Christmas Trees:
- Boston has several different lighting ceremonies, including several tree lightings, a trellis lighting, and a menorah lighting.
- Learn all about Boston's official Christmas tree, an annual gift from the people of Nova Scotia.
- And while there's probably no shortage of places in your neighborhood to buy a Christmas tree, here’s a useful guide to places where you can pick your own tree.
Christmas Shopping:
- Faneuil Hall Marketplace has more than 100 shops and carts featuring local artists and national chains, set in a charming atmosphere of historic buildings and outdoor performers. Visit the website for directions. To get you started, here are my picks for the Ten Best Gift Shops in Faneuil Hall. faneuilhallmarketplace.com
- Newbury Street: Boston's most famous shopping spot, Newbury Street in the Back Bay is eight blocks of stores, boutiques, salons, and more. Though many of the shops are on the pricier side, the street has something for just about everyone. newbury-st.com
- Copley Place and Boylston Street: The Back Bay's Copley Place mall features high-end stores such as Neiman Marcus, Tiffany & Co., Christian Dior, and Louis Vuitton. Out on Boylston Street you’ll find a Restoration Hardware, Anthropologie, Crate & Barrel, Copley Flair, and more. bostonbackbay.com
- Downtown Crossing: For more affordable clothes shopping head over to Downtown Crossing where you'll find Macy's, H&M, DSW shoes, Marshalls, Borders, TJ Maxx, an Eddie Bauer outlet, and a number of smaller clothing stores and street venders all within a few blocks. downtowncrossing.org
- And of course there are always the many Boston-area malls, where Christmas has already been going on for months.
- If you need a break in between shopping, or if you're out and about and realized you don’t know what was on Johhny's wishlist, check the Wi-Fi hotspot guide for information on where you can get Internet access.
Entertainment:
- Skating on the Frog Pond: Grab your friends and family and head down to the Common for this Boston tradition. Read more details.
- The Christmas Revels: The 37th annual Christmas Revels in Cambridge takes its cues from Christmastime in the Balkans, and features more than 80 performers. Join in the fun and sing three-part rounds with the cast, laugh at the Mummers Play, dance out of the theatre during intermission, hear the Revels' signature piece, "Lord of the Dance," and more.
Dec. 14 thru 30
Adults: $47, $37, $25 (partial view), children under 12: $37, $27, $15 (partial view)
Sanders Theatre, Harvard, Cambridge
(617) 972-8300
See website for details. - Zoo Lights returns this year to Stone Zoo. Enter the zoo and visit Yukon Creek, which features holiday lights, bald eagles, porcupine, lynx, a gray fox, and reindeer. Next pay a visit to Santa Claus, and then enter a magical holiday world of fairy tale characters and dancing plush animals. Read more details.
- The Nutcracker: Boston Ballet performs The Nutcracker, a classical two-act performance based on the story by E.T.A. Hoffmann. The production features the entire Boston Ballet and close to 300 children from Boston Ballet School. The Boston Ballet Orchestra will perform the full Tchaikovsky score.
Nov. 29 - Dec. 29
$30-$150
Opera House, 539 Washington St., Boston
(617) 931-2787
See website for details. - Get discounts on some of the best holiday performances in town, including Boston Ballet's The Nutcracker, Irving Berlin's White Christmas, the Holiday Pops, Handel & Haydn Society, Black Nativity, First Night Boston, and more through the Mayor's Holiday Special. Read more details.
- Santa Speedo Run 2007: Started in 2000, the Santa Speedo Run is an annual charity event in which brave participants run around the Back Bay in the winter chill wearing only Speedos and some Christmas gear. This year, runners are raising money for the Women's Lunch Place, a daytime community in Boston for poor and homeless women and their children. See event website for more details.
Saturday, Dec. 15, registration starts at 10 am / run begins at 1 pm
Lir, 903 Boylston St., Boston
santaspeedorun.com - Holiday Classics 2007: Don't miss your chance to see your favorite holiday classics on the big screen every Saturday at 10 am at these participating theatres: Showcase Cinemas in Lowell, Randolph, Revere, West Springfield, and Woburn. Just bring a non-perishable food item to one of the participating theatres, to benefit local food pantries, and receive free admission to the featured holiday film. Nov. 24: Elf, Dec. 1: It’s a Wonderful Life, Dec. 8: How the Grinch Stole Christmas, Dec. 15: White Christmas.
See website for details.
