The 41st Annual Hometown Holiday Festival takes over Main Street on Sunday, December 6, from 11 am to 4 pm. Organizers already need something from the town this month. The Festival of Trees and the Gingerbread House Competition are filled almost entirely by donations and entries from local businesses, organizations, families and community groups. Anyone planning to decorate a tree, wreath or basket has been asked to confirm by November 15, which is ten days from now.
That deadline decides how the room at Trinity Episcopal Church will look on festival Sunday. It also decides how much money comes in for Newtown Youth & Family Services, which calls the festival its largest annual fundraiser. The proceeds go to its mental health, autism and community services.
The room at Trinity is stocked by neighbors
The Festival of Trees fills the Glover Community Room at Trinity Episcopal Church, 36 Main Street. NYFS describes it as decorated Christmas trees, wreaths, baskets and other holiday displays "created by local businesses, organizations, families, and community members." The organization calls it one of the most anticipated parts of the Holiday Festival. The Handbell Trio plays inside while visitors walk through.
The Newtown Bee reported on October 24 that organizers are asking local businesses, organizations, community groups and families to donate a decorated tree, wreath, gift basket or other holiday display. Here is the timeline for donors:
- By November 15: confirm that you plan to take part.
- Friday and Saturday, December 4 and 5: deliver the finished piece to Trinity.
- Contact: Susan Smith at NYFS, [email protected], for either the trees or the gingerbread competition.
Last year the room was also open on the Saturday before the festival, from 11 am to 4 pm. So far the 2026 NYFS page lists only festival Sunday, 11 am to 4 pm.
How a donated tree finds a new home
The Festival of Trees runs as a raffle. Visitors look over the displays, buy raffle tickets and drop them into the box beside whichever piece they want to win. NYFS's slogan for it is "Find Your Favorite. Take One Home!" The raffle has its own fee on top of the festival pass. Tickets get cheaper per ticket as the bundles get bigger.
| Bundle | Price | Cost per ticket |
|---|---|---|
| 5 tickets | $10 | $2.00 |
| 15 tickets | $20 | About $1.33 |
| 25 tickets | $25 | $1.00 |
The largest bundle costs half as much per ticket as the smallest. For a household with its eye on a few different baskets, that difference adds up.
Winners are drawn at 4:15 pm on December 6, fifteen minutes after the festival closes, and NYFS encourages ticket holders to stay for the drawing. Winners are also posted on NYFS's social media and website and notified by email. Prizes can be picked up at the Glover Community Room from 5 to 6:30 pm that Sunday, or on Monday, December 7, from 10 am to noon or 4 to 7 pm. Bring the raffle ticket that matches NYFS's records. Anything left unclaimed goes to the NYFS office and is held until Saturday, December 12. After that, it gets donated.
Here's the full sequence. A local family or business decorates a tree in November. Festival visitors put raffle money toward it on December 6. A winner takes it home after the drawing, and the money goes to NYFS, the town's youth service bureau and mental health clinic. A room with more donations gives raffle buyers more choices, and NYFS more chances to raise money.
The gingerbread table runs on the same calendar
The Gingerbread House Competition shares the building and the delivery dates. Entries are due at Trinity on December 4 or 5. Families, businesses, schools, youth groups and community organizations are all invited to enter.
There are two categories: Children 12 and under, and Family, Adult and Groups. Voting happens two ways. Festivalgoers can scan a QR code at Trinity to vote online, or write the number of their favorite house on a slip and drop it in the box. Voting closes at 4 pm on December 6. Winners are drawn at 4:15 pm, the same time as the tree raffle, and entrants are asked to collect their houses as soon as possible. Pickup is during the same Sunday evening and Monday windows in the Glover Community Room. NYFS says entry details and voting information are coming soon.
Trinity also hosts Santa's vintage firetruck visit. NYFS says Santa will wander the rest of the festival too. That makes the church the festival's busiest building for families from late morning until the 4:15 drawings.
The rest of Main Street on December 6
Once Trinity is full, everything else is on the same stretch of Main Street. Most of it centers on Edmond Town Hall at 25 Main Street, where people pick up their wristbands and festival passes.
- Holiday Market: Local vendors sell outdoors along Main Street and indoors in the Edmond Town Hall gymnasium, with food and holiday music from Vocal Rewind. Shopping inside is free.
- The Nutcracker Suite: Newtown Centre of Classical Ballet & Voice performs at the Edmond Town Hall Theatre at noon and 2:30 pm.
- Historic trolley tours: Trolleys leave the Edmond Town Hall front parking lot at 11:10 am, 11:45 am, 12:20 pm, 12:55 pm, 1:30 pm and 2:05 pm. A festival ticket includes one ride but doesn't guarantee a departure time. Trolley tickets are handed out first come, first served in the Edmond Town Hall lobby.
- Sweet Treats & Crafts Corner: Cookie decorating and a Sandy keepsake activity in the Alexandria Room at Edmond Town Hall.
- Red, White & Who Scavenger Hunt: Hunt sheets come with your wristband or pass at Edmond Town Hall. NYFS says more instructions are on the way.
- Holiday House Tours: This year's homes are 63 Main Street, 54 Main Street, 5 Hanover Road and 12 Glover Street, and you can buy a ticket for just the house tours. After 12:30 pm, the tour also points visitors to the Newtown Historical Society at 44 Main Street.
The house tours run on the same principle as the Festival of Trees. Newtown homeowners open their decorated houses to neighbors, and the ticket money goes to NYFS. Passes and sponsorship details are on the NYFS Holiday Festival page.
The calendar from here to mid-December
The festival is one day, but the dates around it run for weeks. Here they are in order:
- November 13 to December 15: Holiday Letters to Santa. Kids drop letters in the special mailbox outside The Toy Tree, 32 Church Hill Road, and a personalized reply from Santa arrives at home.
- November 15: Deadline to confirm a Festival of Trees donation.
- December 4 and 5: Festival of Trees pieces and gingerbread entries are delivered to Trinity Episcopal Church.
- December 6, 11 am to 4 pm: The festival on Main Street, with both drawings at 4:15 pm.
- December 7: Pickup for raffle winners and gingerbread entrants at Trinity, 10 am to noon and 4 to 7 pm.
- December 10 and 17, 5 to 8 pm: NYFS's virtual North Pole Elf Chats, by appointment on Zoom.
- December 12: Last day to collect an unclaimed raffle prize from the NYFS office before it gets donated.
For the Ram Pasture tree lighting, last year's schedule is the most recent one available. In 2025, Newtown Parks & Recreation held its 41st annual lighting with support from the Borough of Newtown on Friday, December 12. Entertainment started at 6:30 pm, followed by Santa and the lighting, as The Newtown Bee reported.
The Bee called last year's festival the 40th anniversary edition, so this December is the 41st. For a family or business that wants a decorated tree or wreath in the raffle, the date that matters is November 15.
At Zerella | Christy Team, we enjoy watching Main Street fill up with neighbors on festival Sunday. If you're curious how Newtown's historic center is doing as a place to own a home, schedule a free market strategy call with Kenny or Brian.
