Okemo Celebrates the Holidays with a Parade, Santa and Fireworks

Okemo celebrates the holidays with visits from Santa and a family New Year’s Eve celebration that includes a family dance party and a fireworks display. Call (802) 228-1600 or visit okemo.com for more information.

Dec. 23: Visit with Santa. Santa Claus makes a Jackson Gore grand entrance, riding in a fleet of grooming machines, at 4 p.m. for a final pre-Christmas visit with children before the jolly old elf makes his way to the North Pole for final holiday preparations.

Dec. 25: Ski and Ride with Santa and Friends. Santa and his merry crew will be cruising the slopes on Christmas Day. He’ll have a sack filled with sweets for good little skiers and riders.

Dec. 26: Torchlight Parade and Fireworks Display. A spectacular pyrotechnics show starts at 7:30 p.m. at the Okemo Clock Tower base area, following an amazing torchlight parade of skiers and riders traversing Okemo’s Open Slope trail.

Dec 29: Nature Museum at Grafton Free Family Presentation. This complimentary, one hour presentation features "Animals in Winter" Discover how animals survive throughout our long New England winters through interactive activities, slides, and observations of the museum’s natural history collection.  The program is open to the public and starts at 7 p.m. in the Roundhouse at Jackson Gore.

Dec. 31: Okemo’s Family New Year’s Eve. Midnight arrives early for friends and family enjoying a whole host of activities. Following early evening ice skating, snowtubing, snowshoeing, mountain coaster rides, horse-drawn wagon rides, cookie decorating, bingo games and a trivia tournament, families can ring in the New Year early with a DJ dance party - and still get the kids to bed in time for a full day on the slopes the next day. Party games, balloons, noisemakers and fireworks add to the New Year celebration, complete with a pizza party dinner in the Roundhouse at Jackson Gore from 5-9 p.m. Activities-only wristband $20; Activities and Roundhouse Dance Party, $35 for adults. Call (802) 228-1600.