The Best Christmas Towns in the USA
Every town puts up Christmas lights and decorations downtown. Every town invite Santa who, in turn, invites boys, girls, and brave men and women to sit on his lap. And also, every town loves a good caroling. But not every town embraces the Christmas season with a true passion for the Spirit of Christmas meaning. Not every town makes Gildshire Magazines list of the best Christmas towns in America.
What did a town need to do (or be) to make our list? That’s a hard question to quantify. It’s kind of a “We felt it when we saw it” sort of thing. And you will too if you sojourn to one of these towns during this special time of year.
Here is our incomplete Christmas Towns list
Santa Claus, Indiana: You saw this one coming! Only, 2,500 people live in Santa Claus. But one would never know that from the letters that pour through the post office in search of an answer from The Big Fella. Local festivities include a parade, and a candy castle out from where they sell hard-to-find sweets. At the edge of town stands Santa’s Land of Lights. It’s a 1.2-mile drive-through illumination show.
Taos, New Mexico: From one of the larger towns to one of the smallest. Taos’ population is barely more than 5,000. But many more people than that arrive in town for the Christmas celebrations. The most important one occurs Christmas Eve. That’s when there is a religious procession through the Native American settlement outside town (called Taos Pueblo). After the procession comes a bonfire, and a historic gun salute. The evening comes to a close with the release of floating lanterns the Natives call “luminarias.”
Prescott, Arizona: With a population just over 40,000, Prescott is one of the larger cities on our Christmas towns list. There’s a Western twang to Christmas in Prescott. Courthouse Plaza hosts Holiday events all month long. While some of the activities change from year to year, one thing remains sacrosanct. The Plaza will be adorned with at least 1,000,000 lights! On the day the tree first shows off its lights, a local museum hosts the Frontier Christmas Open House. That’s where locals enjoy hot cider and stories about how the holidays were during pioneer times in Prescott.
Delray Beach, Florida: The job of bringing Christmas to the beach is accomplished through the inclusion of one of America’s tallest Christmas trees. “So what?” you say. “Every town has a tree,” you snort. True enough, but not every municipal Christmas tree magically opens to reveal a wonderland inside. Look! There’s a toy train running around and through miniature scenes that depict universal holiday traditions.
Durango, Colorado: Do you remember the book and movie called “The Polar Express?” Sure, you do. It had an animated Tom Hanks that looked eerily just like Tom Hanks. Yeah, that’s the one. Durango has its own Polar Express train. It takes kids and families into the snowy mountains that surround Durango. You can even ride the train to cut down your tree. The train will then transport you, and your tree, back to town.
Christmas lights is towns across America
Natchitoches, Louisiana: For pure length of celebration, Natchitoches wins. And it isn’t even close. Christmas in Natchitoches begins in…June? That’s right. That’s when the light bulbs on the strings of holiday lights are tested in anticipation of the town’s proud Festival of Lights. The town of 18,000 celebrates the season with more 300,000 lights and 100 set pieces displayed along the banks of Cane River Lake. The set pieces honor both the holiday and Natchitoches’ Creole heritage. Festivities include carriage rides, historic home tours, a children’s festival, fireworks, parades, and live theater performances. When does it all end? January 6. So that’s 7.18 months of Christmas.
Woodstock, Vermont: In a town that looks like it belongs on a Christmas card, comes a tradition with Currier and Ives all over it. A parade of horses and buggies circle a snowy village green. Carolers serenade townsfolk and everyone gathers for the lighting of the town Christmas tree and old Yule log. Historic homes are open for a celebration of rural and small-town holiday heritage. They call it Woodstock Wassail Weekend. We call it, “Can we go?”
Leavenworth, Washington: This town of 1,992 residents looks a little like Christmas 365 days a year. But it is in December that Leavenworth shows off its winter finery. Tens of thousands from all over the Pacific Northwest, make an annual pilgrimage to this little town nestled in the Cascade Mountains. During snowy December, over 20 miles of lights trace each peaked roof of the Bavarian-themed village. The holiday is anticipated with nightly handbell concerts and a lively weekend-long Christkindlmarkt. Enjoy harp music, and a weekly festival around the town tree, serenaded by carolers, and warmed with “Gluhwein.” It’s a warm Austrian drink similar to mulled wine.
