Celebrate The Holiday Season In Cape May

Celebrate the holidays and get in that festive spirit with a weekend trip down to Cape May. It's not a far drive and it's going to be all decked out! It's just over an hour from downtown Toms River to Downtown Cape May!

According to a press release from Cape May MAC (Museums+Arts+Culture), Cape May, N.J. welcomes visitors with an abundance of old-fashioned cheer for the Christmas holiday! There are six weeks of festive tours and events presented by Cape May MAC, that celebrate the season, from Friday, Nov. 22 through Thursday, Jan. 2, 2025. 

Victorian Cape May at Christmas is a beautiful place to make holiday memories with family and friends. Soak in the sights and sounds as you travel on trolley rides, delight in this city’s holiday lights, tour homes, inns, and B&Bs beautifully decorated for the holiday, share breakfast with Santa, and much more this holiday season.

It’s a yearly Cape May tradition and kicks off the holiday season! Santa Claus, himself, flips the switch and illuminates the huge evergreen Christmas tree on the grounds of the historic 1879 Emlen Physick Estate, 1048 Washington St. during the annual Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony, Saturday, Nov. 23, from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. Everyone is welcome! Visitors of all ages are invited to this annual tradition outdoors on the grounds of the estate, a thrilling start to the holiday season, presented by Cape May MAC and sponsored by Sturdy Savings Bank.

Visitors are invited to bring canned goods and non-perishable food items for collection during the evening to donate to the Cape May Community Food Bank, which helps feed needy families in the community, and stop by the Toys for Tots table to help support this worthy cause. This year features the John Walter Community Band , celebrating 25 years, and performing holiday favorites. The concert begins at 5:30 p.m. Santa will arrive to hit the switch on the huge Christmas tree on the estate at 7 p.m. from the outdoor stage.

The 1879 Physick House Museum is authentically decorated for a Victorian Christmas during the holiday season and visitors on Saturday, Nov. 23 can step inside the museum for a free, self-guided Physick Estate Christmas Tour, from 5 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.

The wonders of the season are on display beginning Nov. 22 in An Old-fashioned Christmas Exhibit in the Carroll Gallery at the Physick Estate’s Carriage House. Stand beneath the boughs of a giant Christmas tree! This exhibit features holiday traditions through the years that bring to life a child’s Christmas fantasy, complete with a delightful Dept. 56 Dickens Village, model trains, vintage Christmas family photos, toys and much more. Admission is free.

The best way to see Cape May’s Christmas lights during Holiday Preview Weekend is on board Holiday Lights Trolley Rides. Ride through Cape May’s Historic District and see cheerfully decorated inns and homes as guides talk about Victorian Christmas traditions and play Christmas music. Rides last about 30 minutes and all season long they depart from the Ocean Street Trolley stop, except for the night of Christmas Tree Lighting, Nov. 23, when they depart from the Emlen Physick Estate.

Step on board for Spirited Cape May Christmas Trolley Rides during the Christmas season in historic Cape May! Hear tales of Christmases long, long ago, and not so long ago, as you travel along lovely streets in the historic district.

Hear about Santa arriving at this seaside town in odd and surprising ways, ghostly appearances in the 1879 Physick House museum experienced and recorded by staff there during the holidays, ghostly shadow spirits out strolling on cold December nights, the weird and risky games Victorians played at Christmas, and more.

For more info on all things Christmas in Cape May this holiday season, click here.