Updated October 30, 2026 — every date and price below comes from the organizer's site. If the date wasn’t available when I updated the site, it has last year’s date and a placeholder.

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Every December we try to get outside, take advantage of the early dark, and go see some beautiful lights without having to stay up super late. Below is the complete guide on seeing lights with options on foot and from the car. If you're after the markets, Santa visits and Snowport, that's the sister guide: Christmas Markets Near Boston With Kids.

The ticketed walk-throughs open the Friday after Thanksgiving: Winterlights, Gardens Aglow and Edaville all start November 27, 2026, and ZooLights opens a week earlier on November 20. Bright Nights in Springfield starts the night before Thanksgiving, November 25. The free city lights come on with the tree lightings: Christopher Columbus Park's trellis on Monday November 23, Boston Common and the Commonwealth Avenue Mall on Thursday December 3. Most of it runs to January 2 or 3.

Bright Nights at Forest Park in Springfield is the only true drive-through on this list — three miles of lights, $30 per car and you can leave the kids in pajamas. Everything else is on foot.

Boston Common and the Comm Ave Mall, the Columbus Park trellis, Somerville's Illuminations map, and walking through Enchanted Village in Avon. You pay for ZooLights, Winterlights, Gardens Aglow, Edaville and Bright Nights.

📍 Boston Common and Back Bay | 👶 All ages | 💲 Free | ☀️ Outdoor

The Nova Scotia tree by the Visitor Center on Tremont Street, and the better part for a stroller: the Commonwealth Avenue Mall, lit from Arlington Street to Charlesgate. This is awlays a beautiful walk, no matter the season.

The lighting itself is Thursday December 3, 2026, 6–8pm on the Common, with the Comm Ave Mall switched on around 8:15pm right after. It's a school night and the crowd is deep; with little kids I'd skip the ceremony and walk it the Friday or Saturday after, when Frog Pond is open for skating too. Public bathrooms are at the Visitor Center. Boston.gov event page.

📍 110 Atlantic Ave, Boston | 👶 All ages | 💲 Free (public park) | ☀️ Outdoor

The long trellis along the harbor wrapped in blue lights. Not worth a trip on its own, but always nice to walk through if you’re exploring the area at night (which soon will be like, after 430)

The Friends of the park list the 2026 Holiday Trellis Lighting Ceremony for Monday November 23, 2026 at 5pm. The lights stay up through the season after that. Friends of Christopher Columbus Park.

📍 Somerville, by car or on foot | 👶 All ages | 💲 Free | ☀️ Outdoor / car

The Somerville Arts Council collects the most over-the-top house displays in the city on an online map, and you drive or walk the route yourself. The trolley tours are gone for good — the council says the rental got too expensive and they'd rather keep it free. It's the closest thing to a drive-through inside Route 128 - great for staying warm with the kids (or you) in pajamas.

The council's page describes it as month-long in December and has a listing form up for homeowners, but no 2026 map or dates as of October 22. Check back after Thanksgiving. Somerville Arts Council — Illuminations.

📍 Avon (about 25 min south) | 👶 Sweet spot ages 2–8 | 💲 Free to walk; rides and skating $2–$11 each | 🏠 Indoor

The free indoor option, with a furniture store's worth of bathrooms, free parking and heat. The 1958 Jordan Marsh animatronic village is free to walk; the 4D rides, skating and the slide cost money. The full rundown of 2026 prices, hours and which lines to avoid is in the markets guide: it runs November 13, 2026 through January 1, 2027.

📍 Attleboro (about 45 min south) | 👶 All ages | 💲 Free to walk the grounds historically | ☀️ Outdoor

The big free walk-through south of the city: a Catholic shrine that covers its grounds in lights every year. check lasaletteattleboroshrine.org before you drive down. it runs November 21, 2026 through January 3, 2027.

📍 Stoneham (about 20 min north) | 👶 All ages | 💲 Paid, price changes by date; under 2 free | ☀️ Outdoor

A lit loop on the zoo's own paths, mostly one-way with no re-entry, so you commit once you're in. The zoo says the average visit is 1 to 1.5 hours; but this zoo, having gone last year is easy to bail and make it as long or short of a walk as you need depending on hw the littles are doing. Some animals are out (flamingos and reindeer, not guaranteed), and Santa is at the zoo Fridays through Sundays November 27–29, December 4–6, 11–13 and 18–20, plus Tuesday December 22 and Wednesday December 23, 4:30–8:30pm, $5 per person ages 2 and up, sold on-site first come first served, five-minute visits.

Dates: November 20 – January 3, 4–9:30pm, last entry 8:30pm, closed Thanksgiving and Christmas Day. Official ZooLights page.

📍 Canton (about 30 min south) | 👶 All ages, but see the stroller note | 💲 $32 adults ($25 value nights), $15 kids 3–15, 2 and under free; members $5 less | ☀️ Outdoor

The Trustees light the gardens and woods of the Bradley Estate and you walk a loop through them, first floor of the house included. Calmer and smaller than ZooLights, this is a good pick for a kid who gets overwhelmed. Sensory-friendly tickets run Sundays December 6–27, 3:30–4:30pm at Bradley, a limited number per night. One change this year: only two sites are on the Trustees' 2026 list, Bradley and Naumkeag in Stockbridge. Stevens-Coolidge in North Andover isn't running Winterlights this year.

Stroller: doesn’t look promising. The Trustees say outright that many routes are not wheelchair or stroller accessible: stairs, slopes, uneven and uncompacted ground, mud or ice. A carrier may be a better choice here.

Cost and dates: confirmed for 2026 — November 27, 2026 through January 2, 2027, Wednesdays–Sundays 4:30–9pm, plus December 21–22 and 28–29, closed December 24–25, open New Year's Day. Adults $32 (members $27); Value Nights, Wednesdays and Thursdays through December 17 plus December 28–30, are $25 ($20 members). Kids 3–15 are $15 ($10 members), and free December 28 through January 2. 2 and under free. Tickets are sold by day and time slot through the Trustees' site. Official Winterlights page.

📍 Sandwich, Cape Cod (about 1 hr 10 min) | 👶 All ages | 💲 $30 adults, $20 ages 3–17, 2 and under free (members $28/$18) | ☀️ Outdoor + indoor galleries

The one with the most to actually do: lit gardens and tunnels, a model train, marshmallow roasting, a reindeer scavenger hunt, giant building blocks, Santa in a 1913 Model T in the car gallery, and the 1908 Looff carousel running inside. Donut truck and café open. This one is one of the most interactive on this list with fun all around for hte kids

Tickets are timed: entry windows at 4:30, 5:45 and 6:45pm, stay until 8:30pm. Public sale opened October 21; weekends go first, and day-of tickets, if any, are double the online price. Reserve a free ticket for a baby 2 and under so they can count heads.

Dates: confirmed for 2026 — November 27–29, December 2–6, 8–13, 15–23 and 26–27, 4:30–8:30pm, last entry 8pm. That's 25 nights, so note the gaps: no Mondays, and dark December 7, 14 and 24–25. Official Gardens Aglow page.

📍 Carver (about 55 min south) | 👶 All ages; 3 and under free | 💲 $36 general admission; $65 First-Class Pajama Express | ☀️ Outdoor

General admission includes the Holiday Express train ride (first come, first served), the light displays, the artisan marketplace, pony rides, a petting zoo, horse-drawn carriage rides, skating on a synthetic rink, and character meet-ups. The $65 ticket adds a scheduled steam-engine ride. Food is extra. Weekends only, and the site says the best dates sell out.

Stroller: paved except the audience area at the King's Stage, where the synchronized light show runs; Edaville recommends big sturdy wheels. Parking is free, with a shuttle from overflow lots on busy nights; arrive 30–45 minutes before your entry time. Open rain, shine or snow.

Dates: confirmed for 2026 — November 27 through December 27, Fridays 4–9pm, Saturdays 2–9pm, Sundays 3–7:30pm. Official Edaville site and plan-your-visit page.

📍 Springfield (about 1 hr 30 min west) | 👶 All ages, best with a sleeping baby | 💲 $30 per car plus $2 fee through December 27; $20 per car after | 🚗 Drive-through

Three miles of 750k lights with the heat on. Worth 90 minutes each way on its own? Maybe. You can add on the Dr. Seuss sculpture garden at the Springfield Museums that afternoon, or family out that way. Santa visits and the horse-drawn wagon rides are separate add-ons.

Tickets are advance-only, online, per car. Weekend and Christmas-week entry lines can run longer than the lights; a Tuesday in early December moves fast.

Dates: confirmed for 2026 — Wednesday November 25, 2026 through Sunday January 3, 2027, closed Monday November 30 and Tuesday December 1. Lights on at 5pm nightly; 9pm close Sunday–Thursday, 10pm Fridays, Saturdays and holidays. $30 per car plus a $2 ticket fee November 25 – December 27, then $20 plus $2 December 28 – January 3. Official Bright Nights dates and rates.

The Commonwealth Avenue Mall after December 3, the Columbus Park trellis after November 23, Somerville's Illuminations map once it's posted, and walking through Enchanted Village in Avon. None need a ticket, and the Comm Ave Mall is the only one long enough to feel like an outing.

Not inside Route 128 this year. The real one is Bright Nights in Springfield, $30 per car, 90 minutes west. Somerville's Illuminations map is the local workaround: a free route of lit-up houses you drive yourself. Magic of Lights at Gillette isn't listed for 2026 as of this writing.

Depends on the kid. Under 3 and napping: Bright Nights, from the car. Ages 3 to 8 who want things to do, not just look at: Gardens Aglow in Sandwich. Closest to the city with animals: ZooLights in Stoneham. Calmest, and the one with a sensory-friendly hour: Winterlights at the Bradley Estate in Canton. Lights plus a train: Edaville.

Thursday December 3, 2026, 6–8pm, with the Commonwealth Avenue Mall lit around 8:15pm the same night. The Columbus Park trellis goes on earlier, Monday November 23 at 5pm. The ticketed shows open November 20 (ZooLights), November 25 (Bright Nights) and November 27 (Winterlights, Gardens Aglow, Edaville).

Book early for weekend visits. Gardens Aglow's public sale opened October 21 and sells by timed window; Winterlights sells by day and time slot; ZooLights gets more expensive the closer you book; Edaville says its best dates sell out; Bright Nights requires an advance online ticket per car. Weeknights in early December are the best bet for anything here.

This guide is one branch of our bigger list: 150+ Things to Do With Kids in the Boston Area has the year-round version, sorted by age, cost and whether it's indoors.

Bookmark this one — I'll refresh it as the last 2026 dates get posted and once I can read La Salette's site. If you want the weekly version (what's actually on this weekend, sorted by whether it's worth reorganizing your Saturday), subscribe to Boston Family Calendar. It's free and it comes out every Wednesday.

Dito from Boston Family Calendar