Where to see a Dickens Christmas in the U.S.
A Dickens Christmas is a unique experience to enjoy during the holiday season.
Imagine driving into a town or visiting a place and being greeted by people, or even mannequins, dressed in Victorian-era clothing.
As you look around, you’ll encounter familiar characters from Charles Dickens’ classic, A Christmas Carol. You’ll see Ebenezer Scrooge, Bob Cratchit, Tiny Tim, the town crier, carolers, the ghosts, and many others.
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Definitely, these scenes add joy to the season.
Like Charles Dickens himself described the holidays as “a good time: a kind, forgiving, charitable, pleasant time: the only time I know of in the long calendar of the year, when men and women seem by one consent to open their shut-up hearts freely, and to think of other people below them as if they really were fellow-passengers to the grave, and not another race of creatures bound on other journeys.” (copied from charlesdickenspage.)
I have asked several travel bloggers to share their experiences when visiting a Dickens Christmas in the U.S. with you. From west to the east, and north to the south, find the closest place for you to enjoy the holiday season in this Dickens Christmas.
A Dickens Christmas in the U.S.
BOERNE – TEXAS
by Ida Cizmar- Boerne’s resident
Christmas in Boerne begins as early as the days of Thanksgiving, when stores transform their displays into Christmas themes. But the real kick-off of the holiday season is Dickens on Main, taking place the weekend after Thanksgiving.
For two days, Friday and Saturday, the historic Hill Country Mile transforms into a vintage Christmas experience, complete with snow on Main Street, photos with Santa, a 60-foot ice slide, and, of course, holiday shopping.
Some of my favorites are watching live performances of Bah Humbug from A Christmas Carol. I also like ice sculpture shows with rock ‘n roll soundtracks and riding on horse-drawn carriages with a guy from the Victorian era.
Besides shops and restaurants on Main Street, you can also get something from food trucks, food booths, and arts & crafts vendors. Some vendors dress in Victorian-era costumes, which makes the event more festive.
The city closed Main Street for this event, so it really feels like you are in a Christmas village.
Not to mention the carolers and small groups of high schoolers playing Christmas songs with their instruments in front of different stores.
Ahh. Christmas time is really thick in the air!
Just make sure you don’t come alone. One time, I went there by myself, and I felt like something was missing. I was happy, I could feel the joy, but I don’t feel complete. I wished my family or friends were there with me. It is just something that you must attend with your loved ones.
Therefore, expect crowds when you go to Dickens on Main in Boerne. This event is not only popular in Boerne, but also in neighboring towns, and all the way to San Antonio and Austin.
ANTIOCH – ILLINOIS
by Melissa from A Little Time and a Keyboard
The magical world of Charles Dickens comes alive in Antioch, Illinois, each holiday season, the night after Thanksgiving through New Year’s Day.
Charming and heartwarming Dickens Scenes cobbled together with mannequins, costumes, and storylines crafted by local volunteers enchant families during holiday adventures.
Over 40 scenes positioned around town create whimsical snippets of Dickensian tales. A descriptive plaque accompanies each scene, providing details of the scene and life in England during the Dickens Era.
As we strolled through town one brisk December day, we truly appreciated the craftsmanship and care that went into shaping the touching scenes.
Antioch’s Dickens Holiday Village has emerged as a holiday tradition with visitors from all over Illinois and other states venturing to town to capture a little classical Christmas nostalgia.
In recent years, the event has expanded to include Kringle’s Christmas Village featuring large animated holiday shadow boxes.
A Dickens Holiday Village Welcome Center offers Dickensian hospitality and a guide to the touching scenes.
Special family days feature delightful music, carolers, and even visits with Scrooge!
Outdoor Dickens vignettes may be seen at any time.
Kringle’s Christmas Village and indoor displays are viewable 10 AM-8 PM.
Guided tours of the handcrafted Dickens Village are also available.
While perusing the heartwarming displays, we also enjoyed wandering the village streets of Antioch, investigating boutiques and eateries.
The whimsical holiday adventure provides a lovely afternoon adventure. Nestled near the Wisconsin border and a little over an hour from Chicago, Antioch welcomes revelers to small-town holiday enchantment year after year.
SAN FRANCISCO – CALIFORNIA
by Tatiana from Family Road Trip Guru
The Great Dickens Christmas Fair has been one of the most prominent Christmas festivals held in the San Francisco Bay Area for 50 years.
It takes place in Daly City, at the Southern edge of San Francisco, in a huge arena/ event venue called Cow Palace.
The whole venue is completely transformed into Victorian London with walking streets, pubs, shops, several stages for performances, and so much more.
Costumed characters stroll the streets of this amazing Christmas town, among which you can see Queen Victoria and Prince Albert, Father Christmas, a great number of characters from Charles Dickens’ stories, and the great writer himself.
In addition to that, you can meet “regular” Victorian London folks such as chimneysweeps, newsboys, sailors, carolers, and many others.
During the Fair, you can do Victorian crafts in the London stores (ex., making fairy houses, candles, or Christmas ornaments), shop for Christmas gifts, eat authentic British food, have Victorian tea, and watch dozens of performances from traditional dancers to jugglers to carolers and everything in between.
There are performances for kids and adults. Kids in particular love meeting Father Christmas in person and telling him their Christmas wishes.
The Great Dickens Christmas Fair runs for a month from the middle of November to the middle of December.
The great benefit of Cow Place is that it is a 100% indoor venue, so bad weather will not spoil your experience in the least.
It is a very popular event among all other Christmas activities in San Francisco, so I recommend buying your weekend tickets well in advance.
CAMBRIDGE – OHIO
by me, Umiko from Two Worlds Treasures
For more than 10 years, Old England has lived in Cambridge, Ohio, from the beginning of November to the first day of the New Year.
When you stroll along Wheeling Avenue in downtown Cambridge, you will see scenes of Dickens Victorian Village at each antique lamppost and bench between 6th and 11th Streets, as well as in windows on the street level, and in second-story windows.
You will see over 92 scenes of 180 lifelike figurines representing classic scenes from the Victorian era. Some of them are Bob Cratchit and Tiny Tim, the town crier, the carolers, street peddlers, and, of course, Father Christmas.
They are handmade, and each of the characters’ faces was sculpted and painted carefully by local artists. Isn’t it wonderful? These mannequins are wearing real vintage clothes, too.
When we drove into town, we thought there was some kind of festival where people dressed up in Victorian-era costumes. Once we got closer, we realized there were mannequins.
It was pretty cool to stroll along the street with a cup of hot chocolate in hand, learning about each of the characters from the plaques accompanying each of the scenes.
When you plan a visit (and I think you should), don’t forget to stop at the Welcome Center. Actually, it is the heart of the Dickens Victorian Village experience, so you must stop there first. The Ambassadors will assist you in planning your visit.
You will also find information on other activities during this holiday season, such as the Chocolate Tour, Cemetery Tour, Horse Drawn Carriage Rides, and the Victorian Era Tea.
The Welcome Center is also home to the Curiosity Shoppe, the Imagination Station, and the Educational Side of Dickens, but they only open on Fridays and Saturdays from 10 am to 6 pm.
Moreover, visitors can experience shopping and eating at the local eateries along the main street. Stay until dark to see the Courthouse Light Show.
Have you been to one of these places? What do you think about them?
This list will go longer as I will add more places to see the Dickens Christmas around the country. So, make sure to come back often.
In fact, contact me if you have been to a different Dickens Christmas and want to share your experience with others. I will be more than happy to add it.
Hope the coming holiday season will bring more joy into your life. Be happy and be safe. Merry Christmas!
What a nice round up! I can see familiar blogs like Robetrotting. Thanks for putting this together! I just want to know if this is happening this year? If yes, do I need to wear a costume? I’ve never been in one and it would be interesting to take part. What are your suggestions for ‘costumes,’ if any? I honestly thought this is an English thing but I’m glad to know it’s also happening in the US. Thanks in advance for your tips!
I know the one in Cambridge Ohio will still go this year. Wearing a costume is optional, but it will be fun if you have one. And there’s one also in Galveston Texas where most people wear costume during the event.
It would great to see Dickens style vintage style of Christmas in US because I always thought US has modern way of celebrations. But to good to know some places have authentic vintage style of celebrations too. Christmas in Philadelphia looks amazing as ice skating pops up with beautiful Christmas markets. I loved the Dickens Holiday Village at Antioch, Illinois.
Yes! It’s a surprise to see how you can see something ‘old’ during Christmas season.
I did not know much about this taking place in so many cities/towns. Bummer I never experienced these. But definitely making a note of it for my next visits to the US. I would love to witness the one in San Francisco and even take part in candle making if possible. A different way of celebrating Christmas, definitely intriguing.
Hope you will make it one day.
I must admit that I loath the thought of starting to think of Christmas. We are often travelling somewhere warm with only a nod to the tradition of the season. But this year we may want to think about a real Dickens Christmas. It was interesting to read that so many places put on a good Christmas show. Too bad we won’t be able to visit the U.S. this year. Or I might be tempted to head back to San Francisco for the Christmas Fair.
Maybe there’s one near where you live.
A Dickens Christmas is one my list. It’s an excellent idea for the holidays. It must be fantastic to be greeted by people or mannequins dressed up in the Victorian era. Macy’s Dicken’s Village in Philadelphia looks fabulous. I would love to visit it during the holidays. It’s great to know that also in Daly City is such an important event too.
I think there’s another location in California that has Dickens Christmas, too.
I love to visit Christmassy towns and if it has a Dickens feel about it, then nothing better. I remember being fond of The Christmas Carol as a child and really wanted to see it in action. Maybe, these are the towns where I can do that now. Performances, horse-drawn carriages, Victorian costumes – definitely a unique and different way to spend my next Christmas at.
It’s really a wonderful experience for the holiday season.
I didn’t even realize Dickens Christmases were a thing until now! It sounds super fun and I’d love to experience it in San Francisco. The Victorian tea with performances definitely caught my attention and candle making looks quite interesting too!
I hope one day you can make it to the one in SF.
Really interesting post, I was just in PA this past weekend! I am a massive fan of Victoria Era everything (clothes, history, etc) so Ohio would be my destination of choice. Strolling down the street with a piping hot chocolate seems so idilic!
I hope you can go to Cambridge. We went there on the way home to Texas from Pittsburgh.
I love how festive yet traditional these cities get during Christmas! Definitely a unique way to celebrate the season. I will be adding these locations to my bucket list. Thank you for writing this blog post on Dickens Christmas!
I’m glad you can put these into your bucket list.
We have a Lantern Tour in the Olde Mystic Seaport, Connecticut that is Dickensian. It is a beautiful way to spend a night in the holiday season.
I actually saw that from Pinterest. Do you want to add your experience in this post?
How interesting. These recreations are so accurate and interesting. It would be so interesting to go one day and escape from reality for a bit here!
It will be a wonderful day!
I didn’t know Dickens was a theme in the US, it’s really interesting. Those recreation villages are really good, we have a few based on the goldrush in Australia.
A Christmas Story is famous here. So yeah, cities/towns like to do Dickens Christmas during holiday season.