CHRISTMAS AT COLONIAL
NIGHTS OF WINTER LIGHTS
Get into the holiday spirit with Christmas at Colonial! Stroll through acres of dazzling holiday lights, your favorite Christmas scenes, and enjoy a cup of hot chocolate.
We’re proud to offer this event year after year and to be part of your family memories.
This all-inclusive ticket includes admission to the light show, hot chocolate, candy canes, a commemorative ornament, and character meet and greets on select nights.
Christmas at Colonial is open select nights between Thanksgiving and New Year’s. Timed-tickets will be available for purchase beginning November 1st online. While we may have limited walk-in tickets available on some nights, we strongly recommend using our online system to guarantee your ticket for your desired night.
Give us a call for group rates and private night bookings.
Christmas Trees & Christmas Shop
Colonial Gardens is your one-stop holiday shop for all things Christmas. We have over 1000 fresh cut Christmas trees during the Christmas season in a variety of sizes and species. After the holidays, we offer a $20 gift certificate rebate when you bring your tree back to be recycled. When you bring your tree back, we chip it into mulch, which allows nutrients from your tree to re-enter ecosystems as the mulch breaks down and reduces the carbon footprint of the tree.
We also are a proud provider of fresh-green creations for porches, front doors, and gravesites. These handmade pieces use locally harvested fresh greens and unique decorations made right on site.
We also have everything you need to decorate your tree and house during the holidays! Visit our gift shop to find thousands of ornaments, tree fillers, ribbon choices, and decorations for your home.
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Christmas at Colonial FAQs
Christmas at Colonial is an outdoor walk-through light display. You can expect over a half million lights artfully strung across several acres of our gardens. Some lights will dance to music, some cover structures, and others depict holiday scenes. Cutouts and photo opportunities are spread throughout the grounds. Included with admission are hot chocolate and character meet and greets on select nights. From here on out, we’ll refer to the event as “the light show” to limit confusion.
Christmas at Colonial is a great option for families, solo trips, dates, or outings with friends.
Your admission includes unlimited walk-throughs of the light show until 8:30pm, the opportunity to meet and greet with characters (select dates and time), free hot chocolate, a free candy cane, and a commemorative ornament (one per family). There are no extra fees for pictures with Santa, viewing our trains, or anything else within the light show. Value night tickets do not include any characters for meet and greets.
Admission does not include any merchandise in our gift shop, a Christmas tree, etc. If you want to shop for fun holiday decor, ornaments, plants, and more, bring a little extra money. We accept cash, credit and debit cards, and have the ability for mobile tap payments.
We strongly recommend purchasing tickets ahead of time online. This is especially true if you want to come on a Saturday or during the first half of the night. Buying tickets online is the ONLY way to guarantee a space for Christmas at Colonial. If you need assistance, please call us at 610-948-9755 and we can walk you through the process.
Online timed ticketing allows us to spread crowds out across the night, which means we have parking space for expected attendees. It also helps us with staffing to provide you with a quality event. To offset service fees associated with buying online, we have discounted the tickets online compared to in the store. You will save money if you book online.
We may have some walk-in tickets available on a given night, depending on crowds. The face value of the ticket is $2 more expensive than online to offset those service fees. To avoid disappointment if we run out, please purchase tickets online ahead of time.
We want to make purchasing tickets online the best choice for everyone, which means making them the cheaper option for our customers. Please purchase your tickets online for a less expensive ticket price.
On busy nights, our staff will help you find a parking space. From there, you will proceed either through our breezeway, or down the nearest path that takes you behind the main store. Find the check-in table so that your tickets can be scanned and you can receive directions and re-entry information. The check-in table is the only valid way into the light show.
That is your arrival time slot. We ask that you plan your arrival to be within that 30 minute block of time. Arrival windows help us spread the crowds out to ensure you a parking space and reduce wait times. You may stay as late as 8:30pm to enjoy Christmas at Colonial.
We do not recommend the 7:30pm-8pm arrival time slot for folks who would like to enjoy both the lights and see Santa as Santa’s line may cut into your time to enjoy the lights.
We understand that things happen! If you expect to arrive within 30 minutes of your arrival time slot, there is no need to call to inform us or to reschedule. If you are running significantly late, please give us a call so that we can change your ticket times to reflect your arrival time and open up tickets for other folks. If you are running late to the last time slot, you may want to consider rescheduling for another night.
Nope! We ask that folks do their best to adhere to their time slot, but we understand that things happen. You can proceed directly to check-in and we will get you started.
Give us a call at 610-948-9755 during store hours. We’d be happy to reschedule you for a different time. We ask that you call us prior to your timeslot so that we can open those tickets up to other customers.
Santa is located in the back of our gardenhouse, in a temperature controlled, weather protected space. Only folks with a light show admission ticket may see Santa, but there are no extra charges to see him or to take a picture with him.
Santa will likely have a line to see him. We genuinely believe that we have the best Santa out there and he tries to take his time with our guests to provide them with the best experience. If you do not want to wait in a long line, we recommend coming earlier in the night so that you can be one of the first to see him. You can choose when you’d like to see him during your visit, before or after the lights, however, if you wait until late in the night, you may run out of time to see the lights or shop in our gift shop.
First, make sure that you select a date that Santa is expected to be here. Santa is here from 6pm to 8pm on select nights. If he is a priority for you, we’d recommend booking the 5:30-6pm, 6pm-6:30pm, or 6:30pm-7pm timeslot. Any of these time slots should give you ample time to see both the lights and Santa, even if there is a line.
Booking the 5pm timeslot just means that you may have some wait time between seeing the lights and Santa. Booking late time slots can increase the amount of time you spend in line and may reduce your time to see the lights.
Yes, so long as the dogs are leashed, friendly, and cleaned up after. We ask that owners keep their dogs on the path to prevent any entanglements with lights. It is up to Santa’s discretion for how close dogs may get to him.
You know your dog best. If they don’t like the cold, dark, or crowds, it’s best to leave them at home. We reserve the right to ask owners and pets to leave if they are disruptive. We’ve never had to do that before, so don’t be the first!
It depends on the handicap. While there are no areas of the light show that require stairs to enter (all stairs have alternative ramps), the area is not paved. Most of the light show is on gravel paths that can be challenging for some folks with wheelchairs or strollers, especially those with small wheels. Benches are placed throughout the grounds for resting.
Service animals are welcome in all parts of the light show.
All parts of the light show, except Santa or other characters, are outside which reduces COVID-19 exposure. All participants should dress for the weather.
Our labyrinth light show includes flashing lights that may cause issues for folks with sensory sensitivities.
If tickets were sold out online, please select another night to attend Christmas at Colonial. If they are still available, we recommend you purchase them ahead of time. They are cheaper! If you arrive and need to still purchase tickets, please go to the main store register room so that we may assist you with tickets. If it is a busy night, we may be sold out.
Our hot chocolate is typically milk chocolate Swiss Miss mixed with hot water. You can always ask the staff at the hot chocolate stand to see the container of mix we have on hand to check for ingredients.
Nope! You receive a free hot chocolate with your admission. If you bring some extra money, please consider donating to our donation jar, which goes towards a variety of good causes over the course of the event.
Christmas at Colonial is a primarily outdoor event. We normally only cancel in case of consistent rain, strong winds, or snow and ice. We recommend that you dress warmly for the weather so that you can enjoy the lights for as long as you’d like.
We try not to make a cancellation call until we are relatively close to the event and are certain about whether it will rain or not. If we cancel, all ticket holders will be emailed with the cancellation and the chance to rebook for a different night, or to get a refund for the value of your tickets.
If you are organizing a group or need to make a decision sooner, we are happy to reschedule you to a different date prior to the cancellation decision.
Cancellations will be announced via our Facebook and Instagram for the general public. The main store will close early if the light show is canceled.
Christmas at Colonial is a family-friendly event. Please note that this is not an exhaustive list of prohibited items, behavior, or language:
- Weapons or violence of any kind
- Climbing or damaging displays, trees, or merchandise
- Abusive language or harassment