Christmas in Salem, NH

Christmas in Salem NH runs from early November to Christmas Eve: a holiday market of wooden booths at Tuscan Village, three tree lightings, a Sunday parade down Main Street and a town map of lit-up houses. Below are the 2026 dates confirmed so far. Where a date is not out yet, we say so and give last year’s.

Tree lightings in Salem, NH

Tuscan Village: Saturday, Nov. 21, 2026

Tuscan Village’s 50-foot Christmas tree lights up “as night falls” on Nov. 21. The village suggests spending the day at the Holiday Shoppes and staying for the lighting. The 2026 time is not posted yet. Last year’s tree was lit at 5 p.m., with live music and hot chocolate.

Salem Lions Club, Salem Common: date TBA

The Lions Club has lit a tree on Salem Common for more than 70 years. The 71st lighting was Tuesday, Dec. 2, 2025, at 6 p.m. at Veterans Park, 308 Main St., with choirs, a carol sing, Santa, and cocoa and cookies from the Lions. The year before it was a Wednesday, Dec. 4. The 2026 date has not been announced; expect early December.

Carols & Cocoa at Town Hall: date TBA

The Town’s Carols & Cocoa was held Thursday, Dec. 4, 2025, at 5:30 p.m. at Salem High School. The marching band and the Salem Fire Department brought Santa in, and he lit the tree in front of Town Hall, more than 50 feet tall with over 5,500 lights. School choruses sang, kids posed with Santa and the Grinch, and letters to Santa went into a Community Services mailbox. The Salem Exchange Club supplied live trees that were decorated on stage and given to families. The 2026 date has not been announced.

The Holiday Shoppes and Festival of Trees

The fifth annual Holiday Shoppes open at Tuscan Village on Friday, Nov. 6, and run through Thursday, Dec. 24. Nearly 50 small wooden booths sell gifts and crafts, jewelry, home goods, decorations and seasonal apparel, with a focus on local artists and makers. Treats include hot chocolate, kettle corn, sweets and mulled wine.

The market is closed Christmas Day, and its November schedule has no Thursday hours. Tuscan Village says hours may change with demand or weather, so check tuscanvillagesalem.com before you go.

Tuscan Village also lists its third annual Festival of Trees for Nov. 13–Dec. 6. Shopping the weekend after Thanksgiving? Our Black Friday guide covers the mall and the village, and the Salem gift guide sorts the stores by who is on your list.

The Salem Holiday Parade: Sunday, Nov. 29, 1 p.m.

The 55th annual Salem Holiday Parade steps off at 1 p.m. on Sunday, Nov. 29, 2026. This year’s theme is “Willy Wonka’s Winter Wonderland.” The parade is a volunteer-run nonprofit paid for by local businesses and donors.

• Route: it starts at Main Street and Policy Street, follows Main Street, turns right onto Geremonty Drive and ends at Salem High School.
• Road closure: Salem Police close Main Street at 12:45 p.m.
• Free spectator parking: Mary Fisk Elementary School, the Municipal Parking Lot, Santander Bank, Eastpointe Plaza, the old Trolley Barn, Woodbury Middle School and Kelley Library.

Last year’s parade drew about 20,000 people and about 85 entries, and it ended with Santa riding a Salem Fire Department ladder truck. Afterward the parade replayed on SCTV channel 16. Details and directions are at salemnhparade.org.

Santa, lights and more traditions

• Santa: he closes the parade, visits the Lions Club lighting and lit the Town Hall tree last year. At The Mall at Rockingham Park in 2025, Santa sat in the JCPenney Court on Level 1, with visits booked through whereissanta.com, plus a sensory-friendly “Caring Santa” morning for children with special needs. The mall has not announced its 2026 Santa dates.
• Salem Lights: a Town Recreation map of houses decorated for the holidays, at salemlights.com. Homeowners add their own displays, and you can print the map or follow it on your phone. The Town lists Salem Lights among its 2026 events; this year’s map is not up yet.
• Winterfest: last year Community Services held Winterfest on Thursday, Dec. 11, 5:30–7:30 p.m., at the Ingram Senior Center, 1 Sally Sweets Way. There was a cocoa crawl with passport stamps, a local vendor market, food trucks, letters to Santa, a scavenger hunt and raffles. The 2026 date is TBA.

Christmas in Salem NH: the week of the 25th

• Last-minute shopping: the Holiday Shoppes add Monday–Wednesday hours Dec. 21–23 and close at 4 p.m. on Christmas Eve. New Hampshire has no sales tax on gifts.
• Town offices: half day Thursday, Dec. 24 for some departments, including the Kelley Library; closed Friday, Dec. 25.
• America’s Stonehenge: open daily all winter except Christmas Day.
• Dinner out: restaurant meals carry the 8.5% meals and rooms tax. Book holiday tables early.

Between events, Salem is a shopping town. The Mall at Rockingham Park has about 140 stores, with Macy’s, JCPenney and DICK’S House of Sport. A short drive away, Tuscan Village puts L.L.Bean, Williams Sonoma, Pottery Barn, Arhaus and Nike along a walkable main street with free parking. Our tax-free shopping guide explains how the no-sales-tax rule works.

For the full season in one list, see our holiday events calendar. For snowshoeing, skating and indoor fun after the holidays, see winter in Salem.