo. While here, enjoy abundant winter activities, including sledding and cross-country skiing, then warm up with a toasty fire at the Bavarian Lodge.

Time Out tip: There’s a wide selection of Bavarian fare in town. Start your mornings off at Bavarian Bagel Co., and later in the evening, head to München Haus for some bratwurst, kraut and apple cider.

Everything’s bigger in Texas, which also goes for Christmas celebrations. Grapevine, the self-proclaimed Christmas capital of Texas, boasts over 1,400 holiday events spanning over the course of 40 days. There’s an ornament-making class, performances of Elf and Home Alone, a Christmas wine train and multiple parades—including a drone show that can be enjoyed while eating dinner. Grapevine also has a North Pole Express train for families and a memorable wine train excursion for adults (yes, please). But if you’re craving a classic white Christmas experience, head to Great Wolf Lodge Waterpark’s Snowland for twinkling lights, hot cocoa and indoor snow showers.

Time Out tip: Book a stay at Hotel Vin, an Autograph Collection for ski-lodge-themed bubble igloos at their new Winter Wonderland Experience on the WineYard.

Fans of Gilmore Girls might expect to see Lorelai and Rory strolling through this adorable Connecticut town as close to Stars Hollow as you can get in real life. See a festive Main Street during the town’s annual Holiday Stroll (think horse-and-carriage rides with Santa), or ride the Essex Steam Train. In the Witch Hazel Works Building, enjoy breakfast with Santa on select dates throughout the month of December, and on November 15 and 22, don your most royal outfits at the second annual Holiday Princess Jubilee, where brunch will be served. 

Time Out tip: For Dragonfly Inn vibes, spend the night at the outrageously charming Griswold Inn.

Step into a twinkly painting of historic inns, covered bridges, and charming holiday activities at Woodstock’s Wassail Weekend, a perfect way to get in the holiday spirit. In this quintessential Vermont destination, you can take a carriage ride around town, watch the Wassail parade, build a gingerbread house, go caroling on the green and skate with Santa. Head over to Billings Farm and see 19th-century holiday traditions—like candle dipping, snowshoe treks and sleigh rides—and spend the night at the Woodstock Inn, the picturesque hotel of your dreams.

Time Out tip: It’s not all Christmas carols and jingle bells when it comes to holiday music. For a night out on the town, head to the Holiday Cabaret on December 6 at Barnard Town Hall.

With its 19th-century buildings and cozy bed and breakfasts, Galena has a warm (and especially LGBTQ-welcoming) spirit. Start the festive season with the Galena Holidaze Festival, a family-friendly event featuring caroling and items for sale made by local and traveling artisans. Don’t miss Holiday Fire in the Sky, a stunning fireworks display that lights up downtown and the snow-covered countryside. The town literally glows during Night of the Luminaria & Living Windows when over 5,000 candles line the streets, steps and sidewalks and shops create extraordinary window displays.

Time Out tip: Galena is a foodie’s paradise, and it can be hard to narrow down where to go. For the most festive food tour in town, sign up for the Ugly Sweater Food Tour hosted by Galena Foodie Adventures.

Kennebunkport, a perfect weekend getaway from Boston, puts a unique Maine twist on the holidays with its annual Christmas Prelude. Here, a lobster-trap Christmas tree and a homemade hat parade reel in the small-town charm while Santa even treks up and down the Kennebunk River on a lobster boat. The town also has plenty of festivities, like a gift market that will be open daily at the Nathaniel Lord’s Carriage House and candlelight caroling at the local monastery. Get your holiday shopping fix at the Shops at Morning Walk Christmas Story Village, featuring crafting and plenty of photo ops. For a sweet treat, grab a cup of cocoa and hop aboard the Prelude Trolley or a lobster boat for a scenic ride—you won’t regret it.

Time Out tip: Reindeer aren’t our only furry friends celebrating the holidays. For one of the most adorable sightings, head to the Kennebunkport Annual Pooch Parade, where you can witness all of the holly, jolly pups donning Christmas attire.