In a borough, the holiday season usually starts on a single night on a single main street. Western Lehigh Valley has no single main street, and its holiday calendar is just as spread out. North Whitehall, Lower Macungie, Upper Macungie and the Northwestern Lehigh area each light their own tree. This year all four fall between Wednesday, December 2, and Sunday, December 6.
Each ceremony is planned separately by a township or a chamber of commerce, and none of them falls on the same night as another. Together they make a holiday week with a tree lighting on four of five evenings, a farmers' market and a festival at the same Upper Macungie address on the Saturday, and the zoo's light show open every night in Schnecksville.
Four Hosts, One Week
The list below is in calendar order, with times as each host posted them.
- Wednesday, December 2: North Whitehall Township. The 6th Annual North Whitehall Township Tree Lighting Ceremony runs 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. at Kolapechka Park, 4075 Coffeetown Road. The township lists music, performances, food trucks, activities and photos with Santa.
- Friday, December 4: Lower Macungie Township. The Lower Macungie Township Christmas Tree Lighting runs 6 to 8 p.m. outside the Lower Macungie Township Community Center, 3450 Brookside Road. The tree goes on at 7:45 p.m.
- Saturday, December 5: Upper Macungie Township. The Winter Festival & Community Tree Lighting runs 4 to 7 p.m. at the Upper Macungie Township Community Lifestyle Center, 360 Grange Road.
- Sunday, December 6: Northwestern Lehigh. The Greater Northern Lehigh Chamber of Commerce presents the Northwestern Lehigh Tree Lighting Ceremony from 4:30 to 7:30 p.m. at Ontelaunee Park, 7344 Kings Highway, New Tripoli. Admission is free. The park fills with craft and business booths, food trucks, hot chocolate and live performances before Santa helps light the tree.
The posted hours are what make the week work. Lower Macungie lights its tree late on a Friday, at 7:45. Upper Macungie and Northwestern Lehigh start in the late afternoon on the weekend. North Whitehall has the only weeknight lighting. With none of the four sharing a night, a household near any of them could reach more than one without having to choose.
The New Tripoli event is listed through the chamber's calendar, and that listing's status information has been inconsistent. Check with the Greater Northern Lehigh Chamber of Commerce close to the date before driving out.
Grange Road Hosts Twice on December 5
That Saturday's evening festival is only half of the day at 360 Grange Road. The same Upper Macungie address, Grange Park, is now the home of the Trexlertown Farmers' Market.
Discover Lehigh Valley describes 2026 as the market's 12th season and its first at the new Grange Park location, with an open green setting, a picnic pavilion and a playground nearby. When the regular May to October season ends, the market switches to a winter schedule, November through April, on the first and third Saturdays of each month from 10 a.m. to noon.
That schedule makes December 5 one of the winter market days. The morning market ends at noon, and the township's Winter Festival opens at the same address at 4 p.m. No other date on this year's western Lehigh Valley holiday calendar puts two separate public events at one address on the same day.
The winter market starts before the tree lightings do. These are the 2026 dates on the Buy Fresh Buy Local Greater Lehigh Valley listing:
- Saturday, November 7
- Saturday, November 21
- Saturday, December 5
- Saturday, December 19
The listing describes locally grown and produced goods: fresh fruits and vegetables, local honey, locally roasted coffee and baked goods. The market's own site says it is looking for a dairy producer and a dog-treat maker, so the vendor lineup may still change as the winter goes on.
The December 19 market comes two weeks after the festival, close to the holidays. It is the last market date of 2026, and the next one, January 2, comes after New Year's.
The Zoo Lights Run Through the Whole Week
The tree lightings take one evening each. The Lehigh Valley Zoo's light show runs on most nights from mid-November into the new year, including every night of the tree-lighting week.
The zoo and Christmas Décor are hosting the 13th-annual Winter Light Spectacular at 5150 Game Preserve Road in Schnecksville on 37 dates, from Friday, November 13, through Saturday, January 2. The zoo puts the display at 1.7 million lights, which it says is more than any other Pennsylvania attraction, and calls the event its largest annual fundraiser. New this year are Candy Land, Gingerbread Junction and an enhanced Whoville.
On the four tree-lighting nights, the zoo is posted as open:
Date | Township tree lighting | Winter Light Spectacular hours |
|---|---|---|
Wed., Dec. 2 | North Whitehall, 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. | 5 to 8 p.m. |
Fri., Dec. 4 | Lower Macungie, 6 to 8 p.m. | 5 to 10 p.m. |
Sat., Dec. 5 | Upper Macungie, 4 to 7 p.m. | 5 to 10 p.m. |
Sun., Dec. 6 | Northwestern Lehigh, 4:30 to 7:30 p.m. | 5 to 9 p.m. |
On Friday and Saturday the zoo stays open until 10 p.m., later than both township events that weekend. The zoo lists December 2 as a Spider-Man and Supergirl meet-and-greet night and December 6 as a sensory-hour date. On Thursday, December 3, there's no tree lighting anywhere on this list, but the zoo is open from 5 to 8 p.m.
The zoo says regular ticket prices are unchanged from 2025:
- General admission, advance online: $16 adults, $14 children ages 2 to 11
- General admission, at the event: $18 adults, $16 children
- Members, advance online: $10 per ticket
- VIP, advance online: $35 adults, $32 children, which includes the Jingle Lodge Lounge, a light-up souvenir tumbler, unlimited hot chocolate and a S'more kit
- Infants ages 0 to 1 and parking: free
Opening night, November 13, has its own price. Regular adult and child tickets are $13 when bought in advance. Because some dates are likely to sell out, the zoo recommends buying online, and it says most of the animals will be off exhibit during the event.
After the Trees Are Lit
Once the tree-lighting week is over, the events get smaller and stay closer to home. In the second half of December, the township and historical-society calendars list one event at a time, many of them at the same Grange Road center.
On Sunday, December 13, the Lower Macungie Township Historical Society holds Christmas at the Bortz Log House from 2 to 4 p.m. at 5047 Hamilton Boulevard in Wescosville. The society lists cookies, tours, a warm fire and a visit from Herr Belsnickel. It's a quieter, smaller kind of event than the outdoor tree lightings a week earlier.
Upper Macungie's township calendar keeps going through the rest of the month:
- Thursday, December 10, 5 p.m.: Free Senior Holiday Dinner, ages 55 and older
- Friday, December 11: Wild Tails and Cookie Trails
- Monday, December 21, 6 p.m.: Zumba Holiday Party and Toy Drive, free
- Thursday, December 31, 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.: Noon Years Eve Party at the Community Lifestyle Center, 360 Grange Road
Noon Years Eve brings the year back to the address where the December 5 market and festival took place. Counting the market Saturdays, the township festival and the morning New Year's party, 360 Grange Road is the busiest address on the western Lehigh Valley holiday calendar.
North Whitehall has one event before all of this. Its free Veterans Day Luncheon is Wednesday, November 11, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Union Lutheran Church, 5500 PA-873, Schnecksville, four days after the first winter market and two days before the zoo lights open.
The Season in Order
From the day this post goes up, here's the full sequence:
- November 7: Trexlertown Farmers' Market winter season opens at Grange Park
- November 11: North Whitehall Veterans Day Luncheon
- November 13: Winter Light Spectacular opens in Schnecksville
- November 21: Second winter market Saturday
- December 2 to 6: Four township tree lightings, with the Grange Park market and festival on the 5th
- December 13: Christmas at the Bortz Log House
- December 19: Last winter market of 2026
- December 31: Noon Years Eve at the Community Lifestyle Center
The second item is the only one before Thanksgiving that doesn't involve the market or the zoo. Everything else follows from those four December nights and from one address on Grange Road.
If you're weighing which part of the Lehigh Valley fits the way your household spends a December weekend, The Rebecca Francis Team knows these township calendars well and would be glad to talk them through with you. Request a private consultation.
