Discover Christmas, Hanukkah, and Kwanzaa celebrations across North Carolina. Gather the family, go solo, or bring friends—‘tis the season to celebrate your way.
North Carolinians know how to celebrate the holiday season. Cities and towns open the streets for parades, light shows, festivals, and cultural events—taking the stress out of planning your own soiree.
Coordinate a family gathering at a local event, arrange a getaway around a town’s festivities, change up date night to learn about a culture or religion different from your own. Consider a group experience, instead of a holiday gift card exchange.
There are hundreds of activities throughout the state in November and December; this list will help you get started:
1. Apex Chanukah Festival
Where: 63 Hunter St., Apex
When: Dec. 6, 3-6 p.m.
Cost: Free
Chabad of Cary Jewish Center, a synagogue and community center, organizes the annual Apex Chanukah Festival to celebrate the beginning of the Jewish festival of lights. Guests participate in games, crafts, and eat traditional Chanukah foods. The evening finishes with lighting the menorah. The event is open to everyone.
2. The Asheville Holiday Parade
Where: Downtown Asheville
When: Nov. 21, 11 a.m.-2 p.m.
Cost: Free
Grab a patch of sidewalk to watch floats, costumed dancers, community groups, and musical performances process down Asheville’s streets for the The Asheville Holiday Parade.
3. Black Mountain Holly Jolly Celebration and Christmas Parade
Where: Downtown Black Mountain
When: Dec. 4-5
Cost: Free
This longstanding holiday tradition, Holly Jolly, opens the season on Friday with a Christmas window display competition, shopping, carolers, live entertainment, and a visit from Santa. The Black Mountain Christmas Parade marches down State Street on Saturday afternoon at 4 p.m.
4. The Carolina Holiday Light Spectacular
Where: 11611 N. Community House Road, Charlotte
When: Nov. 27-Dec. 30, 5:30-9:30 p.m.
Cost: Tickets start at $10 per person, depending on date and time of entry. Options for family packages and add ons such as The Winter Wonderland Carnival, Santa’s Private Workshop: Elf Academy, and VIP admission are available.
For the fifth year, Ballantyne’s Backyard is hosting The Carolina Holiday Light Spectacular. Guests enjoy more than one million lights along a half-mile trail with live entertainment, interactive scenes, life-size snow globes, glowing ice castle, and princess carriage. Play on the illuminated Elf Playground and watch for Santa Claus through Dec. 23. The Holiday Village, featuring seasonal shops, food trucks, drinks, and seasonal alcoholic beverages for guests ages 21 and older.
5. Country Christmas Train
Where: 4259 Handy Road, Denton
When: Nov. 27-29, Dec. 4-6, 10-13, 17-23, 4:30-9:30 p.m.
Cost: Tickets are $10 for children and $25 for adults. Bring cash for treats and tickets purchased at the door.
The Country Christmas Train at Denton FarmPark chugs past Christmas light displays, a nativity scene and elves along a 1.5-mile track.
Ride the tram to the Reid Plantation and see farm demonstrations from the 1800s, including candlemaking, basket weaving, and blacksmithing. Take photos with Santa, enjoy sweets in the Gingerbread House, and sing carols in the one-room church.
6. Festibull of Lights
Where: 409 Blackwell St, Durham
When: Nov. 19–Jan. 2, 5:30-9 p.m. on select evenings.
Cost: Tickets start at $12.
During the holiday season, the Durham Bulls Athletic Park transforms into a Festibull of Lights. A multi-mile display of twinkling lights, sledding hills, and a train ride with Wool E. Bull will turn any “Humbug!” into a “Ho, ho, ho!”
General admission includes the holiday craft zone, photos with Santa & Wool E. Claus, a scavenger hunt, letters to Santa, Christmas Tree Alley, fire pits, a holiday slide, a heated holiday lounge, and the Jingle Bell Dance Floor. Reserve a private igloo on the field and enjoy hot chocolate, a dessert platter, and a train ride.
7. Fourth Ward Holiday Sip & Stroll
Where: Fourth Ward, Charlotte
When: Dec. 3-5
Cost: Tickets start at $48 and sell out quickly. The upgraded Holiday Home Tour ticket includes curated tastings and live music.
Fourth Ward’s Holiday Sip & Stroll celebrates its 50th Anniversary this season. Stroll through Historic Fourth Ward’s streets with Victorian-era homes decorated with lights and festive displays. The self-guided, porch-crawl-style tour includes food and cocktail tastings, seasonal live music, and the chance to hear a handbell choir perform.
8. Harper House Holiday Event
Where: 310 N. Center St., Hickory
When: Dec. 4, 6-8 p.m.
Cost: Tickets are available online and at the door.
Learn about Hickory’s historic Harper House, one of the city’s Victorian-era homes. Tour the rooms, all decorated for the holiday season, and enjoy light refreshments.
9. Holidays on Water
Where: Carolina Beach, Kure Beach, and Wrightsville Beach
When: Nov. 27-Dec. 18, select dates
Cost: Varied
Holidays on Water includes dozens of events in the Wilmington area. Carolina Beach has been named one of 25 finalists in Hallmark Channels’ inaugural “Merriest Christmas Towns” contest. In honor of this recognition, Boardwalk on Ice, a pop-up ice-skating rink will be open from Nov. 27-Jan. 3.
On Nov. 27, Island of Lights, festive displays along a one mile trail along Carolina Beach Lake, light the night sky. The Lake remains lit through the holiday season. In Wrightsville Beach, the North Carolina Holiday Flotilla, a parade of lighted boats cruise along the Intracoastal Waterway on Nov. 28 at 6 p.m.
10. Home for the Holidays
Where: Downtown Hendersonville
When: Nov. 27-Dec. 31
Cost: Varies
For more than a month, Hendersonville hosts Home for the Holidays, a multi-event extravaganza featuring a Holiday Cookie Stroll, farm tours, carriage rides, parades, and train rides.
Trailside Brewing on the Ecusta Trail is homebase for the Christmas Artisan Market, from 11 a.m.-5 p.m. on Dec. 19. Shop for last minute stocking stuffers, ride a horse-drawn carriage, and try the brewery’s selection of beer and cocktails.
11. Kersey Valley Christmas
Where: 6948 Cecil Farm Road, Archdale
When: Nov. 27-Dec. 23
Cost: Reserve tickets, starting at $25 per person, for a specific date. Parking is $10-$20 and cash is only accepted. Add on the Santa photo session or Magic Pass for extra experiences.
The whole family, from kids to grandparents, will delight in the lights, life-size characters, train ride, and celebratory vibe on this farm turned Christmas headquarters. Brave souls can jump on the Blizzard Bounce and glide down Sugartop Mountain in a tube. Those who want their feet firmly planted on the ground can roast marshmallows and drink hot cocoa.
12. Kwanzaa Edition: Poetry With Passion
Where: Blush CLT, 7631 Sharon Lakes Road, suite E, Charlotte
When: Dec. 26, 8-10 p.m.
Cost: Tickets start at $12
Join Kwanzaa Edition: Poetry With Passion, an open mic night at Blush CLT. Listen to poetry or read your work in an upscale lounge in South Charlotte. Look for drink specials, a food truck, and free parking. Guests must be over 21.
13. Meadow Lights
Where: 4546 Godwin Lake Road, Benson
When: Nov. 20-Dec. 31, 5-10 p.m.
Cost: No fee to see the lights, $3 for train ride, $3 carousel ride
Meadow Lights, North Carolina’s oldest Christmas light show, spans more than 30 acres with thousands of lights and displays. Watch from the parking lot or ride one of three trains carrying visitors through the 10 acres of lights. Hop on the enclosed carousel, visit with Santa, and search for your favorite candy at the Old Country Store.
14. Sandhills Garden of Lights
Where: Sandhills Horticultural Gardens at Sandhills Community College, 3245 Airport Road, Pinehurst
When: Nov. 27-Jan. 9, 5-10 p.m., select evenings
Cost: Tickets range from $12-$29
This inaugural year of the Sandhills Garden of Lights boasts more than one million lights, interactive orbs, holiday characters, concessions, and photo opportunities.
15. Shabbanukkah 2026
Where: Temple Emanuel, 713 North Greene St., Greensboro
When: Dec. 4, 2026, 6:30–7:30 p.m.
Cost: Free
Everyone is welcome to this lively and music-filled Friday night Shabbat Service with the first lighting of Hanukkah.
16. UJIMA: Roots, Culture & Community A Kwanzaa Celebration
Where: AJ Fletcher Opera Theater, 2 E. South St., Raleigh
When: Dec. 28, 1-4 p.m.
Cost: Reserve free tickets here.
A Kwanzaa Celebration is hosted by the Afro-American Historical and Genealogical Society North Carolina Triangle Chapter. Learn and understand culture, history, art, music, genealogy, and community through African drumming, visual arts, genealogy, and more. The Magic of African Rhythm and Dare Coulter are featured performers. Ujima is the Swahili word for collective work and responsibility.
17. Winter Glow at the Point
Where: Truist Point Stadium, 301 N. Elm St., High Point
When: Nov. 23-Jan. 4, select dates
Cost: $7-$12, two-hour dome rental is extra
Winter Glow at the Point turns Truist Point Stadium into a winter wonderland with more than a million lights, themed domes, and specialty nights featuring workshops, an ugly sweater silent disco, and train rides.
