Holiday Day Trips in New York State
1. Westchester’s Winter Wonderland Drive-Thru – Valhalla, New York
Select dates through Tuesday, December 31, 2024
45 minutes from Midtown Manhattan by car
Westchester’s Kensico Dam Plaza Park comes alive with holiday spirit at this aptly named attraction. Highlights for 2024 include a new 125-foot pixel LED winter night sky, a new live ice queen, a Festivus Pole, and an app that allows families to hear magical stories of the larger-than-life light displays along the route.
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2. Kevin McCurdy’s Holiday Spirit Festival – Wappingers Falls, New York
Select dates through Monday, December 23, 2024
1 hour, 40 minutes from Midtown Manhattan by car
This annual celebration of the holidays is beloved by local families and visitors alike. The Holiday Spirit Festival features an enchanting forest of lights, a walk-through North Pole village complete with Mrs. Claus’ castle, a 60-foot-long holiday train display, live entertainment, including magic shows, music, and, of course, the opportunity to meet with the big guy himself—Santa Claus.
3. Riverhead Light Show – Calverton, New York
Select dates through Tuesday, December 31, 2024
1 hour, 40 minutes from Midtown Manhattan by car
This drive-thru holiday lights show lets you and your kids enjoy the sparkle of the season without any shivering. The 1 1/2-mile, 25-minute-drive takes you through an illuminated wonderland with more than 60 displays, including reindeer, an ice castle, snowflakes galore, and even a sea creature in a Santa hat.
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Drive through a tunnel of lights at Jones Beach. Photo courtesy of Magic of Lights
4. Magic of Lights – Wantagh, New York
Select dates through Saturday, January 4, 2025
1 hour from Midtown Manhattan by car
You’ll need a car for this trip, but you’ll stay toasty inside as you cruise along more than a mile of holiday lights at this festive display. Installations include crowd favorites such as “The 12 Days of Christmas” and “The Night Before Christmas,” as well as other colorful creations. Purchase your tickets online in advance.
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Enjoy some theme park fun when Legoland New York goes all out for its Holiday Bricktacular. Photo courtesy of Legoland Resort
5. Holiday Bricktacular at Legoland New York Resort – Goshen, New York
Select dates through Saturday, January 4, 2025
1 hour from Midtown Manhattan by car
It’s beginning to look a lot like…a Lego Christmas at this popular New York theme park and resort. The resort transforms into a magical winter wonderland with Christmas trees decorated with Lego ornaments and lights. Get your driver’s license at the Elf driving school, play holiday games, go ice skating, and enjoy themed shows for the season. If you feel like making more than just a day trip out of this adventure, stay overnight in one of the festive, holiday-themed suites at the kid-friendly Legoland Hotel. Rooms feature special holiday decorations, including trees, wreaths, and garlands.
Holiday Day Trips in New Jersey
6. Bergen County’s Winter Wonderland at Van Saun Park – Paramus, New Jersey
Select dates through Sunday, January 5, 2025
45 minutes from Midtown Manhattan
Van Saun Park, already a favorite destination for New Jersey families, is once again transforming into a Winter Wonderland for the holidays. For the price of a general admission ticket, visitors can enjoy open-air ice skating, a mini-train ride, Santa visits, admission to the zoo, a carousel ride, and more family activities. There’s also a synthetic skating rink for kids, which is great for beginners because it has more friction than regular ice. New for the season is a second ice rink with bumper cars and a holiday craft market. Kids 3 and under are FREE.
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Take a journey to the North Pole on the Polar Express train in Whippany New Jersey. Photo courtesy The Polar Express
7. The Polar Express – Whippany, New Jersey
Select dates through Monday, December 30, 2024
1 hour from Midtown Manhattan by car
There are many lovely Polar Express and Christmas-themed train rides near NYC, but this magical train ride takes rail fans on a storybook-inspired, one-hour journey that’s just barely outside the city. Once aboard the Polar Express, expect a visit from Santa, who makes a stop in each car to hand out silver bells to every child. There is a reading of the classic book, and kids are encouraged to come in pajamas, toting their own copies to read along. Hot chocolate and plenty of photo-ops with the man of the hour are included.
8. Skylands Light Show – Augusta, New Jersey
Select dates through Monday, December 30, 2024
1 hour, 15 minutes from Midtown Manhattan by car
Head to Skylands Stadium to drive this one-mile route illuminated by more than 2 million twinkling lights. Once you’ve navigated the spectacular show in your car, visit the outdoor Christmas Village for photos with Santa, arts and crafts, holiday-themed performances, an ice rink, and don’t forget to stop at the s’mores station to roast marshmallows over a fire pit.
9. Holiday in the Park at Six Flags Great Adventure – Jackson Township, New Jersey
Select dates through Wednesday, January 1, 2025
1 1/2 hours from Midtown Manhattan by car
If your first thought is that amusement parks are for sunny summer days, think again. Holiday in the Park at Six Flags has more glitz and blitz than you could possibly imagine. Activities this year include a holiday magic show, the Candy Cane Crew jugglers, and Rudolph’s Regiment Music. You can visit Santa or opt for story time with Mrs. Claus, plus enjoy fun seasonal eats, fire pits with s’mores, and plenty of theme park thrills.
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Meet your favorite friends at Sesame Place’s A Very Furry Christmas celebration. Photo courtesy of Sesame Place
Holiday Day Trips in Pennsylvania
10. Quiet Valley Farm – Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania
Weekends from Saturday, December 7-Sunday, December 15, 2024
1 1/2 hours from Midtown Manhattan by car
Experience an old-fashioned Christmas on the farm. Visitors are transported back to a time before the bright lights and toy commercials and taken on a candlelit tour of the farm as it would have been in the 1800s. Witness a Victorian family preparing for Christmas, a living nativity, caroling in the schoolhouse, and traditional Pennsylvania German scenes. Groups go out every 15 minutes from 2:30pm-7pm, with the last session starting at 7pm.
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11. A Very Furry Christmas at Sesame Place – Langhorne, Pennsylvania
Saturday, November 16-Sunday, January 5, 2025
1 1/2 hours from Midtown Manhattan by car
Meet and greet your favorite furry friends at Sesame Place this holiday season. Sing along to “Elmo’s Christmas Wish” and explore all Sesame Place has to offer with exceptional holiday cheer. The theme park hosts special events to celebrate Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, and the new year. If you want to complete your trip with a festive feast, be sure to book one of the events, such as Christmas Dine with Elmo and Friends or Cookies and Cocoa with Cookie Monster.
12. Hersheypark’s Christmas Candylane – Hershey, Pennsylvania
Select dates from Friday, November 15-Sunday, December 29, 2024
3 hours from Midtown Manhattan by car
What’s sweeter than spending the holidays at the Sweetest Place on Earth? Hershey, Pennsylvania, may be the most distant holiday day trip destination on this list, but it’s worth the schlep. With multiple attractions to choose from, you can find just about every type of holiday treat you’d imagine here. Head to the Yule Lounge to celebrate with Santa, Mrs. Claus, and their elves. Select theme park rides are open, including some of the park’s famed coasters, and more than 5 million twinkling lights punctuate the merry scene. Don’t forget to visit the Kissmas Tree before you head home or pick us some sweet stocking stuffers and Hershey’s Chocolate World.
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Kids can wear their Christmas PJs and bring along a favorite stuffed animal. Photo courtesy of the Essex Steam Train & Riverboat
Holiday Day Trips in Connecticut
13. Lantern Light Village – Mystic, Connecticut
Select dates from Friday, December 6-Saturday, December 21, 2024
2 1/2 hours from Midtown Manhattan by car
Enjoy the joy of a Christmas past at Mystic Seaport’s Lantern Light Village. Guests wander the grounds and experience the festivities of a 19th-century Christmas season with festive lighting displays, old-time dances, holiday crafts, fire pits, horse-and-carriage rides, a visit with St. Nicholas, and more. While the Lantern Light Villages are an evening affair, come early to explore all the family-friendly fun in this seaside town, including a visit to the famed Mystic Pizza.
14. Shoreline Trolley Winter Wonderland – East Haven, Connecticut
Weekends through Sunday, December 22, 2024
1 1/2 hours from Midtown Manhattan by car
It’s just a short journey to the north for this New England holiday experience. The Shoreline Trolley Museum is decorated in its holiday best and guests can wander the trolley barns before taking a ride on an antique trolley car. Santa himself can’t get enough—he visits every weekend! There are plenty of festive photo-ops.
15. The North Pole Express – Essex, Connecticut
Select dates through Monday, December 23, 2024
2 hours from Midtown Manhattan by car
If you’re looking for a truly indulgent (and more expensive) experience, and don’t mind traveling farther, the North Pole Express in Essex, Connecticut, is definitely worth the drive, but it’s a perennially popular event that sells out every year. If you missed tickets for this season, it’s handy to put it on your calendar for next fall, and book tickets as soon as they go on sale in September.
All photos courtesy of the festivals/venues
This article was first published in November 2015; it is updated annually.
