November 29 - December 6

Spirit Spikers!

You’ve got your lists, the Christmas music has been playing on the radio since Halloween… and Santa’s scheduled to fly in a little more than three weeks! Time to get stuff done! Here's how you can rev up that good old holiday spirit.

Download the Holly Days event schedule.

Holly Days

Experience the magic that is Morristown's annual Holly Days celebration. While Santa holds court on the Green every weekend through Christmas, you can enjoy a holiday schedule packed full of events and concerts. There are many participating sites offering free events, as well as local historical sites and museums with special programming and admission fees. Stroll the streets of Morristown and vote for your favorite decorated window. Visit the local museums decorated for Christmas and stop by their gift shops for unique presents. It all comes to a spectacular conclusion with twenty year-old arts and music festival known as First Night Morris on New Year's Eve. Visit the website or download the Holly Days brochure and start planning!

Jingles With A Difference

The third annual Christmas In The Country invites visitors to the Ramsaysburg Homestead, a national historic site located along the Delaware River in Knowlton Township's scenic countryside. (Route 46 at Ramseyburg Rd, Delaware. NJ) The event, Sunday, December 2 beginning at 1pm, will include seasonal music, a wreath-making demonstration, festive caroling, a tree lighting ceremony, ornament making and a Christmas shop. Download flyer or call 908/475-5352 for more information. The event coincides with the Moravian village of Hope’s annual Christmas Crafts Fair.

This weekend, and next, the North Jersey Highlands Historical Society invites you to step back in time and tour Ringwood Manor as it might have been in Victorian Times. The house tours will include refreshments and craft vendors. Sloatsburg Road, Ringwood; 973/962-2240.

And you can make your Christmas a colonial affair at the Jacobus Vanderveer House this weekend and next with an art exhibition, Colonial holiday decorations, Colonial and Federal antique furniture, boutique shopping, period musicians, re-enactors, Santa visits and more. The Vanderveer House is located at 955 US Highway 202/206 in Bedminster. Click or call 908/212-7000

Good Loud Cheers

The timeless Christmas Carol, opens the holiday theatre schedule this Friday (Nov. 30) at The Theatre at RVCC. On Sunday, Dec. 2, Jamie Dailey and Darrin Vincent present a heartwarming Bluegrass Christmas. Next Saturday (December 8) the Moscow Ballet performs The Great Russian Nutcracker (two shows at 3 & 7pm. And on Sunday, (Dec. 9) John Waters pokes fun at the holiday season with adult-appropriate humor, effectively putting the X in Xmas. The theater is located at Raritan Valley Community College, Rt. 28 and Lamington Road in North Branch . For information and tickets, click or call 908/725-3420.

The classic Wizard of Oz graces the Centenary Stage through December 9! This musical extravaganza featuring a cast of fifty actors is a holiday event perfectly conceived for the whole family. Then, on December 14-16, The New Jersey Civic Youth Ballet will give performances of the annual Nutcracker, narrated by Janine Byrnes who tells the story from the perspective of young Clara Stahlbaum. Check the website or call 908/979-0900 for show times and tickets. Centenary's Lackland Center is located at 715 Grand Ave, Hackettstown.

From the Ground, Up!

Enjoy a horse and carriage ride through a picturesque farm, while sipping some warm cider. Enjoy the sounds of the season as you wander through color filled greenhouses while sampling Christmas goodies. This weekend's Annual Holiday Open House at Donaldson's Greenhouse in Hackettstown (148 Airport Road) is just the thing to get you in the holiday mood. There are also specials through out this weekend on some of the best holiday décor in Northwest New Jersey! Click or call 908/852-7314 for more information

I'm Dreaming of a White Christmas Tree Farm!

Cutting your own Christmas tree can be a day-long and memorable event for your family. And those familiar white crystals on green boughs can make your day! Evergreen Valley Tree Farm is open from 9 am to 4 pm Tuesday thru Sunday (closed Monday) until December 23rd. 10,000 trees stand at attention, awaiting your review. Walk through the fields, breathe the fresh air, choose and cut! The farm is located at 71 Jackson Valley Road in Washington Township, just off of Route 31 (map)

More growers...

Elegance at the Whistling Swan Inn

Handled With Care

Treat your group, friends or family to high tea for the holidays at the Whistling Swan Inn, a Queen Anne Victorian home, restored to its original glory, and in service as one of the area's finest bed and breakfast inns. Beautiful tiger oak fretwork and columns frame the two Victorian parlors and continue throughout the house. The high tea is a full three-course lunch beginning with soup, followed by an entree and salad and topped off by a sampler plate of desserts, all accompanied by gourmet teas. (Coffee too). Teas begin at 1 pm and last until approximately 3 pm and may be reserved in advance for 8-20 people. To schedule this special event for your club, group, family, friends or business associates, please call 973-347-6369. More about the tea...

You can also purchase discounted Whistling Swan Gift Certificates between now and December 31st and get 20% off -- a nice gift! Click or please call 973-347-6369. The Whistling Swan is at 110 Main Street in Stanhope.

Merry times at the National Hotel!

Eat, Drink, Sleep, Shop, and Be Merry!

You'll find another nice treat for the holidays at The National in Frenchtown, a boutique hotel, restaurant, and rathskeller way out on New Jersey's West Coast. Frenchtown attracts attention because of an exotic, romantic name, a sublime location along the Delaware River, and an impressive line-up of galleries, shops and restaurants tailored for visitors. Historic and elegant, The National offers a fine restaurant and cozy boutique accommodations. The National has also initiated a Wine Club! See what that's all about!

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Think Skylands for the holidays! Northwest New Jersey and destinations just beyond those borders, in Pennsylvania and New York, are equally intriguing and convenient offer brilliant ways to get out and enjoy the pleasures of the season.

Tap our calendar for the best events for you and your family, or check our latest stories. Stay tuned to our Day Trip Map for good ideas for a scenic drive! Or use the Outdoor Map for links to all sorts of late fall hikes and outdoor fun!

Enjoy a year round supply of great things to see and do in Northwest New Jersey by signing up for a magazine for each season here.

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