Holiday Celebrations in and around New Jersey

Northern New Jersey

East Rutherford Recreation will hold its 2009 holiday celebration on Friday, Dec. 4, in the Borough Hall park.

The tree lighting will be held at 7 p.m.

The event will include hot chocolate, music, hot pretzels, candy canes and a visit with Santa.

Holiday Lights Spectacular atTurtle Back Zoo

560 Northfield Avenue West Orange, NJ

973-731-5800

Experience Turtle Back Zoo in the winter as 100,000 bulbs and 50 lit displays illuminate the zoo this holiday season! Regular admission: $7 Adults $3 Children

Beginning Friday, November 27, 28, 29 2009 and then nightly during December until January 2, 2010 (except December 24 & 25th)

Time: 5-9pm

Candlelight Christmas Tour

Friday, December 18 , 2009 6pm-9pm

Main Street Manor Bed & Breakfast Inn

194 Main Street Flemington, NJ
908-782-4928

The Inn’s public space will be decorated with fresh greens, twinkling lights and two fresh evergreen trees.

Snowbabies, antique angels and of course, Santa Clauses will grace the dining room.

Merrymakers are invited to visit the grand Manor which will be elaborately festooned for the best of the Holidays.

Hot cider, cheese & crackers along with holiday cookies will be offered to all who come for the tour.

A donation of $5.00 per person is rerquested to supportthe non profit K-9 Soldiers which is a grassroots organization which supports the K9’s & handlers of military working dogs of all four branches of the service, presently serving our Country in Iraq & Afghanistan

Ringwood

Christmas tree lighting ceremony on Sunday, Dec. 6 at 5 p.m. Please be prompt!

Call the recreation office on Sunday, Dec. 6 after 11 a.m. for recorded message on possible postponement of Santa’s arrival and/or the tree lighting ceremony due to weather.

Residents are invited to the community sign on Skyline Drive for the lighting of the tree to usher in the holiday season. Refreshments will be served.

Iron Mountain Stage Company and the Lakeland High School Band Ensemble will make appearances.

Ringwood Manor
Victorian Christmas
Saturday & Sunday, Dec. 5 & 6; Saturday & Sunday, Dec. 12 & 13
11am-5pm

$7 for adults, $6 for seniors, $3 for children

Tour the Manor, decorated in authentic 19th century holiday decor, with guides in period costumes leading you from room to room. Craft vendors will have hand-made items available- get that perfect last-minute gift!
*please contact Carol Henkel at 973-853-7258 if you are interested in bringing a senior group or other group on Wednesday, December 9th.

Dover

Annual tree-lighting ceremony

on Thursday, Dec. 3, at JFK Commons Park (across from the Dover Library) at 6 p.m.

Rain date is Monday, Dec. 7. Share in the holiday caroling by school choral groups.

Hot chocolate will be served, compliments of the Dover Fire Dept.

Children can visit with Santa and receive a treat.

Montclair

Annual Tree Lighting Event and a Visit With Santa

Montclair Township invites you to the annual holiday tree lighting to take place Friday, December 4, 6:00 p.m., in Church Street Plaza. Listen to music by the Montclair Community Band and enjoy an evening of fun winter entertainment in downtown Montclair. Have a picture taken with Santa Claus - $3.00 with a frame. Please Note: Church Street will be closed to vehicular traffic at 5:00 PM.

Santa Comes to Town

Saturday, December 5, Santa will visit the Business Districts on an MFD fire truck and will have gifts for all youngsters.

11:00 AM - South End Business District (Orange Rd. & Cedar Ave.)

11:30 AM - Walnut Street Lot

12:00 PM - Watchung Plaza

12:30 PM - St. James Church (Bllevue Ave. & Valley Road)

The Montclair Community Band will play at each location, and Santa will have candy and gifts for all youngsters.

Santa's Mailbox

Kids can mail a letter to Santa and will receive a personalized letter in return!

Letters can be mailed to:

SANTA CLAUS

205 Claremont Avenue

Montclair, NJ 07042

Letters may also be dropped off at the Montclair Department of Recreation and Cultural Affairs.

Please remember to include a return address No letters after December 15, 2009.

South Jersey

Red Bank New Jersey

Red Bank is alive with exciting activities this holiday season. There is something to help everyone get in the holiday spirit!

The season kicks off on Thanksgiving Day weekend with the annual holiday tree lighting in downtown Red Bank. The Victorian Courtyard on Monmouth Street, with its cobblestone streets and old world charm, is home to the holiday tree, and there couldn’t be a better place. The annual tree lighting ceremony takes place on November 27th. The streets fill with holiday music sung by carolers and the popular holiday group known as Holiday Express. The whole town is lit up with lights and music—what better way to get in the spirit of the holidays!

Staring on Saturday, November 28th, the Red Bank business district is filled with the sounds of live music. From 12 noon until 3pm, shoppers can enjoy the music of traditional carolers, choirs, brass bands, rock and roll, folk, jazz and blues. All these great musicians bring their talent and excitement of the holiday season to the sidewalks of Red Bank in celebration of the holiday season. The music is every Saturday from November 28th to December 19th from 12 noon until 3pm.

If you think the holiday music revved up your holiday spirit, wait until you experience the traditional horse and carriage rides that take place every Saturday in the Red Bank business district. A holiday classic, the horse and carriage rides are a favorite way in Red Bank to enjoy the sights and the sounds of the holiday season. Horse and carriage rides are free and they are available every Saturday from 1pm-5pm beginning on Saturday, November 28th and going through Saturday, December 19th. There are two locations to be picked up—on Bridge Ave, across from the Galleria and in front of Murphy Style Grill at 26 Broad St.

Santa Claus loves spending time in Red Bank during the holidays. On Saturdays and Sundays he spends his time at the Galleria taking pictures with enthusiastic children of all ages! “Pictures with Santa” takes place on Saturdays and Sundays in the Galleria from 12 noon until 4pm staring on November 28th and going through December 20th.

Another fun way to celebrate the season is to take part in the Red Bank Gingerbread Walk. The Gingerbread Walk is new to Red Bank this year. There are 14 participating businesses in downtown Red Bank. Each participating business has professionally decorated gingerbread creations on display for everyone to enjoy. There is also the Red Bank Raffle taking place at stores that are participating in the Gingerbread Walk. People can enter to win an overnight hotel stay at the Oyster Point Hotel, tickets to the Count Basie Theatre, and a Red Bank Gift Cheque Shopping Spree. The more participating stores that you visit, the more chances you have to win, so be sure to check out the gingerbread creations in all 14 participating stores! The participating stores are: Better Housekeeping, Front Street Trattoria, Monmouth Street Emporium, Murphy Style Grill, Pierre Deux, Ricky’s of Red Bank, Riverbank Antiques, Sassy Chic, Selve, SurrayLuggage, Tiffany & Co, Ten Thousand Villages, Vizzini and Company, and White Butterfly at Red Bank.

The Westside Community Group Tree Lighting will be taking place on December 5th at WestsidePark, Drs. James Parker Boulevard & Shrewsbury Avenue.

Red Bank has celebrations for Hanukkah, too! Menorah lighting will take place at the Red Bank Train Station on Sunday,

December 13th at 6pm. Come celebrate the start of the Hanukkah season in downtown Red Bank.

PNC Arts Center Holiday Light Spectacular

PNC Arts Center

Holmdel, NJ

732-203-2500

The Light Spectacular usually runs from the end of November through January 2. It is open 5:00pm - 9:00pm 7 days a week.

Each weekend, Red Bank comes alive with holiday spirit. With so many different events and stores to choose from,

there are many reasons to come back every weekend and celebrate the holiday season.

this is one of the most extravagant drive through light displays in the tri - state area.

The spectacular is a 2.5-mile drive through a forest of lights.

Over 5 million lights were used over 225 displays.The display is set up in the parking lot around the Arts Center

on a specially prepared road for the display.

In the premises of the light spectacular, there is a radio station that plays Christmas Carols.

New York City

The 2009 Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree lighting ceremony is going to be Wednesday, December 2, 2009.

Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree Location:

Rockefeller Center is located in the center of the complex of buildings between 47th and 50th Streets and 5th and 7th Avenues.

The 77th Annual Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony takes place on December 2, 2009 from 7-9 p.m.

The annual event is televised and features musical performances from a variety of popular artists.

Typically, the Radio City Rockettes perform and there are also ice skaters performing in the Rockefeller Ice Rink.