Get in the Spirit with 5 of the Greatest Hudson Valley Christmas Traditions

It's the holiday season, and there are many fun, family activities to do this time of year. As a young kid, a favorite tradition of mine was visiting Herman's Nursery on rt 44 in Poughkeepsie. Christmas at Herman's.

The family and friends would pack up the car and head to Herman's Nursery in Poughkeepsie to visit the Winter Wonderland every year complete with Santa and his reindeer (they actually had a reindeer and other animals in a small petting zoo enclosure). We would walk through the store first looking at all the many aisles of lit-up artificial Christmas Trees and ornaments that they had available for purchase (we would always pick up a new ornament for the tree each year). And we would check out the Christmas village setup that the store had on display, and then it was off to the Christmas tunnel.

Unfortunately, Herman's is no more, as it closed up many years ago, but there are plenty of other active traditions for Hudson Valley residents to enjoy.

5 Favorite Hudson Valley Christmas Traditions

Bruschi Christmas

Bruschi Christmas is an animated light display designed to bring the joy and hope of Christ to the community.

It is located at 5 Madre DeCristo Rd in Wallkill, NY.

Frosty Fest

A Frosty Fest from the creative team at Headless Horseman Haunted Attractions; the #1 Haunted attraction in America presents a family fun holiday light spectacular that proves to be unlike any other event n the country.

It is located at 778 Broadway in Ulster Park, NY.

ERDAJT's Christmas Light Display

ERDAJT's Christmas Light Display is a  Guinness World Record Christmas light display run by a Hudson Valley family that began back in 1995, the same year Emily was born with 600 lights. ERDAJT = Emily Raejean (ER), Daniel Arthur (DA) and John Timothy (JT). 2022 is the 27th year of the display featuring bout 703,324 lights. The display is animated to music and includes 2,040 individually controlled items.

It is located at 8 Patrick Dr in Lagrangeville, NY.

Get our free mobile app

Sinterklaas Festival

Sinterklaas Hudson Valley is an old tradition from the Netherlands, brought by Dutch settlers who arrived in Rhinebeck over 300 years ago. Sinterklaas, the patron of children and sailors, finds a welcoming community in the Hudson Valley, recreating the story through the lens of modern-day America.

It is located in Rhinebeck, NY.

Eggbert the Talking Egg at Devitts

Devitt's Nursery in New Windsor features Christmas on the  Farm with Eggbert, which has been a Hudson Valley tradition since 1971. You can visit Eggbert meet his barnyard friends, and walk his Christmas trail, check out the slot car track, drop a letter off to Santa in the post office, and shop the holiday shop (open 7 days a week).

Devitt's Nursery is located at 56 Devitt Circle in New Windsor, NY.