Where do you buy a handmade gift in Newton this year if the big December fair isn't happening? For years the answer was easy. You went to Newton South High School on a December weekend, paid a few dollars at the door and walked the aisles of the Celebrate Newton Holiday Craft Fair. This year there's no fair to go to. Most of what replaces it falls in the middle of November, about three weeks before most of us start thinking about gifts.
The December fair is taking a year off
The Newton Cultural Alliance runs the fair, and the announcement on the Celebrate Newton site is short and plain:
"The Celebrate Newton Holiday Craft Fair is taking a pause this year and will not be held in December 2026."
The organizers also thank their artists, vendors and volunteers, and say they plan "new opportunities for connection and creativity at The Allen Center in the months ahead." The page still lists the usual details for the event: $7 admission at Newton South High School, 140 Brandeis Road in Newton Centre.
So the event many households planned their December shopping around has no 2026 date. Newton's November calendar still has plenty in it. It's just packed into one weekend, and each event is run by a different neighborhood group in a different village.
One weekend, four villages
On November 14 and 15, Newton Highlands, the Scandinavian Cultural Center, Newtonville and Nonantum each host something. Most of these events are free, and most are run by volunteers or nonprofits.
| Day | Event | Where | Hours | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sat., Nov. 14 | Woman's Club of Newton 23rd Annual Craft Fair | Hyde Center, 90 Lincoln St., and Woman's Club Workshop, 72 Columbus St., Newton Highlands | 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. | Free admission |
| Sat., Nov. 14 | Smörgåstårta Day in the Kaffestugan | Scandinavian Cultural Center | 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. | No reservations; while supplies last |
| Sat. and Sun., Nov. 14 and 15 | Shine a Light large-lantern workshop | New Art Center, 61 Washington Park, Newtonville | 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. both days | Registration required |
| Sun., Nov. 15 | 3rd Annual Newton Children's Book Festival | American Legion Post 440, 295 California St., Nonantum | 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. | Free |
For anyone who usually shopped the December fair, the Saturday in Newton Highlands is the closest substitute. Fig City News reported that the Woman's Club of Newton fair uses two buildings, the Hyde Center and the club's own Workshop on Columbus Street. It features handmade goods from local craftspeople, a pop-up café, face painting for children, a silent auction and a raffle for a one-of-a-kind quilt made by club members. Admission is free. The club's craft fair page has more on the event. This is the 23rd year, so the fair started long before this year's gap in the calendar.
The Scandinavian Cultural Center is close enough to make the same Saturday a two-stop morning. Its Kaffestugan is serving smörgåstårta, the layered Swedish sandwich cake, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. There are no reservations, and it's available while supplies last. If you're heading to both, go to the café first, because the craft fair runs two hours longer.
A gift you make instead of buy
The Newtonville event takes more of a commitment. The City of Newton's Shine a Light lantern program opens with a two-day large-lantern workshop at the New Art Center, 61 Washington Park. It runs 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on both Saturday and Sunday, and participants must attend both days. The city describes the project as large, puppet-like lanterns. It's aimed at artists, craftspeople and "anyone who likes to design and build." Sign up through the city's registration page.
The workshop leads up to an event in the new year. The lanterns are built for the Shine a Light Lantern Parade at Newton City Hall on January 24, with music and hot chocolate promised. The city plans more workshops in three locations from November through January. The program is supported by a Creative Experiences Grant from the Mass Cultural Council. That gives you two kinds of November projects this year. You can buy finished work in Newton Highlands on Saturday, or spend the whole weekend in Newtonville building something to carry through the City Hall grounds in January.
Sunday in Nonantum, with a signing line for every age
On Sunday the activity moves to the north side of the city. The Newton Children's Book Festival returns for its third year and has moved to American Legion Post 440 on California Street. The organizers say the new venue offers "more authors and more parking." More than 90 children's book authors and illustrators will be signing. Admission is free, and Toadstool Bookshop is selling the books on site.
The festival is the one event this weekend that bills itself as holiday shopping. Its site says that "signed books make great holiday gifts for both teachers and loved ones." With the December fair gone, you can get a quilt raffle ticket on Saturday and a signed picture book for a teacher on Sunday. Both are in Newton and two weeks before Thanksgiving.
The weekends on either side
The busy weekend has smaller events on either side of it. Here are two that fill in the rest of the month:
- Friday, November 6, 6 to 8 p.m.: J-Dag at the Scandinavian Cultural Center. This Nordic Nights evening pairs seasonal beers with Danish snacks, blue Santa hats and music. Admission includes a mini-flight and snacks. The event page has details.
- Sunday, November 22: the 13th Annual Newton Turkey Trot. The kids' 1-mile fun run starts at 8:30 a.m. and the 5K at 9:00 a.m. Both start and finish at Zervas Elementary School on Beethoven Avenue. The USATF-certified course goes out and back, along the Commonwealth Avenue carriage lane to Newton City Hall and back to Zervas.
The Turkey Trot's own page shows how a neighborhood event grows. Organizers describe it as a race that "began as a small neighborhood run" and now draws more than 1,800 runners, and they note that it sells out every year. All of the proceeds go to the Newton Food Pantry and the Centre Street Food Pantry. Thanksgiving falls on November 26 this year, so the race is the Sunday before the holiday.
If you're running, or live near the start, three details matter:
- The Zervas Elementary lot is closed on race day. Parking is limited on Allen Street and nearby streets, and organizers ask anyone close enough to walk over.
- Bib and T-shirt pickup is at Heartbreak Hill Running Company. It runs Friday, November 20, from 4:00 to 6:30 p.m. Check the race page for any other pickup times before you go. Heartbreak Hill Running Company is the race's pickup partner.
- The limited-edition shirt deadline has passed. Organizers set October 22 as the registration cutoff for this year's shirt.
After Thanksgiving, the calendar thins out
The difference between November and December shows up once Thanksgiving is over. These December dates are listed so far:
- Nonantum. The Nonantum community association lists the Coletti-Magni Park lighting for Sunday, December 6, and the Nonantum Christmas Parade for Sunday, December 13.
- West Newton. The Unitarian Universalist Society at 1326 Washington Street posted its October yard sale on OurNewton, and that listing mentions an "Annual Holiday Fair – December 5, 9:30-2:00." The listing doesn't print a year next to the fair date, so confirm with the church before you plan around it.
Other familiar seasonal events, including the Newton Centre Holiday Shop & Stroll, the Winter Market of Newton and the Thanksgiving market at The Allen Center, haven't posted 2026 dates yet. The Celebrate Newton organizers have said they plan new programming at The Allen Center in the months ahead.
For now, the published calendar puts most of Newton's holiday crafts, books and lanterns on November 14 and 15. The craft fair's proceeds go to scholarships for Newton High School students and other charities, and the lanterns built that weekend lead to the January 24 parade at City Hall.
Dan and Suzanne Demeo have lived through a lot of Newton holiday seasons, and they keep track of which village events come back each year and which ones change. If you're thinking about how your home will show this winter, or just want to know where Newton stands as the year ends, Dan Demeo and the Demeo Team are happy to help. Get a Free Home Valuation and start the conversation before the January parade.
