"We're giving Bethlehem's Smithy a festive glow-up." That line sits under a "NEW!" banner on Historic Bethlehem Museums & Sites' 2026 Christmas page. The same glow-up appeared in a 2025 announcement in The Valley Ledger. That release listed the flame-flicker interior lighting, the illuminated trees, the vintage carriage backdrop, the gas fire pits and the artisan tent as additions "for 2025."
The pattern repeats across this year's holiday promotion. Much of what is called new in Bethlehem for 2026 is in its second season. The one new feature is easy to miss because it opens on Oct. 22, before most people have taken down their Halloween decorations. It is also indoors, on the Northside, and it runs until summer.
The Season's New Feature Opens Before Halloween
The Kemerer Museum of Decorative Arts at 427 N. New St. opens Art of the Dollhouse on Oct. 22, with a reception on Oct. 29. Lehigh Valley Press lists the run as Oct. 22 through June 27, 2027. The Morning Call's fall arts preview gives the opening as Oct. 23, one day later. Both agree on the June closing date.
Historic Bethlehem describes the show as tracing three centuries of miniature homes. It runs from furnished Victorian parlors in the Elizabeth Johnston Prime antique dollhouse collection to work by contemporary miniature artists, with guided or self-guided tours. The museum calls it a "once-in-a-generation exhibition." The collection has been in Bethlehem for some time. It was bequeathed to Historic Bethlehem in 2006. What is new is the exhibition built around it.
The timing changes how the season works for people who live here. Christkindlmarkt draws its crowds from mid-November to the week before Christmas. Art of the Dollhouse opens three weeks earlier and stays open for six months after the market closes. A resident can see it on a quiet Thursday in late October or on a gray Sunday in February.
The Second Change Is a Theme
The other 2026 change also comes from Historic Bethlehem. Trees of Historic Bethlehem returns with more than 20 trees decorated by the Bethlehem Garden Club and sponsored by local small businesses. This year the trees are organized by architectural style, from Neoclassical and Gothic to Brutalism. The City of Bethlehem's 2025 holiday guide described last year's trees as city-themed.
The trees are spread across the Moravian Museum of Bethlehem at 66 W. Church St., the Single Sisters' House at 50 W. Church St., and the Kemerer at 427 N. New St. Admission includes a Moravian putz display, and Luckenbach Mill at 459 Old York Road is open as part of the tour. The exhibit and the first holiday tours begin Friday, Nov. 13.
The Kemerer hosts both the trees and the dollhouses, so one visit after Nov. 13 can cover the season's two real changes in one building.
What Is Back for a Second Year
These are worth going back to. They are listed here because the promotional copy can make them read like premieres.
- The Smithy's holiday setup. The lighting, greens, carriage backdrop, artisan tent and fire pits near the pottery site debuted in 2025. The 2026 page repeats the same list.
- The Wassail Party at the Smithy. It moved to the Blacksmith Shop for the first time in 2025, right after the city tree lighting. It returns in the same slot this year.
- Christkindlmarkt's Winter Wonderland. The St. Nicholas Haus, the Warmen Haus, the fire pits, the ice-carving station and the photo walkway were the 2025 expansion that replaced the seasonal ice rink. ArtsQuest's 2026 FAQ still calls it "brand-new."
- Free Friday evenings at Christkindlmarkt. Admission from 5 to 8 p.m. on Fridays was free in 2025 too.
The Smithy has changed in one useful way, and it is a matter of hours. The holiday schedule starts Nov. 1, Friday through Sunday, 11 a.m. to 6:15 p.m. From Dec. 1 through Dec. 10 it is open Thursday through Sunday, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. From Dec. 11 through Dec. 31 it is open daily, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., closed Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. Blacksmith demonstrations run during open hours. Colonial trades such as woodworking and pottery are demonstrated on select Saturdays. Weaving and tin punching for kids are offered on December weekends.
The Northside Calendar, in Order
The Northside runs on two dates. The Art of the Dollhouse opening pulls the start of the season into October. The Smithy stays open daily until New Year's Eve, after the markets close. Historic Bethlehem also says most of its programs and tours resume on Dec. 26.
| Date (2026) | What | Where | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oct. 22 | Art of the Dollhouse opens | Kemerer Museum, 427 N. New St. | See HBMS listing |
| Nov. 1 | Smithy holiday hours begin | Bethlehem Blacksmith Shop, off Main St. | See HBMS listing |
| Nov. 13 | Trees of Historic Bethlehem and first holiday tours | Moravian Museum, Single Sisters' House, Kemerer | Ticketed |
| Nov. 14 | Red & Green Holiday Cocktail Trails, noon–5 p.m. | Check-in at Hyatt Place, 45 W. North St. | $45 passport |
| Nov. 20 | Christmas City Village opens, Fri–Sun, 11 a.m.–7 p.m. | Main and Broad Streets | Free |
| Nov. 21 | Silver & Gold Holiday Cocktail Trails, noon–5 p.m. | Check-in at Hyatt Place, 45 W. North St. | $45 passport |
| Nov. 27 | City Tree Lighting, 4:30–6:30 p.m., gates 4 p.m. | Payrow Plaza | Free |
| Nov. 27 | Wassail Party after the lighting | Bethlehem Blacksmith Shop | Free |
| Dec. 1–23 | Live Advent Calendar, nightly 5:30 p.m. | Sun Inn Courtyard, 564 Main St. | Free |
| Dec. 20 | Christmas City Village closes | Main and Broad Streets | Free |
Two items in the table have changed in smaller ways. Christmas City Village runs Nov. 20 through Dec. 20 this year. The city's 2025 guide listed Nov. 14 through Dec. 21, so the Village opens six days later and closes one day earlier. Its vendors are still listed as TBA. The tree lighting falls on Nov. 27, the day after Thanksgiving. Last year's city listing gave Nov. 28, which was also the day after Thanksgiving.
Each Live Advent Calendar program lasts about 10 to 15 minutes. That is short enough to catch on the walk home from Main Street. The published lineup includes Historic Bethlehem Museums & Sites on Dec. 4, Central Moravian Church on Dec. 12, Manga Lane on Dec. 14 and Kaleidoscope Collective on Dec. 18. Dec. 23 is still TBA.
Christkindlmarkt Costs More, and Friday Evenings Are Still Free
On the Southside, the clearest 2026 change at Christkindlmarkt is the price. ArtsQuest lists all-in admission of $14 on Thursdays and Fridays and $16.50 on Saturdays and Sundays. Children 5 and under get in free, as do Silver-level members and above. Bronze members pay $13 and $15.50. In 2025, Lehigh Valley Live reported advance prices of $12 and $14.50 and gate prices of $13 and $15.50. This year's all-in price is a dollar above last year's gate price on each day type. ArtsQuest no longer lists separate advance and gate prices, so the two years are not an exact match.
Those prices make the free Friday window more valuable. From 5 to 8 p.m. on Fridays, admission costs nothing. Admission, food, drinks and official ArtsQuest merchandise are cashless. Individual artisans may still choose to accept cash.
The market runs in six blocks at PNC Plaza, SteelStacks, 645 E. First St.: Nov. 13–15, Nov. 20–22, Nov. 27–29, Dec. 3–6, Dec. 10–13 and Dec. 17–20. ArtsQuest lists the adjacent free lots as first-come, first-served. The closest city garage is Polk Street Garage at 418 PA-412. Riverport Garage at 13 W. Second St. and South New Street Garage at 324 S. New St. also have special all-day rates. The ArtsQuest calendar also lists three "An 'Old Fashioned' Christmas, presented by EDRINGTON" sessions on Nov. 29, Dec. 6 and Dec. 13, plus a Christkindlmarkt Sip 'n Shop on Saturday, Dec. 19. ArtsQuest has not published a 2026 vendor roster. It says only that applications are closed.
For a resident, the season splits this way. The Southside offers a familiar market at a slightly higher price, with a free three-hour window every Friday. The Northside has the new exhibition, the retheming and the longer calendar. It starts with Art of the Dollhouse on Oct. 22. The Smithy's holiday hours begin on Nov. 1, and the season continues at the Kemerer into the following June.
The Shabana Pathan Group team follows how Bethlehem's calendar shapes daily life on both sides of the Lehigh, from the Northside museum district to the blocks around SteelStacks. If your plans this season include deciding where in Bethlehem you want to spend the next ten holidays, Schedule a Confidential Consultation and we will walk you through it, block by block.
