Havre de Grace's Holiday Season Happens in Two Weekends. Here's How to Plan Both.

Lay out every holiday event Havre de Grace has posted for 2026 and the season turns out to be short. There are two warm-up dates at the end of November. After that, almost everything falls on two weekends: Dec. 4 and 5, then Dec. 11 to 13. The second weekend carries most of the load. Six separate holiday events run in those three days, and four of them share Saturday, Dec. 12.

The usual downtown Friday routine shifts too. The city's First Fridays page describes a May through October season and lists no upcoming events. The tourism calendar does file the Dec. 4 Holly Jolly Parade under its First Fridays category, which makes the parade the one December Friday tied to that series. This year the holiday Fridays are Dec. 4 and Dec. 11, and each one asks something different of your evening.

The Calendar, Counted

Here is every holiday event confirmed in 2026 listings, in date order. Where a listing gives no price, the table says so.

The November dates ease you in, one ticketed concert and one free market morning. After those, the first December weekend is the city's, and the second belongs to the museums.

December 4: The Tree and Santa Are No Longer in the Same Place

The 2026 Holly Jolly Parade & Tree Lighting runs Friday, Dec. 4, from 6 to 8 p.m. It starts at Union Avenue at St. John Street, follows St. John to Washington Street and ends at Congress Avenue. After the parade, Santa helps the mayor light the tree on stage at the corner of Washington, St. John and Green Streets. Santa Land then opens at 450 Pennington Ave.

If you've been around a few Decembers, the layout may still feel new. The 2024 listing had the parade turn onto Pennington Avenue and finish at Union Avenue. The tree was lit at the old Visitors Center, 450 Pennington Avenue, the same address as Santa Land. The 2025 listing introduced the route ending at Congress and the tree lighting at Washington, St. John and Green, and 2026 keeps that setup.

In practice, parade night now has two stops. The tree and the stage sit at one corner downtown. Santa Land stays at 450 Pennington. A family with small children who wants both the lighting and a Santa visit should plan for that move rather than expecting it all at one curb. The 2026 listing doesn't give Santa Land hours beyond saying it opens after the tree lighting, so parade night is the one confirmed visiting window for now. The 2024 listing called the event free. The 2026 listing has no cost line, so check before you assume.

December 5 Stays on Congress Avenue

The parade ends at Congress Avenue Friday night, and Saturday morning picks up on the same street. The Holiday Craft Fair runs Dec. 5 from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Havre de Grace High School, 700 Congress Ave. The school's National Honor Society hosts it, and it's free and open to the public. The same address is listed for the STAR Centre, where the season's first ticketed show played on Nov. 27.

That evening, the Havre de Grace Decoy Museum holds a 40th anniversary banquet from 6 to 10 p.m. It isn't a holiday event, and its location needs confirming. The listing's description names the Historic Wellwood Restaurant, 523 Water St., in Charlestown, while its venue field shows the Decoy Museum. If you're part of the museum's circle, check with the museum before Dec. 5 so a full day that starts in a school gym ends at the right door.

December 11 Has a Built-In Conflict at 8 p.m.

The second weekend starts Friday at the lighthouse. The Friends of Concord Point Lighthouse host Meet the Artists & Holiday Shoppe Preview from 5 to 8 p.m. at the Keeper's House Museum, 714 Concord St., for a $10 donation. It's a ticketed first look at the shop that opens to everyone the next afternoon.

The preview ends at 8 p.m., and that's when My (Unauthorized) Hallmark Movie Musical begins at the Cultural Center at the Opera House, 121 N. Union Ave. To do both, you'd have to leave the lighthouse early. The musical's page has one stale detail. Its heading and calendar link give Dec. 11, 2026, but the description text still says "December 13, 2025." Go by the Dec. 11 heading.

December 12 Is When Everything Overlaps

Saturday, Dec. 12, holds four events on one schedule, and they don't line up end to end. Hour by hour:

• 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. The Lock House Boutique is open at the Lock House Museum.
• 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. The Tropical Christmas Wayfinding Adventure and Tea Party with Santa & Friends runs at the Cultural Center at the Opera House.
• 1 to 5 p.m. The Concord Point Lighthouse Holiday Shoppe is open at the Keeper's House Museum.
• 3 to 8 p.m. The 54th Annual Candlelight Tour runs.

The overlap comes from the tour's start time. In 2025 the tour ran from 4 to 8 p.m. The Lock House Museum's 2026 page lists 3 to 8 p.m. With the earlier start, the tour now runs alongside the Lighthouse Holiday Shoppe from 3 to 5 p.m. That's two hours when the lighthouse grounds and the Candlelight stops are open together.

The Lock House is running two fundraisers that weekend, and it describes how they connect:

"The Boutique began as an additional fundraiser to help supplement the Candlelight Tour. What started as a bake sale table has become so much more!"

The museum says the Boutique now carries savory and sweet goods, handmade items, fresh evergreen centerpieces, curated jewelry, sometimes vintage pieces, and a raffle. It stays open Sunday, Dec. 13, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. If the evergreen centerpieces are on your list, Saturday morning comes well before the tour crowds arrive, and Sunday gives you a second chance.

What the Candlelight Tour Looked Like in 2025

The 2026 page doesn't yet name homes, publish a route or list a ticket price. It says "Tickets Available Soon!" Everything in this section is from 2025 and is labeled that way.

For the 2025 tour, the organizer described a self-paced route with 14 stops that included homes, galleries and museums, plus art, music and decorations. Visitors got a map and brochure. Ticket packages were picked up at the Lock House Museum, 817 Conesteo St., by 6 p.m. A 2025 Patch listing said the tour involved walking. It gave ticket prices of $25 in advance and $35 on tour day, sold through the Lock House Museum website, with sales opening Nov. 1. The city's tourism profile of the tour says past years have included historic homes, museums and churches, with a collectible entry button handed out with the map.

If 2026 follows 2025, ticket sales would open in early November. The pickup cutoff matters more this year with the earlier start. In 2025, a 6 p.m. pickup deadline left two hours of touring. If a similar cutoff applies in 2026, the 3 p.m. start gives you more of the afternoon to use before it.

A Working Order for December 12

Assuming the 2026 tour works the way the 2025 tour did, this order fits the most into the day:

1. Go to the Lock House Boutique in the morning for evergreens and baked goods, before the afternoon crowds.
2. If you have children, book the 11 a.m. tea party at the Cultural Center at the Opera House. It ends at 1 p.m., right when the Lighthouse Shoppe opens.
3. Visit the Lighthouse Holiday Shoppe at 714 Concord St. between 1 and 3 p.m., before the tour opens.
4. Pick up your Candlelight Tour package, which was at the Lock House Museum in 2025, and walk the route from 3 p.m. until the 8 p.m. close.
5. If something slipped, the Lock House Boutique reopens Sunday from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Holiday weekends like these show your street at its best, with decorated porches, foot traffic and historic homes opening their doors. If you're planning to list in the new year and want to see how your home might look staged for a winter sale, Rose Calderone + Co. can walk through it with you before the parade. Schedule a consultation with Rose.