Free Holiday Things to Do in Boston This December
A dated December calendar of free tree lightings, a car-free Newbury Street, a Portsmouth parade and North Shore holiday weekends.
- Boston
- Salem
- Rockport
- Newburyport
- Portsmouth
December is the month when the whole region puts out lights, and a surprising amount of it costs nothing. A dated run of the free holiday events for December 2026, Boston first, then up the coast. Dates and times are from each city or organizer page as of November 9.
December 3: Boston Common Tree Lighting and Commonwealth Avenue Mall
The city’s signature holiday event is the annual Boston Common Tree Lighting on Thursday, December 3, from 6 to 8 pm, next to the Visitor Information Center at 139 Tremont Street. It is free. The tree is a gift from Nova Scotia, which has sent one every year since 1971 as thanks for the relief Boston sent after the 1917 Halifax explosion. This year Mayor Wu is scheduled to be joined by Nova Scotia Premier Tim Houston.
The same night, right after the Common ceremony, the lights on the Commonwealth Avenue Mall come on from Arlington Street to Charlesgate. The city’s calendar lists 8 pm. The Friends of the Public Garden and the Committee to Light Commonwealth Avenue Mall run that display. The city’s parks line is (617) 635-4505 for questions.
December 6: Open Newbury Holiday Stroll
On Sunday, December 6, Newbury Street goes car-free from 10 am to 6 pm between Berkeley Street and Massachusetts Avenue for the Open Newbury Holiday Stroll, now in its third year. The city encourages businesses to put out pop-up activities and family programming, and the route is the same as the summer Open Newbury series. If the weather is bad, the stroll moves to December 13.
Browsing is free; whatever you buy is up to you. Parking is restricted on Newbury and certain cross streets, with enforcement from 6 am, and the intersections at Fairfield, Gloucester and Hereford Streets are car-free. The other cross streets stay open to traffic, so cross with care.
December 5: Portsmouth, New Hampshire
Portsmouth’s Illuminated Holiday Parade night is Saturday, December 5, free and open to all. The Tree Lighting Ceremony is in Market Square from 5 to 5:30 pm, hosted by the mayor and city council. The parade steps off at 6 pm from Islington Street at Goodwin Park and reaches Market Square 20 to 30 minutes later. We wrote a full day-trip plan for that night, including parking and the Strawbery Banke Candlelight Stroll, in our Portsmouth Christmas day-trip guide.
North Shore weekends
Salem
Salem’s holiday season, run by Salem Main Streets and Creative Collective, officially starts on Friday, November 27 with Santa’s arrival and the downtown tree lighting, followed by Small Business Saturday on November 28. The Holiday Window Contest, in which downtown businesses dress their windows, carries into December, and a window-shopping walk costs nothing.
Also free in Salem: all buildings and programs at Salem Maritime National Historical Park. From November 15 through April 30 the Armory visitor center and the park store are open Wednesday to Sunday, 9:30 am to 4:30 pm, and Derby Wharf and the grounds are open 24 hours. The park’s buildings are closed on Thanksgiving, Christmas Day and New Year’s Day. See our Salem December guide for the rest of the town.
Rockport
Christmas in Rockport has a full December calendar:
- Friday, December 4: Holiday Shopping Night, 4 to 9:30 pm, starting at Dock Square.
- Saturday, December 5: Santa arrives by boat at T-Wharf at 1 pm, with photos from 1:15 to 3:30 pm, followed by the Dock Square Tree Lighting at 4 pm (carolers from 3:40 pm).
- Saturday, December 12: strolling carolers, 1 to 3 pm.
- Saturday, December 19: the Christmas Pageant, a torch-lit nativity re-enactment at 5 pm.
- November 27 to December 31: Sammy the Seagull Hide and Seek, a free kids’ scavenger hunt. Pick up a decoder sheet at the downtown visitor information shed, the T-Wharf restrooms or a participating business.
Newburyport
The Greater Newburyport Chamber is running a new celebration called The Port of Wonder, from November 30 through December 25, 2026, with the lighting of the Market Square Christmas tree at the start and weekend programming through downtown (State Street, Inn Street, Pleasant Street, Market Square and Water Street to the Tannery). The weekend schedule is on the chamber’s event page.
Dates still to come
- Salem Wassail Weekend, after Small Business Saturday: Salem Holiday Happenings.
- Newburyport, The Port of Wonder weekends: Greater Newburyport Chamber.
- Christmas Eve bell ringing on Louisburg Square, Beacon Hill: Nichols House Museum.
How to plan it
| Date | What | Where |
|---|---|---|
| Thu, Dec 3 | Boston Common Tree Lighting, 6 to 8 pm | Boston |
| Fri, Dec 4 | Holiday Shopping Night, 4 to 9:30 pm | Rockport |
| Sat, Dec 5 | Tree lighting 5 pm, Illuminated Holiday Parade 6 pm | Portsmouth, NH |
| Sat, Dec 5 | Santa by boat, then Dock Square tree lighting | Rockport |
| Sun, Dec 6 | Open Newbury Holiday Stroll, 10 am to 6 pm | Boston, Back Bay |
| Sat, Dec 12 | Strolling carolers | Rockport |
| Sat, Dec 19 | Christmas Pageant | Rockport |
More lights: drive-through displays, garden and zoo walks and more tree lightings, each with its 2026 dates and ticket rules, are in Holiday Lights Around Boston, 2026.
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Sources
- City of Boston: Boston Common Tree Lightingboston.gov
- City of Boston: Commonwealth Avenue Mall Lightingboston.gov
- City of Boston: 2026 Open Newbury Holiday Strollboston.gov
- City of Portsmouth: 2026 Illuminated Holiday Paradeportsmouthnh.gov
- Christmas in Rockportrockportusa.com
- Salem Holiday Happeningssalemholidayhappenings.org
- Salem Main Streets: Holiday Happeningssalemmainstreets.org
- Greater Newburyport Chamber: The Port of Wonderbusiness.newburyportchamber.org
- National Park Service: Salem Maritime hoursnps.gov
- Nichols House Museum: Christmas Eve Bell Ringingnicholshousemuseum.org
Details such as dates, hours and prices come from the sources above and can change. Check with the organizer before you go.
How we report: every date, price and address comes from a linked source.
