Most of the Madison holiday season costs nothing to attend. The parade is free, the arts festival is free, and so are the craft fair's admission and parking. Two different Main Street events will donate a share of sales to local causes. The costs that do show up are practical ones: a 4 p.m. tow deadline on parade night, registration that has to happen before library programs fill, and a restaurant reservation you should have made last week.
Here is the 2026 season, starting Friday, November 27, with the logistics alongside each event.
Friday, November 27: Parade Night and the Car Question
The Madison Christmas Parade steps off at 5:30 p.m. the night after Thanksgiving. It starts at the Madison Ambulance Corps building, heads down Prospect Street, turns left onto Main Street and ends at Condurso Way. The borough's tree lighting follows on Waverly Place at about 6:30 p.m. Santa rides in the parade. The all-volunteer Madison Christmas Committee runs the event with the Borough of Madison. Shop Morris County's parade guide cites the Morris County Tourism Bureau as saying the parade usually runs 60 to 75 minutes, with floats and marching bands. The borough also plans a livestream.
The evening's one real cost is a towing bill, and avoiding it comes down to timing. According to the Borough of Madison holidays page, as summarized in that guide:
- By noon: the Prospect Street, Maple Avenue and train station lots must be cleared.
- By 4 p.m.: cars parked on Main Street, Prospect Street and Waverly Place must be moved or they will be towed.
- Road closures: Main Street, Prospect Street, Kings Road, Central Avenue, Green Village Road, Lincoln Place and Waverly Place.
- Where the borough suggests parking: Kings Road, Cook Avenue, Elmer Street and the Waverly Green lots.
The noon deadline for the station lot matters most to commuters. The day after Thanksgiving is a workday for plenty of people, and a car left at the station for the day has to be gone by midday.
The same guide says downtown restaurants fill up fast on parade night and recommends booking ahead if you want dinner afterward. That applies to dinner, but there's a newer option for a drink after the lights come on. The Madison Eagle reported that the Rosecourt Brewery micro pub at 3 Central Ave. opened at noon on Saturday, July 18, after nearly three years of planning. Husband and wife Logan and Angela Rice, both Madison residents, own and run it. This is its first holiday season downtown. Central Avenue is on the parade-night closure list, so plan on arriving on foot.
Saturday, November 28: A Free Festival in One Building
The Madison Holiday Arts Festival has a new format this year. The borough's calendar listing says organizers are "keeping it all at the Madison Arts Center," the Madison Community Arts Center at 10 Kings Rd. Admission is free and the building is listed as ADA accessible. The listing credits the Madison Downtown Development Commission with keeping every event free.
Saturday's program runs from 1 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.:
| Time | Performer |
|---|---|
| 1:00–3:00 p.m. | Baroque Orchestra of NJ |
| 3:05–3:35 p.m. | Joe De Gregorio |
| 3:45–4:15 p.m. | Cara Scarmack |
| 4:20–4:50 p.m. | Alejandro Ataucusi |
| 5:00–5:30 p.m. | Dan Baldan |
| 5:40–6:10 p.m. | Darren O'Neil |
| 6:30–7:00 p.m. | miss wu-way |
| 7:15–7:45 p.m. | No Left Turn |
| 8:00–8:30 p.m. | Famous Prophets |
The last three acts make up the "Come Original Afterparty." The borough describes the closing lineup as two young rock bands from Madison and Chatham. Overall, the listing promises classical, folk, Spanish guitar stylings, "and everything in between." That's a wide range for one free afternoon and evening, and the whole thing happens under one roof on Kings Road.
The same weekend, the Madison Area Chamber of Commerce kicks off its "Search for Rosie the Rose City Reindeer." The Chamber's calendar lists it from November 28 through December 17.
Sunday, November 29: Two Events, Two Ends of Downtown
Sunday has two events, and you can attend both.
The festival's second day is back at 10 Kings Rd. From noon to 1:30 p.m., photographer Paul Rabinowitz gives an artist talk and photo workshop. He'll discuss the photographs on the Arts Center's walls and walk through how he builds a composition with a model, and then participants get to shoot. The listing says to bring a camera. From 3 to 5 p.m., Arts by the People presents Spotlight, with three local writers reading and discussing their latest work.
The gap between the two sessions lines up with the Turkey to Tinsel Art & Craft Fair. It runs from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. at St. Vincent Martyr Catholic Church, 26 Green Village Road, according to TAPinto Madison's event listing. The details:
- More than 65 vendors selling gifts from local artisans and small businesses
- Snacks, hot cocoa and a free Letters to Santa activity
- A holiday photo opportunity for $10 per family
- A toy drive benefiting Goryeb Children's Hospital
- Free admission and free parking
That $10 photo is the only listed charge across the whole Thanksgiving weekend, and it's optional. Parking at the fair is free, which helps if you're driving over after the Kings Road workshop.
December: Where Planning Matters
After Thanksgiving weekend the calendar spreads out. Fewer events run each week, and more of them need an early sign-up.
| Date | Event | Where | What to know |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wed., Dec. 2, 6:30–8 p.m. | Adult craft club: holiday gift tags, wrap and ornaments | Madison Public Library, 39 Keep St. | Registration required |
| Thu., Dec. 3, 4 p.m. | Thursday's Tales Wreaths, ages 5–8 | Madison Public Library, 39 Keep St. | Registration required |
| Sun., Dec. 6, 5 p.m. | Community menorah lighting | Kings Road side of the Madison train station | Hosted by Chabad of Southeast Morris County with the borough |
| Tue., Dec. 8, 6–8 p.m. | Sip & Shop for a Cause | The Pink Pear, 42 Main St. | Free; 15% of sales go to METC |
| Mon., Dec. 14, 7–9 p.m. | Junk Journaling, adults | METC Education Annex, 23 Main St. | Upcycled collage journal |
| Mon., Dec. 28, 3–6 p.m. | Holiday Teen Time, ages 12–18 | Madison Public Library | Registration required |
The library's adult, kids' and teen pages are where you register.
The menorah lighting has a bad-weather plan. It moves inside to the courtroom at Hartley Dodge Memorial, 50 Kings Road. Kings Road closes between Green Avenue and Prospect Street during the lighting. That's the third holiday event this season on Kings Road, after the two festival days at number 10.
The Museum of Early Trades & Crafts runs both of its December events on Main Street. Sip & Shop for a Cause at The Pink Pear lets you shop without a ticket while 15% of sales goes to the museum. Junk Journaling six days later is a hands-on evening class at the museum's Education Annex.
A Night at the Shakespeare Theatre
The Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey's December show is The Gifts of the Magi. It's a musical adaptation of two O. Henry holiday stories, with book by Mark St. Germain and music by Randy Courts, and it plays December 5 through 27 at the F.M. Kirby Shakespeare Theatre. Regular tickets run up to $95, with $55 seats offered for previews only, per the theater's event page.
Even this show has a low-cost way in. The first performance, Saturday, December 5 at 7:30 p.m., is a Pay What You CAN preview. More previews follow on December 6 at 2 p.m. and December 9 and 10 at 7:30 p.m. Opening night is Friday, December 11. If you can see it early, the December 5 preview costs whatever you choose to pay.
If a free arts festival on Kings Road and a parade on Main Street are why you love living in Madison, they're good reasons. When it's time to think about your next move, here or in a nearby town, MY Home Group NJ is happy to talk it through in English, Spanish, or Italian, and you can reach us here anytime. For more about the borough, see our Madison neighborhood page.
