Top Things to Do on Thanksgiving Weekend
By Pam Teel
Thanksgiving occurs on the last weekend in November in the fall season when the weather is mild enough to enjoy an outdoor activity or to get a head start on the holiday season. Here are a few fun things to do during the holiday season.
Enjoy a Thanksgiving dinner in a New Jersey Restaurant– Don’t want to cook this holiday; there are whole hosts of restaurants ready to cook for you. Some more notables ones open on Thanksgiving are: The Nassau Inn in historic Princeton, Villa Amalfi in Toms River, The Bernard’s Inn in Bernardsville, The Frog and the Peach Restaurant, New Brunswick, The Old Mill Inn, Basking Ridge, The Clinton House, Clinton, The Historic Smithville Inn in Gallaway Township and The Frenchtown Inn. All are open for thanksgiving dinner. Check their website for full menu!
Take the kids to a Charlie Brown Christmas Show – November 23 & 24th at the Bergen Performing Arts Center, Englewood, NJ.
Celebrate the start of the Holiday Season at a Holiday Lighting Festival
Skylands Christmas Light Show & Village-November 16th-December 30th, 2018. The Christmas Light Show will be open rain or shine on select times and dates. Skylands Stadium- 94 Championship Place, Augusta, NJ (973) 383-7644 tickets: light show $20.00 per carload. Tickets can be purchased at the gate and box office only. The light show features more than 2 million dazzling lights on a mile-long drive-thru setting. Tune into your radio and listen to festive music as you drive along. Afterwards, stop by the free Christmas Village at the Event Center. Santa will be on hand to take a photo.
Holiday Express Concert, Tree Lighting and Accessories– Friday November 23rd at 7:00 PM Redbank, NJ
Santa rides the NJ transit into Redbank for the annual Town Lighting and Holiday Concert. Join Santa on the train in Little Silver or meet him at the Red- bank train station when he arrives. Festivities abound before and after Santa visits; featuring the Kathryn Dancers and the Pipes and Drums of the Atlantic Watch. Follow Santa on a firetruck as he leads the parade to Broad Street and the Holiday Express Concert and Town Lighting.
Holiday Light Show Thanksgiving– November 22nd until January 6, 2019 – 5:30 to 8:30 at the historic Smithville Village- 615 E. Moss Mill Rd. #96 Smith- ville, NJ, 609 748- 8999. Watch as over 100 Christmas trees magically floating on Lake Meone light up to the music around you. Free admission.
Plan a day at a NJ Museum – Garden State Discovery Museum- Cherry Hill, Jersey Explorer Children’s Museum- East Orange, Liberty Science Center- Jersey City, Newark Museum- Newark, Imagine That – Florham Park, Diggerland Construction Theme Park- West Berlin, Monmouth Museum- Middletown, Insectropolis- Toms River, Ripley’s believe it or not-Atlantic City. See websites for more info. Liberty Science Center, 222 Jersey City Blvd. 201 253-1310 -Kids can enjoy hundreds of exhibits, rock climbing, a suspended maze, a mini zoo, film shows, the biggest Planetarium and more.
Visit Atlantic City and take in great shows, casinos, great restaurants, and concerts. Appearing Thanksgiving weekend: • John Legend -Friday Nov. 23- 8:00 Pm- Borgata Events Center
• Jason Bonham’s Led Zeppelin Experience- Friday Nov. 23rd 8:00 pm. Borgata Music Box
• Atlantic City Ballet- It’s a Shore Holiday- Nov. 24th -7:00 PM Caesars
• Whiskey Revival- Sat. Nov. 24, 7:00 PM -Golden Nugget
• Il Divo -Sat. Nov. 24th, 8:30 PM -Borgata Events Center
• Home Free Vocal Band -Sat Nov. 24th 9:00PM – at Harrah’s
• Motor City Live- a Motown Tribute sound waves Sun. Nov. 25- 2:00 PM and & 7:00 PM -Hard Rock Hotel & Casino • A Magical Holiday Spectacular-Sun. Nov. 25th 7:00 PM- Tropicana showroom at Tropicana Hotel Casino
Visit Princeton: It’s close by and it’s a great place to enjoy during the holiday season. The trees are all decorated as you stroll through town with its upscale boutique shops, restaurants, museums, theatre and an Ivy League university. All decked out in Holiday charm!!!!! The Princeton Tree Lighting is Fri- day, November 23rd 4:45 pm- 6:00 pm on the Green in Downtown Princeton. This family event will feature live music and a reading of “Twas the Night before Christmas.” The Town Christmas Tree will be decorated with over 32,000 lights.
Take the Family to Crystal Springs Resort
Enjoy the splendor of the Grand Cascades Lodge and family friendly Minerals Hotel offering over- night accommodations and lots of fun filled activities for all ages. Families enjoy a weekend packages including a thanksgiving feast. Crystal Springs Resort -1 Wild turkey Way, Hamburg, NJ – 855-218- 5431
Visit Medieval Times Dinner and Tournament in Lyndhurst– Where heroic knights battle it out on top of spirited horses. Watch the thrilling swordplay and get a hands-on feast while being enter- tained. 149 Polito Ave, Lyndhurst 888-935-6878/ check website for hours of operations.