Christmas Town USA: Where It Is and Other Towns

Christmas Town USA, written Christmas Town U.S.A. by the town, is the nickname of McAdenville, North Carolina. The town's own page lists the 2026 lights from 1 to 26 December, shining from 5:30 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. each night. If you meant a different Christmas town, the table below covers the others we could check. We re-read each town's page on 5 November 2026.

The towns at a glance

So, McAdenville is the one true Christmas Town U.S.A., and the other nine have their own 2026 dates below.

McAdenville, North Carolina

Hours: Lights: 1 to 26 December 2026, green, red and white, 5:30 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. each night. Tree lighting 1 December at 5:30 p.m. at Dynamo 31, 102 Main Street. Yule Log Parade 10 December, with singing from 5:30 p.m. at 100 Main Street (Town of McAdenville, read 17 Oct and 5 Nov 2026)

The page says you can walk or drive through downtown. It does not give a price, parking or visitor rules. It links to a 2026 Trip Planner PDF that we did not read. Not confirmed: cost, parking and traffic rules.

So, go any night from 1 to 26 December between 5:30 and 10 p.m.

Bethlehem, Pennsylvania

Hours: Christkindlmarkt: open weekends 13 November to 20 December 2026. The days are 13 to 15 Nov, 20 to 22 Nov, 27 to 29 Nov, 3 to 6 Dec, 10 to 13 Dec and 17 to 20 Dec. Hours: Thursday and Sunday 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., Friday and Saturday 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. The market is at PNC Plaza at SteelStacks. ArtsQuest Silver members and up get free season admission (ArtsQuest, read 5 Nov 2026)

The page lists no price and no street address for the market. It links to a ticket page that we did not read. Not confirmed: ticket price and street address.

So, go on a Friday or Saturday if you want the market open until 8 p.m.

St. Augustine, Florida

Hours: Nights of Lights: nightly from Saturday 21 November 2026 to Monday 18 January 2027. Light-Up! Night on 21 November begins at 4:00 p.m., and the ceremony begins at 6:30 p.m. in the Plaza (Visit St. Augustine, read 5 Nov 2026)

Note: Free parking and free shuttle rides run on select days. The park-and-ride lots are the St. Johns County Health Department (200 San Sebastian View), Broudy's Lot (198 West King Street) and the San Marco Lot (301 San Marco Avenue). On Light-Up! Night the shuttles run 4:00 to 11:00 p.m. On shuttle days the parking garage charges $40.00 after 1:00 p.m., and $20.00 for the day otherwise (same page)

The page does not say whether viewing the lights costs anything. The event line we read on 17 October 2026 is (904) 829-1711.

So, use the free park-and-ride on busy nights instead of the $40 garage.

Leavenworth, Washington

Hours: Christmastown: 27 November to 24 December 2026. The lights are on every day from Thanksgiving through the end of February, 6 a.m. to 11 p.m. Watching is free (Leavenworth Chamber, read 5 Nov 2026)

We cover parking, the free shuttle, Amtrak and bus times, and Stevens Pass tire rules in our Leavenworth Christmas guide.

Frankenmuth, Michigan

Hours: Bronner's CHRISTmas Wonderland hours for October to December: Monday to Thursday 9 a.m. to 7 p.m., Friday 9 a.m. to 8 p.m., Saturday 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., Sunday noon to 6 p.m. Closed Thanksgiving and Christmas Day. Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve close at 4 p.m. (Bronner's store hours, read 5 Nov 2026)

The page says the store is open 361 days a year. Frankenmuth's town events and their 2026 dates: not confirmed.

So, Saturday is the late night at Bronner's, open until 9 p.m.

Solvang, California

Hours: Julefest runs from 27 November 2026 to 3 January 2027. The tree lighting is Friday, 4 December 2026, at 5:30 p.m. in Solvang Park, 1630 Mission Drive. The Julefest Parade is Saturday, 5 December 2026, from 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. (Visit Solvang, Julefest 2026 page, read 5 Nov 2026)

The page says the parade has more than 400 people in over 50 groups. A 10-minute light and music show runs in Solvang Park every evening on the hour, from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. It lists no price for the tree lighting or the parade.

So, the tree lighting weekend of 4 to 6 December is the busiest one to plan around.

Branson, Missouri

Hours: Silver Dollar City's An Old Time Christmas runs from 7 November 2026 to 2 January 2027. The park says it has more than 6.5 million lights and a new Stars, Lights and Christmas Nights Parade (Silver Dollar City, read 5 Nov 2026)

Price: The page lists a one-day "Merry Mondays" ticket at $79 plus tax on 9, 16, 23 and 30 November 2026. It does not list the regular day ticket price. Park admission is needed for entry (same page)

So, a November Monday is the cheapest day ticket the park lists for Christmas.

Santa Claus, Indiana

Hours: The town's 2026 event guide lists Santa Claus Land of Lights at Sun Outdoors Lake Rudolph from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. on set nights from Friday, 27 November, into December. (Santa Claus, Indiana visitors bureau, 2026 Christmas Event Guide, posted 25 Sept 2026, read 17 Oct 2026)

Hours: The Santa Claus Christmas Parade is Saturday 12 December 2026 at 1:00 p.m. Central time and lasts about one hour. It starts and ends at Holiday World's Legend Parking Lot. Admission is free (Spencer County Visitors Bureau, read 5 Nov 2026)

Price: The guide marks Land of Lights as a paid event but gives no price

So, the parade on 12 December is the free fixed date in Santa Claus.

Helen, Georgia

Hours: Lighting of the Village: Friday 27 November 2026, 5 p.m. to 7 p.m., at Riverside Park, 1074 Edelweiss Strasse. Santa and Mrs. Claus arrive as the village lights go on (Helen tourism office, read 5 Nov 2026)

Hours: Helen's Christmas Parade is Saturday 12 December 2026 at 6 p.m. on Main Street downtown, rain or shine (Helen tourism office event pages, read 22 Oct 2026, not re-read)

Price: The event pages list no price for the lighting or the parade

The tourism office also names a Christkindlmarkt on some weekends downtown. We did not find 2026 dates for it. Not confirmed: Christkindlmarkt dates. The lighting information line is 706-878-2181.

So, 27 November is the night to be in Helen for the lights.

North Pole, Alaska

Hours: North Pole Winterfest 2026 has a holiday bazaar from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. at North Pole Plaza Mall, fireworks at 6 p.m. above Hotel North Pole, and a Christmas show the next day at 2 p.m. at North Pole High School. Explore Fairbanks gave two different weekends when we read it on 22 October 2026. Its event page said Saturday 5 and Sunday 6 December 2026. Its winter events post from 15 October 2026 said 12 and 13 December. On 5 November 2026 the Explore Fairbanks events calendar showed no Winterfest listing, so we could not settle it. Not confirmed: which weekend

Price: Both Explore Fairbanks pages say Winterfest is free

The event is run by the North Pole Community Chamber of Commerce, (907) 987-2665. Call them to check the date before you book.

So, do not book a North Pole trip around Winterfest until the chamber confirms the weekend. The Christmas in Ice site showed a Cloudflare block page when we checked on 22 Oct 2026, and the City of North Pole calendar had no 2026 Christmas events. Not confirmed: Christmas in Ice 2026 dates.

How to choose

Pick by what you want to do:

• Lights every night: McAdenville (1 to 26 December) or St. Augustine (21 November to 18 January).

• A Christmas market: Bethlehem, open weekends from 13 November to 20 December.

• A mountain town: Leavenworth, with Christmastown from 27 November.

• A theme park: Silver Dollar City in Branson, from 7 November.

We did not compare crowds or prices. So, choose by the kind of trip first, then check that town's page for your dates.

What we checked and what can change

Re-read on 5 November 2026: the Town of McAdenville Christmas Town U.S.A. page, ArtsQuest's Christkindlmarkt page, Visit St. Augustine's Nights of Lights page, the Leavenworth Chamber's Christmastown page, Bronner's store hours, Visit Solvang's Julefest page, Silver Dollar City's An Old Time Christmas page, the Santa Claus Christmas Parade page, the Helen Lighting of the Village page and the Explore Fairbanks events calendar.

Read earlier: the Santa Claus, Indiana 2026 Christmas Event Guide (17 October 2026, Land of Lights), the Helen Christmas Parade page (22 October 2026) and two Explore Fairbanks pages on North Pole Winterfest (22 October 2026).

Not confirmed: cost and parking in McAdenville, the Bethlehem ticket price, Frankenmuth events, the Branson regular day price, the Land of Lights price, the Helen Christkindlmarkt dates, the North Pole Winterfest weekend, and Christmas in Ice 2026 dates. Event dates and times can change, so confirm on the town's page before you book.