Celebrate the season with fun, festive events
Greater Boston is all about the holiday spirit — there’s practically a celebration of the season every day! Here are some great, can’t-miss events to make your days merry, bright and fun-filled:
Faneuil Hall Marketplace
4 South Market St. faneuilhallmarketplace.com Highlights of the jam-packed Holidays at the Hall schedule include:
Boston Tuba Christmas Concert: The return of a holiday favorite, now in its 33rd year. The free concert features dozens of tuba players perform- ing holiday tunes. Saturday, 2 p.m.
Mitten Tree: Visitors are welcome to hang a new pair of mittens or gloves on the Mitten Tree to help the less fortunate. Through Jan. 1.
Selfies with Santa: The Jolly Old Elf will be strolling through the Marketplace, visiting different retailers. Sidle up and start snapping. Saturdays through Dec. 22, and check out the website for his locations.
Holiday Tree Lighting: Broadcast live Tuesday at 7:30 p.m., on WBZ-TV/CBS Boston. The 60-foot Norwegian spruce will be decked out in thousands of blinking lights, and the spectacle is kicked up a notch with entertainment from Brynn Cartelli of Longmeadow, winner of “The Voice,” the Mayor’s Community Gospel Choir, a visit from Santa and the kick-off of the New England Patriots’ Holiday Toy Drive.
Deck the Hall Stroll: Shoppers get a Holiday Stroll card to use throughout the Marketplace for special sales and promotions from participating merchants. Dec. 1-2.
14th annual Candy Land: This has family fun written all over it — a two-hour “sweet” event featuring some of Quincy Market’s best food tastings, entertainment and arts and crafts. And every child gets to pick out a new Hasbro toy or game to take home! All proceeds benefit Pitching in for Kids “Be Kind” anti-bullying program. Dec. 15, 10 a.m.-noon. $10; children under 3 are free.
SoWa Winter Festival
460 Harrison Ave.
If you love SoWa in the summer, its Winter Festival is downright fab. The fourth annual fest is now spread over two weekends, an extra helping of the biggest winter shopping village and holiday festival in Boston. Bundle up, head over to the SoWa Art + Design District, sip on winter cocktails and shop for handmade gifts. The schedule:
Nov. 30, 5-9 p.m.
Dec. 1, 11 a.m.-5 p.m.
Dec. 7, 5-9 p.m.
Dec. 8, 11 a.m.-7 p.m.
Dec. 9, 11 a.m.-5 p.m.
Greenway Carousel
Tiffany & Co. Foundation Grove, Rose Kennedy Greenway
185 Kneeland St. rosekennedygreenway.org/visit/greenway-carousel Holiday Light Shows at the Greenway Carousel: How’s this for making Christmas memories — listening to your favorite holiday tunes set to the lights of the Greenway Carousel while riding one of New England’s fab native creatures. Light shows run approximately 15 minutes, every 30 minutes from 4:45 p.m. until close! The Greenway Carousel is open Friday, Saturdays and Sundays from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. and daily during the week after Christmas from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m., weather permitting.
Nichols House Museum
55 Mount Vernon St.
Beacon Hill Holiday House Tour: Fans of the Nichols House Museum’s annual Beacon Hill Holiday House Tour have enjoyed the rare opportunity to experience select, remarkable private homes for over 20 years. This year, the museum is teaming up with the Colonial Society of Massachusetts, the William Hickling Prescott House and six private homeowners to showcase outstanding examples of historic preservation, in addition to modern adaptations in a range of architectural and interior design styles. Tour-goers can also take in “Craftswomen: The Woodworkings of Rose and Margaret Nichols in Arts & Crafts New England,” a special pop-up exhibition honoring a new acquisition at the Nichols Museum. The $125 ticket purchase helps support the Nichols House Museum’s ongoing preservation and programming needs. Dec. 9, noon-4 p.m. For tickets, go to eventbrite.com/e/beacon-hill-holiday-housetour-tickets-51308282454.
Boston Children’s Museum
308 Congress St.
Kid-friendly fun: And let’s face it, adults love the place, too. Here’s what’s in store for the holidays.
Snowmazing!: Skate with your socks in an Alpine village setting and enjoy music, performances, games and the museum’s elves. Opens Saturday.
Elephant & Piggie’s “We Are in a Play!”: Get ready for a musical experience from the pages of Mo Willems’ beloved, award-winning, children’s books that will leave audiences doing the “Flippy Floppy Floory” dance all night long! Dec. 14-29. Holiday Music with New England Conservatory: Enjoy holiday/winter-themed jazz music performed by musicians from New England Conservatory. Dec. 7.
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Rockwell Cage Gymnasium 106 Vassar St., Cambridge Friday After Thanksgiving Chain Reaction: This wonderful MIT event draws more than 1,000 spectators annually, who watch as teams build contraptions, which are then linked together, and a ball is set in motion moving from start to finish in a giant chain reaction. Host Arthur Ganson will be on hand to talk strategy with the teams, and get the ball rolling. Tomorrow, 1-4 p.m. For tickets, go to mitmuseum.mit.edu/fat.
Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum
25 Evans Way
Bilal: Grammy Award-winning R&B artist Bilal will perform at the Isabella Stewart
Gardner Museum as part of the fourth season of RISE, the Museum’s pop, rock and hip-hop music series that features emerging talent and young artists. Two-time Grammy winner Jake Sherman, a Boston native, will open the show. Tickets are required for RISE and include Museum admission. Admission is $27 for adults; $24 for seniors; $17 for members; $15 students and children; those age 7 and under are not admitted. For information or to purchase tickets in advance, go to gardnermuseum.org or call 617-278-5156. Nov. 29, 7 p.m.
Museum of Fine Arts
465 Huntington Ave.
Hanukkah: The Festival of Lights: The MFA partners with the Jewish Arts Collaborative and Combined Jewish Philanthropies to celebrate Hanukkah with a free evening of lively musical performances, engaging tours, art-making and familyfriendly activities. Visitors can view a one-of-a-kind menorah created by local artists Silvina Mizrahi and Sean Clarke, then enjoy a community candle-lighting. Dec. 5.
December Vacation Week: Kids can learn how the New Year is celebrated around the world through art-making and other activities. Dec. 26-31.
Paul Revere House
19 North Square
Colonial celebrations: Why did New England Colonists consider Thanksgiving “the one day above all others”? Which Bostonians kept Christmas and which did not? Learn the answers while helping the Revere House celebrate the holiday season in the style of Colonial Bostonians with 18th century music, culinary delights and crafts. Sample warm, mulled cider and treats baked from period recipes all day. Visit with Rachel Revere, portrayed by History At Play’s Judith Kalaora, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. throughout the site. Craftspeople working in traditional methods will demonstrate and sell wares from noon to 4 p.m. R.P. Hale will play 18th century Advent music on the harpsichord and hammered dulcimer from noon to 4 p.m. in the Pierce/Hichborn House, Dec.1 and 2, 9:30 a.m.-4:15 p.m; free with admission to the Revere House.
Old South Meeting House
310 Washington St. Holiday Open House — Colonial Arts and
Crafts: Welcome winter at the Old South Meeting House with performances by local glass harmonica artist Vera Meyer and musicians from the New England Conservatory; try using a quill pen; and more! This event is free and open to the public thanks to funding from the Lowell Institute. Dec. 1, 10 a.m.-4 p.m.
Stone Zoo
149 Pond St., Stoneham
Wild holidays: How do the animals celebrate the season? Check it out at Stone Zoo’s ZooLights from tomorrow through Dec. 31. Stroll through the beautifully lit Yukon Creek and see black bears, bald eagles, Canada lynx, arctic foxes and even reindeer! Children can also visit and take photos with Santa on Dec. 24 and Mrs. Claus on Dec. 5, 12, 19 and 24. Visit with the Ice Princesses at Stone Zoo’s ZooLights on Dec. 28.
Boston Cares
bostoncares.org
Build a Bed for a Child in Need: Provide a child with a bed of his or her own through the Boston Cares Bed Project. The project offers a fun, hands-on experience building high-quality bed frames for homeless and low-income families and children in foster care. Participation in the Holiday Bed Build is $150/person, which covers bed build costs and supports Boston Cares’ year-round volunteer initiatives. Create a team with your colleagues, family or friends or come on your own! Register at bostoncares.org/holidaybedbuild. Dec. 6 and Dec. 13, 9 a.m.-noon and 1 -4 p.m. each day.
Acton Pharmacy
563 Mass. Ave., Acton actonpharmacy.com
Chill out: Acton Pharmacy is hosting a free yoga session with instructor Fae Ghodrat of Emerson Hospital’s Steinberg Wellness Center for Mind and Body on Dec. 19 from 6:30 to 8 p.m. Please bring your own yoga mats.