Pre-Holiday Festivities in Central Massachusetts

Festive music; bonfires; and thousands of twinkling, colored lights are just the things to get everyone in the holiday spirit, and four seasonal highlights entice family travelers to central Massachusetts. The Night Lights: Starry Skies light display at New England Botanic Garden, Winter Wonderland at Southwick’s Zoo, Winter Lights at Red Apple Farm and Christmas by Candlelight at Old Sturbridge Village promise a holiday treat for the whole family.

New England Botanic Garden at Tower Hill in Boylston transforms into a spectacular wonderland during the Starry Skies light display, Nov. 24–Dec. 31. In addition to the landscapes of colored lights and immersive experiences, visitor can enjoy s’mores and seasonal drinks.

At Southwick’s Zoo, in Mendon, Winter Wonderland decorates the zoo with more than 4 million lights and dazzling color displays. Kids can meet St. Nicholas and his reindeer in Santa’s Barn, greet polar bears and penguins, and watch performances by the Queen of Arendelle. Winter Wonderland lasts Nov. 18 to Dec. 31.

Costumed historians reenact the traditions of an old-fashioned New England Christmas during Christmas by Candlelight at Old Sturbridge Village. Families can stroll the village lanes past decorated houses, watch open-hearth baking demonstrations, follow the Christmas Tree Trail, and hear stories and songs of the mid-1800s. Christmas by Candlelight is on weekends: Nov. 24–26 and Dec. 1–3, 8–10, 15–17, 22–23 and 27–30.

During Winter Lights, Red Apple Farm in Phillipston glows with more than 200,000 lights spread throughout the orchards. Here, families can enjoy wood-fired pizza around the bonfire, while parents sample beer and wine from Brew Yard. Winter Lights is Nov. 24 to Dec. 31.