On Saturday, Dec. 12, the hearth in the Old Atwood House will be lit. The Aubade Wind Duo will play Christmas music in the decorated rooms, and visitors will get hot chocolate and mulled cider. Admission is free for everyone from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. The last line of the Chatham Historical Society's announcement is the one to plan around. After the Hearthwarming, the museum will reopen in May 2027.
That puts Chatham's busiest holiday Saturday on the same day the town's history museum closes for the winter. Christmas by the Sea runs Friday through Sunday, Dec. 11–13. Its Saturday also brings Breakfast with Santa at the Wayside Inn, a children's screening at the Orpheum, and an afternoon concert at St. Christopher's on Main Street. The weeks after Thanksgiving build toward that one day, and the calendar gets much thinner once it passes.
The Run-Up Is Small Rooms and Single Screenings
Chatham's early December happens indoors, one event at a time.
The Eldredge Public Library is closed Nov. 26 and 27 for Thanksgiving. It reopens on Saturday, Nov. 28 with a family movie, Gnomeo & Juliet, at 1 p.m. in the Front Meeting Room of Forgeron Hall.
The following week, the Chatham Orpheum shows the Royal Ballet's The Nutcracker, Peter Wright's production set to Tchaikovsky, twice:
- Wednesday, Dec. 2, at 6:30 p.m., ending around 9:10 p.m.
- Sunday, Dec. 6, at 10:30 a.m., ending around 1:10 p.m.
The weekday evening and Sunday morning showings fit the off-season town well. Both run on days when Main Street is mostly local.
Two early-December holiday dates sit just outside the town line. Chatham Bars Inn's farm holds its Christmas tree sale on three weekends: Nov. 27–29, Dec. 4–6 and Dec. 11–13. It runs noon to 4 p.m. on Fridays and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays. The farm is at 3034 Main St. in Brewster, so a family that buys its tree there is driving up Route 28 to do it. The farm also hosts a Christmas Artisan Fair on Sunday, Dec. 6, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
The Chatham Chorale also spends that first weekend away from town. Its Holiday Pops, "Holiday on the Cape," runs Dec. 4–6 at the Barnstable Performing Arts Center, 744 West Main Street in Hyannis, with the Cape Symphony Youth Orchestra. There are six performances: 4 and 8 p.m. Friday, 3 and 7:30 p.m. Saturday, and 1 and 5 p.m. Sunday.
Through all of it, the Chatham Squire at 487 Main Street keeps its year-round schedule, open seven days a week from 11:30 a.m. to 1 a.m. Up the street, Chatham Paint and Hardware at 624 Main St. starts its first December under new owners. The Cape Cod Chronicle reported that Paul and Lynn Fox scheduled the sale of the store, along with its sister store in East Harwich, to GE Supplies, LLC for Nov. 10. GE Supplies runs 14 hardware stores in Southeastern Massachusetts and Rhode Island. "Their intent is nothing will be changing, the personnel has been rehired," Lynn Fox told the Chronicle, and Paul Fox said the stores would continue as Ace Hardware stores. For anyone buying extension cords and wreath hangers before the stroll, the counter at 624 Main should look much the way it did last year.
Friday Night Starts the Weekend at Sears Park
Christmas by the Sea starts on Friday, Dec. 11. The Chatham Chamber of Commerce says a children's light parade escorts Santa down Main Street on a fire truck to the tree lighting at Sears Park. Afterward, shops along Main Street hold activities, horse-and-carriage rides are free, and Santa takes visitors at the Chamber information booth.
The tree lighting is a recent return. In 2023, the Cape Cod Chronicle reported that it was moving back to Sears Park from Kate Gould Park and that the horse-and-carriage rides were coming back after several years away. In its 2025 preview, the Chronicle placed the lighting at the Sears Park triangle where Main and Seaview streets meet, with the tree lit at about 5:45 p.m. The 2026 lighting time isn't confirmed yet, so check the Chamber's page during the week of the stroll before you head over.
The dates shift slightly from year to year. In 2024 the weekend fell on Dec. 13–15 and in 2025 on Dec. 12–14. This year's Dec. 11–13 keeps the pattern of the second full weekend of December.
Saturday, Dec. 12, by the Clock
Saturday is the day the town's holiday events overlap. Here are the confirmed items, in Chatham and just over the line:
| Time | What | Where |
|---|---|---|
| Morning | Breakfast with Santa | Wayside Inn |
| 10 a.m.–4 p.m. | Christmas tree sale | Chatham Bars Inn Farm, 3034 Main St., Brewster |
| 10 a.m.–4 p.m. | Hearthwarming Holiday Celebration, free admission | Atwood Museum |
| During the day | Children's movie screening | Chatham Orpheum |
| 4–6 p.m. | "Christmas Around the World: Holiday Hits 2026" | St. Christopher's Episcopal Church, 625 Main St. |
The Chamber lists the Breakfast with Santa and the Orpheum screening as part of the weekend. Check its Christmas by the Sea page for times and the name of the film.
The Atwood's day covers more than the decorations. The decorated Old House anchors it, several galleries will be open, and the gift shop holds its annual "Historic Hauls" sale of Chatham books and curiosities. The museum is also collecting new hats, gloves, mittens and scarves for children in need, plus canned goods and non-perishables for the Cape Cod Family Pantry. Bringing a bag of mittens along with your holiday shopping makes good use of a day whose admission is free.
Late in the afternoon, the Cape Cod Music Society's holiday concert at St. Christopher's runs from 4 to 6 p.m. Tickets are $60, and children and students get in free. The church is at 625 Main St., a short walk from the shops that host the weekend's merchant activities. A full family day on Main Street can start with breakfast with Santa and end with the concert.
What Closes After That Saturday, and What Doesn't
Once Saturday ends, the Atwood is closed until May 2027. For about five months, Chatham's local history stays behind closed doors. Dec. 12 is also the museum's one free open day of the holiday season. For a resident who has been meaning to bring a grandchild, a visiting sibling or a new neighbor through the Old Atwood House, the choice is that Saturday or spring.
Main Street still has music the following weekend. The Chatham Chorale's "A Candlelight Christmas" comes to First Congregational Church of Chatham, 650 Main St., with performances on Dec. 19 from 2 to 4 p.m. and on Dec. 20 at 2 to 4 p.m. and 5 to 7 p.m. The program includes traditional carols, new arrangements of holiday favorites, Handel's "Hallelujah Chorus" and Dan Forrest's "Silent Night." After the Hyannis performances on Dec. 4–6, this is the Chorale's concert in Chatham itself.
The next townwide date is New Year's Eve. First Night Chatham on Dec. 31 is a family-friendly, alcohol-free program with more than 70 performances and events, a noon town photo at the lighthouse, a Noise Parade and fireworks, with activities ending at 10 p.m.
If this December on Main Street has you thinking about a Chatham home you'd keep through the quiet months, or about when a house near the village is best shown, I'm glad to walk through it with you, Christmas by the Sea calendar in hand. Cape Laurie can help you plan the next step. Schedule a Consultation.
