The Best Events Happening in December

Santa’s Christmas is back at Charmingfare Farm on weekends in December

Through December 21, Elf the Musical, Portsmouth

This winter, let the Seacoast Rep take you on a journey through the seven layers of the candy cane forest, through the sea of swirly twirly gum drops and through the Lincoln Tunnel in the musical adaptation of the beloved holiday classic, Elf! Ticket prices and showtimes vary; The Seacaost Repertory Theatre, 125 Bow St., Portsmouth; seacoastrep.org

November 14- January 18, LaBelle Lights

There’s a festive feel in the air with the magical display of lights in Derry. More than 500,000 twinkling lights light up the night at Labelle Winery. The outdoor light display is a walking tour along designated paths through the golf course. Visitors will enjoy a totally different theme each week of the event! Ticket prices and times vary., LaBelle Winery, 14 Route 111, Derry. labellewinery.com

November 15- December 28, NH Jingle Bells Winery Tour 2025

The NH Jingle Bells Winery Tour is back for a seventh season! Experience the wonders of the holiday season while touring through fifteen festive wineries. On this self-guided tour through NH wine country, tasters will receive a unique holiday ornament from each location, and enjoy a wine or spirit, along with a light bite on weekends. Attendees who visit every winery on the tour, and mail in their completed ticket will be entered to win one of three exciting gift bundles! If you share your holiday cheer and special moments along the tour on social media and use @NHJingleBellsWineryTour & #NHJBWT2025, you could be featured! Wear your festive holiday attire, as photos are encouraged! Your ticket includes admission to the twelve participating wineries: Alpine Garden Winery, Appolo Vineyard, Averill House Vineyard, Black Bear Vineyard, Coffin Cellars Winery, Flag Hill Distillery & Winery, Front Four Cellars, Hermit Woods Winery, LaBelle Winery; Amherst, Derry, Nok Vino, Seven Birches Winery; Riverwalk Resort, Sweet Baby Vineyard, Whippletree Winery and White Mountain Winery. $65- $115. Weekends from 12 p.m.- 5 p.m. Locations vary. (603) 659-2949; Facebook. New Hampshire Magazine is a proud sponsor of this event.

Gift of Lights, Loudon, November 27 – January 3

Remember when your parents used to stuff you and your siblings in the van to drive around checking out neighbors’ Christmas lights? This is that drive and then some. More than 400 light displays, 60 holiday scenes and two million LED bulbs light up New Hampshire Motor Speedway. Spectators are urged to drive the route (including the tunnel and part of the track’s road course) and revel in the sights around them. (603) 783-4931; nhms.com

Journey to the North Pole, Locations vary, November 28 – December 23

Journey to the North Pole and Santa’s workshop. Sip on hot chocolate and enjoy treats as you take a scenic train ride through the White Mountains. At the North Pole, you’ll be greeted by Santa’s elves, who will make sure you remember to drop your letter to Santa at his workshop. In addition to Christmas carols, enjoy a reading of the tale “The Night Before Christmas.” journeytothenorthpole.org

“A Christmas Carol” at the Palace Theatre, Manchester, November 28 – December 28

Watch your favorite Charles Dickens Christmas novel come to life on the stage at the Palace Theatre. Follow the story of Ebenezer Scrooge on Christmas Eve, accompanied by lively song and dance, actors from all over the country and a live orchestra. Don’t miss out on a chance to see an old miser forever changed by holiday joy. (603) 668-5588; palacetheatre.org

Weekends in December, Candlelight Stroll, Portsmouth

Candlelight Stroll invites visitors to step into the past and experience 350+ years of seasonal and holiday traditions in the Puddle Dock neighborhood. The Museum’s furnished historic houses are adorned with handmade decorations created from greens and dried flowers from the Museum’s heirloom gardens. Visitors call upon the many families who once lived in the waterfront neighborhood – portrayed by costumed role-players – who share stories, customs, and seasonal traditions. Additionally enjoy hot apple cider, a warming bonfire and Ice Dance International’s Currier and Ives Vintage Christmas Skaters for several performances each night of this treasured event. Ticket prices and times vary. Strawbery Banke Museum, 17 Hancock St., Portsmouth; strawberybanke.org

Santa’s Christmas at Charmingfare Farm, Candia, Weekends in December

Charmingfare Farm in Candia hosts this annual Christmas extravaganza where timeless traditions will please the whole family. It all starts with a horse-drawn sleigh ride through the Christmas Trail, which features 12 charming holiday scenes to decorate the way to the North Pole. Santa will wait for families in the Reindeer Barn where the kid can hand off their Christmas letters and feed the live reindeer. Be sure to visit Mrs. Claus for sugar cookies and hot cocoa too. (603) 483-5623; visitthefarm.com 

December 3-21, The Ogunquit Playhouse at the Music Hall Presents: White Christmas, Portsmouth

The Ogunquit Playhouse’s production of Irving Berlin’s White Christmas returns to The Music Hall this holiday season. Packed full of dazzling dance numbers, iconic songs such as “Happy Holiday,” “Sisters,” “Blue Skies,” and the beloved title song, as well as actors straight from Broadway, you aren’t going to want to miss this “holiday card come to life.” The magic of Broadway swings into the Historic Theater with spectacular dance numbers, nostalgic songs, and a few surprises that are sure to wow you. Ticket prices and times vary, 28 Chestnut St., Portsmouth; themusichall.org

December 5-6, Bedford Women’s Club Festival of the Trees, Bedford

The Bedford Women’s Club Festival of Trees and Holiday Market has become a perennial “must do” community event. Admission is free. Dozens of fully decorated trees with various and interesting themes will be on display to win in the raffle, along with holiday merchandise from local vendors and musical entertainment by local performers. Santa will listen to wishes and pose for you to take photos. There will also be a free craft area for children, door prizes, and more. Raffle tickets for the trees will be on sale at the door, and anyone who donates canned or boxed food items for the Bedford Food Pantry will receive a free raffle ticket. Proceeds benefit the BWC scholarship and charitable donations fund. 4 p.m.- 7 p.m., 11 a.m.-4 p.m., Bedford Presbyterian Church, 4 Church Road, Bedford. bedfordwomensclub.org

December 6, The Art of the Scent: Botanical Perfume Blending, Lincoln

Join Seven Birches Winery for a scent-sational day with Bloom Lab Perfume! At this event, you’ll learn the art of natural perfumery and blend your own custom perfume to take home. $100 per person, 10 a.m.-12:30 p.m., 22 South Mountain Drive, Lincoln; sevenbirches.com

December 6, Illuminated Holiday Parade and Tree Lighting, Portsmouth

Head to Market Square for music and a tree lighting, followed by a hometown holiday-themed parade. This event will illuminate your night and ignite your Christmas spirit with a visit from the jolly star himself, Santa. To help others and spread holiday cheer, bring a nonperishable food item to donate to volunteers walking through the parade with shopping carts for the city’s annual food drive. This event is a part of Vintage Christmas. Downtown Portsmouth; portsmouthnh.gov

Wolfeboro Festival of Trees, Wolfeboro, December 6-14

More than 65 exquisitely decorated Christmas trees deck the halls of the Wright Museum for this annual event. Marvel at the colorful conifers (spread across two floors) and enjoy live entertainment from local performing groups such as Expressions Dance Academy. (603) 948-5504; wolfeborofestivaloftrees.com

December 6-7 & 13-14, Christmas with the Cows, Canterbury

Come celebrate the holiday season at Brookford Farm! Join us for a fun-filled day of festivities with our adorable cows. Get into the holiday spirit with family friendly DIY’s and delicious farm fresh foods. This is the perfect event for families looking for a unique Christmas experience. Don’t miss out on this special opportunity to create lasting memories with the cows this holiday season! $7-$17, 11 a.m.- 5 p.m., Brookford Farm, 250 West Rd., Canterbury; brookfordfarm.com

December 13, 20^th Annual Currier and Ives Cookie Tour, Locations vary

Join the businesses, B&B’s, inns and restaurants of the Monadnock Region for a cookie tour like no other! Stop into participating businesses to enjoy holiday cookies and revel in the season. On the tour, you’ll also recipes for the cookies you sample and additional refreshments while you support your favorite local businesses. If you stop at 10 locations on the tour, you’ll even be entered to win a gift certificate that can be redeemed at any participating tour location. Locations vary. 10 a.m.- 4 p.m.; currierandivescookiestour.com

December 13-14, 28^th Annual Inn to Inn Cookie Tour, Locations vary

Participants will not only tour inns decked in all their holiday finery offering signature holiday cookies and candies, but will receive recipes from each inn in a Holiday Recipe Cookbook to take home and a chance to win a $250 gift certificate for a getaway at the inn of their choice. Stay at one of the participating inns and you’ll also receive a keepsake ornament. Chosen by editors of New Hampshire Magazine as “The Best Sugar High”, $1,000 of the proceeds from the event will benefit End 68 Hours of Hunger (Established in New Hampshire in 2011, this weekend program puts nourishing food in the hands of school children to carry them through the weekend. “End 68 Hours of Hunger” is a private, not-for-profit, effort to confront the approximately 68 hours of hunger that some school children experience between the free lunch they receive in school Friday and the free breakfast they receive in school Monday). The tour stretches from Jackson to Madison, NH, with eleven inns opening their doors to those in search of fabulous holiday treats, recipes and decorating ideas. No inn is more than fifteen minutes from the next, with many much closer. This year’s participating inns are; Cranmore Mountain Lodge and Samuel O’Reilly House in North Conway; Inn at Crystal Lake in Eaton; Inn at Ellis River, Inn at Thorn Hill and Whitney’s Inn in Jackson; Purity Spring Resort in Madison; The Preserve at Chocorua and The Farmstand in Chocorua; Snowvillage Inn in Snowville; and TuckAway Suites at East Branch in Intervale. 11 a.m.- 3 p.m.;countryinnsinthewhitemountains.com

December 14, Capital Jazz Orchestra- Holiday Pops, Concord

Ring in the season with style, swing, and a touch of sparkle as the Capital Jazz Orchestra, under the direction of maestro Clayton “Skip” Poole, presents its beloved annual Holiday POPS show! This festive tradition brings the spirit of the holidays to life with a joyful program filled with big band holiday classics, jazz renditions of seasonal standards, and heartwarming musical moments for the whole family. Joining the orchestra this year is acclaimed narrator and longtime NHPR voice, Laura Knoy, who will lend her signature warmth and storytelling to the evening, along with dynamic vocalist, CJ Poole, whose rich crooning and smooth style are sure to dazzle. Ticket prices vary, 4 p.m., Chubb Theatre at CCA, 44 S. Main St., Concord; ccanh.com

December 18, The Jonas Brothers: Greetings from Your Hometown, Manchester

Jonas Brothers have been a pop-rock phenomenon for nearly two decades, with five full-length albums that have sold over 17 million copies worldwide, and concert tours grossing over $300 million. In 2008, they also became the youngest band ever to grace the cover of Rolling Stone. After six years of exploring solo projects, the trio reunited in 2019 to release the Grammy Award-nominated, multi-platinum song “Sucker,” their first No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100. Ticket prices vary, 7:30 p.m., SNHU Arena, 555 Elm St., Manchester; snhuarena.com

December 18, The Greg and The Morning Buzz Christmas Ball, Concord

The Greg and The Morning Buzz Ball is Back. Join Greg and the Morning Buzz Team as they host an all-star cast of musicians, performers, comedians and special guests. A portion of the proceeds go to Lend a Helping Can – a 501c3 Charity that serves 11 Soup Kitchens in New Hampshire. ccanh.com