When does Princeton's holiday season start? Most calendars point to Friday, November 27, the day after Thanksgiving, when the spruce on Palmer Square's Green lights up. The first holiday doors in town actually open nine days earlier and a few blocks away, at Morven Museum & Garden on Stockton Street.
After the opening weekends, the season's evening hours tend to fall on Thursdays. Palmer Square's shops stay open late on Thursdays, Morven stays open into the evening only on two Thursdays, and on one of those Thursdays McCarter has a 7:30 p.m. curtain. Plan around those nights and December in downtown Princeton fits together.
Morven goes first, on Wednesday, November 18
Morven's 21st Festival of Trees runs from November 18, 2026, through January 10, 2027, with decorated trees and mantels filling the museum's galleries. This year Morven selected 17 community partners to design them. The list includes Chambers Walk Café & Catering, the Historical Society of Princeton, Princeton First Aid & Rescue Squad, Princeton Garden Theatre, Princeton University Press, the Junior League of Greater Princeton, and garden clubs from Princeton, Stony Brook, Nottingham, Mount Laurel and West Trenton.
The themes have a local slant. One tree is called "It's a Wonderful Life in Princeton" and marks the film's 80th anniversary. "The Hearth of Liberty" recreates a mantel from Christmas 1776, and "The Flowers of Annis Boudinot Stockton" honors the gardener and poet. Visitors can vote for a favorite tree and mantel.
The festival is included with museum admission. Morven's posted prices are $15 for adults, $12 for seniors 60 and over, and $10 for ages 7 to 18. Children 6 and under and members get in free. Regular hours are Wednesday through Sunday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., and the museum is closed on Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and New Year's Day. For most of the season Morven is a daytime visit, and its opening weekend of November 21 and 22 comes before the tree lighting downtown.
The days Morven is normally closed
On a Wednesday-through-Sunday schedule, Mondays and Tuesdays are normally closed days at Morven. This season it opens on three of them anyway.
Wreath decorating workshops run Monday, November 30, and Tuesday, December 1, with sessions at 1 p.m. and 6 p.m. Tickets are $65 per guest, or $55 for Morven members, and include access to the Festival of Trees. A 6 p.m. session is one of the few chances to see the trees after dark outside the two late Thursdays.
Tuesday, December 22, is a special open day, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., with the gift shop open too. That afternoon pairs well with McCarter's 3 p.m. performance of A Christmas Carol the same day.
Morven's holiday fundraiser, A Toast to the Season, is Friday, December 4, from 6 to 8 p.m. Tickets are $175 per guest. It also closes out Morven's 250th anniversary year.
Thanksgiving week on Palmer Square
Downtown's opening weekend comes in a fixed order:
- Thursday, November 26. Palmer Square is closed for Thanksgiving.
- Friday, November 27. The Annual Tree Lighting runs 5 to 6 p.m. on the Green, with the Princeton High School Choir, the dueling-piano duo The Flying Ivories, The Sugarplums, a Hot Cocoa Corner, and the chance of a surprise visit from Santa. The spruce carries 32,000 lights. Community News describes it as a Norway spruce about 70 feet tall. The Holiday Twinkling Terrace photo spot on Hulfish Street, behind the Nassau Inn, opens the same day and stays up through December.
- Saturday, November 28. Holiday Strolling Entertainment begins. It runs every Saturday and Sunday through December 20, from 1 to 3 p.m., throughout Palmer Square.
Palmer Square's holiday hours start on the 27th and run through December 25. Shops are open 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday through Wednesday and 10 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. Thursday through Saturday. Palmer Square notes that restaurants and other food and beverage businesses may keep different hours, so check a specific spot before counting on it for a late dinner.
Thursday is the late night
Those extended weeknight hours make Thursday the first late night of each week. Morven picked two Thursdays, December 10 and 17, to stay open until 8 p.m. The museum and gift shop stay open, a fire pit burns in the garden, and Brew Note Coffee Co. sells hot chocolate, lattes and warm cider. McCarter's A Christmas Carol has a 7:30 p.m. performance on December 17.
Here are the December Thursdays side by side:
| Thursday | Palmer Square shops | Morven | McCarter's A Christmas Carol |
|---|---|---|---|
| December 10 | Open until 8:30 p.m. | Open until 8 p.m., fire pit and Brew Note drinks | No performance |
| December 17 | Open until 8:30 p.m. | Open until 8 p.m., fire pit and Brew Note drinks | 7:30 p.m. |
| December 24 | Christmas Eve hours, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. | Closed | Noon and 4 p.m. |
December 17 is the one evening of the season when Morven, the extended Palmer Square hours and an evening McCarter curtain overlap. One way to spend it: walk Morven's galleries in the late afternoon, shop on the Square until 8:30, or head straight to the Matthews Theatre for 7:30. December 10 runs the same way without the show.
Christmas Eve also falls on a Thursday this year, but it follows its own schedule. Palmer Square's shops close at 4 p.m. The Christmas Eve Sing-A-Long is on the Green from 5 to 6 p.m. McCarter's two performances that day are at noon and 4 p.m.
The night after the first late Thursday has its own draw. The Princeton University Holiday Jam & Toy Drive is Friday, December 11, from 5:30 to 7 p.m. on the Green. McCarter has a 7 p.m. performance the same night.
December 8 is the busiest Tuesday
December 8 puts two of the season's openings on the same Tuesday. The Annual Menorah Lighting is on the Nassau Inn Patio from 4:30 to 5:30 p.m. Three hours later, A Christmas Carol opens its run at McCarter with a 7:30 p.m. performance.
Palmer Square's shops close at 6 p.m. on Tuesdays, so the time between the lighting and the curtain is for dinner rather than shopping.
The production runs December 8 through 27 in the Matthews Theatre. Lauren Keating adapted and directed it, Cameron Knight returns as Ebenezer Scrooge, and the recommended age is 5 and up. For the December 27 matinee, the ticketing page lists seats from $35 to $85 and says there are no added fees.
After 8:30, Nassau Street's counters are still open
When Palmer Square's shops close, two of Nassau Street's newest restaurants are still serving. 7th Street Burger, a smash-burger chain that started in New York City, opened at 124 Nassau Street in July, according to Patch, which lists daily hours of 11 a.m. to midnight. Hotbirds, a Nashville-style hot chicken restaurant, opened at 150 Nassau Street, across from the Princeton University campus, as New Jersey 101.5 reported.
The Daily Princetonian reported that Hotbirds opened in August and is open until 10 p.m. every night, and that the two restaurants act as late-evening gathering spots after most of the street has gone dark. The paper also reported that BurgerRunn, Food Street and Best Grill and Fries opened on Nassau Street last winter. Robin Lapidus, executive director of Experience Princeton, told the paper, "Princeton is definitely trending in the restaurant world, and there are a lot of places that have become successful in other towns that really want to move to Princeton."
That makes a quick bite after an 8 p.m. Morven close or a McCarter evening show easy. 7th Street Burger keeps its counter open until midnight.
Parking for an evening downtown
Palmer Square's two garages share one rate schedule. For GPS, use 25 Chambers Street and 11 Hulfish Street. Posted rates are $3.75 for one hour, $5.75 for two, $7.50 for three and $9.50 for four. The Hulfish Street garage is on the same street as the Twinkling Terrace. An evening that runs from dinner to a McCarter show can easily take three or four hours.
A town's December calendar is one way to get a feel for daily life there. If you're thinking about how downtown Princeton and the rest of Mercer County fit into your own plans for next year, Cheryl Brunetti is glad to talk it through. Let's Connect.