At 6 p.m. on Friday, December 4, East Ridgewood Avenue closes to traffic from Maple Avenue to Broad Street and stays closed until 9. Fire trucks, police cruisers and public works vehicles line the street. The Ridgewood Fire Department lights warming fire rings between Cottage Place and Walnut Street, and Santa's cart starts down the avenue at about 6:30.
For most of the village, that Friday night is the start of the season. This year it's the first of three days. The Ridgewood Chamber of Commerce hosts Friday downtown. The Ridgewood Historical Society & Museum hosts Saturday at its Schoolhouse museum on East Glen Avenue. On Sunday, six private homes open for a Holiday House Tour tied to the nation's 250th anniversary. The weekend starts downtown and then moves to East Glen Avenue and into private homes, and the hours overlap in ways that make the three days easier to plan as one block of time.
| Date | Event | Where | Hours | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sat., Nov. 21 | Ridgewood Guild Winterfest | Memorial Park at Van Neste Square | 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. | Free |
| Fri., Dec. 4 | Downtown for the Holidays and Tree Lighting | East Ridgewood Avenue, Maple Avenue to Broad Street | Kids' hour 5 to 6 p.m., festival 6 to 9 p.m. | Free |
| Sat., Dec. 5 | All Aboard: Model Train Show | Ridgewood Museum at the Schoolhouse, 650 East Glen Avenue | 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. | Not listed |
| Sun., Dec. 6 | Ridgewood Holiday House Tour | Six private residences, maps at Ridgewood Public Library | 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. | $76 per person |
| Sun., Dec. 6 | All Aboard: Model Train Show, second day | Ridgewood Museum at the Schoolhouse | Noon to 5 p.m. | Not listed |
Friday starts an hour earlier for families with young kids
The Chamber's 2026 listing adds something new: a holiday kids' hour from 5 to 6 p.m., before the main celebration. It includes pictures with Santa and Mrs. Claus, arts and crafts, face painting, hot cocoa tasting, fire trucks and temporary tattoos. Families with young children can come for that first hour and get the Santa photo done before the crowd fills the street for the countdown.
The evening runs roughly in this order:
- 5 p.m. The kids' hour begins downtown.
- 6 p.m. East Ridgewood Avenue closes to traffic from Maple Avenue to Broad Street, and the main festival begins.
- About 6:30 p.m. Santa and his elves set out from the Maple Avenue end in the Santa Cart that Little Ivy Learning Center arranges, stopping along the way.
- About 6:45 p.m. The tree is lit at the corner of East Ridgewood Avenue and North Broad Street.
- About 8:15 to 8:30 p.m. The Santa Cart reaches the parking lot next to the large lighted tree at Broad Street.
- 9 p.m. The festival ends and the avenue reopens.
The Santa Cart reaches the tree about 90 minutes to an hour and 45 minutes after the lighting. Families who want both moments can watch the countdown at Broad Street, walk back up the avenue to meet Santa along his route, or wait for him at the parking lot near the end of the night.
The festival spreads out along East Ridgewood Avenue
This year's theme is "Trucks on Holiday," styled after Little Ivy's Touch-a-Truck events. Fire trucks, police cruisers and other emergency and public works vehicles are parked along East Ridgewood Avenue from just past Maple Avenue to the Broad Street lot. The rest of the night is spread along the same stretch:
- S'mores and More at warming fire rings between Cottage Place and Walnut Street, run by the Ridgewood Fire Department.
- The Grinch, "captured" by the Ridgewood Police Department, at the corner of Oak Street and East Ridgewood Avenue near Van Neste Square.
- Nutcracker dancers in shop windows around downtown, arranged by local merchants.
- Barbie's pink Corvette in front of Bookends on East Ridgewood Avenue.
- Two large lighted trees, one in Memorial Park at Van Neste Square and one past Broad Street where Ridgewood Avenue meets the parking lot by the railroad tracks.
With the second tree at Van Neste Square, the festival reaches the park that hosts Winterfest two weeks earlier. The Ridgewood Guild's Winterfest is on Saturday, November 21, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. in Memorial Park at Van Neste Square. It's free and includes music, a trackless train, a hayride, storytelling, a holiday dance performance by HeART in Motion dancers and a visit from Santa. For families with small children, Winterfest is a daytime version of the same square before the December crowds arrive.
Saturday moves to East Glen Avenue
On Saturday the weekend moves to East Glen Avenue. The Historical Society's All Aboard: Model Train Show runs on Saturday, December 5, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Ridgewood Museum at the Schoolhouse, 650 East Glen Avenue.
The show is a partnership with the Bergen County Model Railroad Club. The layouts are built by club hobbyists, with trains running over bridges, through tunnels and into stations "no bigger than a shoebox," and club members are on hand to explain the techniques and tools behind the craft. On Friday night the trucks are the attraction. Saturday is a slower, all-day stop for anyone who likes trains, from children to adults who grew up with a layout in the basement.
The show runs a second day, Sunday, December 6, from noon to 5 p.m. That second day is what lets Sunday hold two events.
Sunday has two events that fit back to back
The Ridgewood Holiday House Tour is on Sunday, December 6, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. The Historical Society and the College Club of Northern New Jersey organize it to mark the nation's 250th anniversary. It features six private residences decorated for the season, and tickets are $76 per person. Proceeds go to the Ridgewood Historical Society & Museum and to the College Club's educational scholarships.
Logistics run through the Ridgewood Public Library at 125 North Maple Avenue. According to the ticketing page, tour maps are picked up at the Ridgewood Public Library on December 6 between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m., and tickets must be bought in advance. The map window closes an hour before the tour ends, so late starters need to reach North Maple Avenue by 2 p.m.
Those hours line up neatly with the train show. The tour ends at 3 p.m., and the Schoolhouse museum stays open until 5 p.m. that day. Someone who picks up a map at the library in the morning, visits the six homes and then drives to 650 East Glen Avenue still has two hours at the layouts. The Historical Society hosts both events, so for one Sunday afternoon its museum and the village's decorated homes are on the same itinerary.
Here's how the three days line up:
| Friday, Dec. 4 | Saturday, Dec. 5 | Sunday, Dec. 6 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Host | Ridgewood Chamber of Commerce | Historical Society with Bergen County Model Railroad Club | Historical Society with College Club of Northern NJ |
| Part of the village | East Ridgewood Avenue, Maple Avenue to Broad Street | 650 East Glen Avenue | Private homes, library on North Maple Avenue, East Glen Avenue |
| Best for | Young children, evening crowds | All-day drop-in | Ticketed tour, then trains until 5 p.m. |
The week after, and a new name downtown
The season continues the following Friday. The New Jersey Wind Symphony performs "Home For The Holidays Again" on Friday, December 11, at 8 p.m. at West Side Presbyterian Church, 6 South Monroe in Ridgewood. The West Milford High School Wind Ensemble plays a prelude at 7:30 p.m.
Downtown also has a new name on East Ridgewood Avenue this season. Patch reported in September that MilkShake Factory, the Pittsburgh-based chain known for handspun milkshakes, sundaes and small-batch chocolates, was coming to 63 East Ridgewood Avenue, with a grand-opening celebration set for Saturday, October 10. That address is on the stretch of East Ridgewood Avenue that goes car-free on December 4.
If you're thinking ahead to next year, whether that means hosting family in a home suited to the season or setting a listing date around the village's busiest weekends, The Morales Group knows Ridgewood's calendar and can plan around it with you. Request a Personalized Market Plan, and we'll build your timeline around the weekends that matter most in Ridgewood.
