For years, Nantucket's holiday season came in two separate pieces. The Festival of Wreaths filled Thanksgiving week, and then the island had a quiet gap before Christmas Stroll arrived in December. This year that gap has closed. Most of the change traces back to one building on Straight Wharf.
The Nantucket Historical Association has moved its 28th annual Festival of Wreaths to the historic Macy Warehouse at 12 Straight Wharf, on the building's second floor. The new space came with a longer run. In its October 6 announcement, the NHA said the festival will span nearly two weeks, from November 24 through December 5, and will run past Thanksgiving week for the first time. It will now continue through Christmas Stroll weekend. As a result, the island's holiday events now run back to back from the Sunday before Thanksgiving through Stroll Saturday, and the waterfront ties them together.
The Wreaths Changed Buildings, and the Calendar Moved With Them
The festival is still built by the island. Islanders, local businesses, nonprofits, schools and community organizations make the wreaths, and the styles range from traditional greens to unconventional designs. Marine Home Center returns as lead sponsor. Admission is free for everyone. You can bid in person or through the NHA's online platform, which means people off the island can compete for the same wreath you have your eye on.
Niles Parker, the NHA's Gosnell Executive Director, described the move in the organization's announcement:
"Bringing this beloved tradition to the historic Macy Warehouse provides a fresh way to experience this beloved holiday tradition and we are excited for the extended dates, so community members and visitors have more opportunities to experience the community creativity this festival celebrates."
The extended dates matter more than the change of building. When the festival lasted only Thanksgiving week, it shared its days with family visits and travel. Now it runs for twelve public days. A ticketed Preview Party opens it on Monday, November 23, from 5 to 7 p.m. Public viewing runs from Tuesday, November 24, through Saturday, December 5. Ticket details and the bidding link are on the Festival of Wreaths page.
Straight Wharf Holds Both Ends of the Season
The new venue sits on the same wharf where the season's biggest moment takes place. On Stroll Saturday, Santa is scheduled to arrive aboard a Coast Guard vessel at Straight Wharf. He then rides up Main Street in a fire truck with the Town Crier and a local drum line. The event listing gives noon as the start and about 12:15 p.m. as the target arrival, if harbor conditions allow.
Saturday, December 5, is also the last day of the Festival of Wreaths. The wreaths open at the start of Thanksgiving week and close on the day Santa lands a short walk away on the same wharf.
The Whaling Museum adds another layer on Stroll weekend. The NHA's Festival of Trees opens there on Friday, December 4, so for two days both of the NHA's holiday festivals are open at once. According to the NHA's tickets and hours page, island residents and members get in free. The Whaling Museum is open Monday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., through December 31. Festival of Trees runs on through December, so on Stroll weekend it is just beginning. The wreaths are on their last two days.
Thanksgiving Week to Stroll, in Order
With the wreaths filling the gap, the season runs in a clear order. Here are the dated events from the Sunday before Thanksgiving through Stroll weekend:
- Sunday, November 22, 4 p.m. Tree of Remembrance.
- Monday, November 23, 5 to 7 p.m. Festival of Wreaths Preview Party, ticketed, at Macy Warehouse.
- Tuesday, November 24. Festival of Wreaths opens to the public, free.
- Thursday, November 26, Thanksgiving morning. The Nantucket Atheneum's 25th Cold Turkey Plunge at Children's Beach, which benefits the Weezie Library. Registration is $35 early and $50 on the day. The NHA lists its sites as closed on Thanksgiving.
- Friday, November 27, 4 p.m. The Chamber's Tree Lighting and Community Caroling. More than 150 trees are lit along with musical performances, and Main Street is closed from noon to 6 p.m. A Wreath Workshop is also on the calendar for that day.
- Saturday, November 28. Small Business Saturday, which the Chamber promotes as the day after the lighting.
- Friday, December 4. Festival of Trees opens at the Whaling Museum. From 7 to 10 p.m., the Maria Mitchell Association holds its third annual Deck the Wharf Bash, a ticketed holiday party.
- Saturday, December 5. Stroll Marketplace from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., Santa's arrival around midday, and the final day of the Festival of Wreaths.
Laid out in order, the list shows that every week now has something on it. Before this year, the wreaths' Thanksgiving-week run ended before the tree lighting weekend was over. Now they stay open through every event that follows.
November Shopping Already Counts Toward a Prize
The Chamber's holiday season began well before any of these dates. Nantucket Noel runs from November 1 through December 31. Its Red Ticket program has been running since November 1. You get one ticket for every $25 you spend at participating Chamber businesses. On December 24 at 1 p.m., the Chamber draws five $1,000 winners and one $5,000 winner.
So by the time this post goes up, everyday November errands at participating businesses are already earning tickets. The drawing comes on Christmas Eve, almost three weeks after the Stroll crowds have left. The Chamber's program keeps island shopping in play for the whole season, the same way the longer wreath festival does for the NHA.
Stroll Saturday Is the Most Crowded Day
The longer calendar also makes one day more crowded. Saturday, December 5, has the most going on at once, and it lands in the middle of the 52nd Nantucket Christmas Stroll, which runs December 4 through 6. The Chamber's Christmas Stroll page lists the weekend's traditions: carolers in Victorian costume, talking trees, student choirs, musicians and other performers.
The Stroll Marketplace runs that Saturday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. in the NIR/Stop & Shop lot at 9 Salem Street. It is free and includes local merchants, nonprofits, artisans and food vendors. The Chamber's standalone Marketplace page still shows "December 6," but the 2026 event listing and the Chamber's Stroll pages both say Saturday, December 5. Two rows of the downtown Stop & Shop lot will be closed from the afternoon of December 4 through the evening of December 5. The Chamber is also running a storefront decorating contest and says voting details are coming.
On that Saturday, all of these happen within a few hours and a few blocks of each other: the Marketplace on Salem Street, Santa coming ashore at Straight Wharf, the final day of bidding upstairs at Macy Warehouse, and the Festival of Trees in its second day at the Whaling Museum. People who want to see the wreaths in a quieter room have the weekdays from Tuesday, November 24, through Thursday, December 3, before Stroll weekend begins, with free admission throughout. Thanksgiving Day is the exception, since the NHA lists its sites as closed that day. The online bidding platform lets you keep track of a wreath and place bids without going back to the wharf.
The change itself is simple. A long-running festival moved upstairs into a historic warehouse and stayed open twelve days instead of one week. That lets islanders spread the season out, from the Tree of Remembrance on November 22 to Santa's boat on December 5, with Straight Wharf at both ends.
Nantucket's holidays take place in island buildings with a long history, and the Macy Warehouse is one of them. If this season has you thinking about your own island home, its history and what it is worth today, Cliff Carroll and The Carroll Company can give you a clear, informed estimate based on more than 40 years of Cape and Islands experience. Request your instant home valuation and get a starting number before the new year.
