South Jersey Holiday Events: Haddonfield, Collingswood and Moorestown for 2026
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By Max Karasick, Compass real estate agent licensed in PA and NJ
Want a sure thing? Go to Collingswood. Its tree lighting at Borough Hall is Friday, November 27, 2026, at 7 p.m., and the holiday parade rolls Saturday, November 28, at 10 a.m. Moorestown's Main Street Candlelight Stroll comes first, Saturday, November 21, from 4 to 8 p.m. Haddonfield is the wild card: it hadn't posted 2026 holiday dates on its official calendars as of October 28, 2026.
When Are Haddonfield's Holiday Events in 2026?
Honestly? Nobody's said yet. When the pages were checked on October 28, 2026, the Partnership for Haddonfield events calendar showed no upcoming events at all; the last listing was the Halloween Night Market on Kings Highway on October 23. The Borough calendar didn't have a tree lighting either.
There's one good sign. On June 9, 2026, the Partnership, which manages the Haddonfield Business Improvement District, opened bids for holiday tree lighting services throughout Downtown Haddonfield, with bids due July 9. So the lights are happening. The event schedule just isn't public. Don't plan around a past year's date; check back in November.
Parking and PATCO in Haddonfield
The downtown parking page says parking is free after 8 p.m. Monday through Saturday and all day Sunday. Otherwise the public lots take pay by plate kiosks or the Premium Parking app. Or skip the lot entirely: Haddonfield's PATCO station is a short walk from Kings Highway, which is the smarter move on a December Saturday.
Collingswood Tree Lighting and Holiday Parade
Collingswood plans like it means it. The Borough's holiday page lays out the whole season (it prints dates without a year, but the weekdays match 2026). The highlights, in order:
Collingswood Cash Tailgate Party and Sale, Saturday, November 21: the party at Borough Hall starts at 6:30 a.m., and the line starts well before that. Buy $50 in Collingswood Cash and get an extra $20 to spend in town while the bonus lasts. The page says $45,000 is up for grabs, first come first served.
Tree Lighting, Friday, November 27, 7 p.m.: Santa comes down from the top of Borough Hall on the fire department's ladder truck, choral groups sing and the tree goes on. A live ice carving follows at 7:30 p.m. at the Millennium Clock by the Zane Schoolhouse at Irvin Avenue.
Holiday Parade, Saturday, November 28, 10 a.m.: from Zane and Haddon Avenues to West Linden Avenue, with marching bands, floats, mummers and live music.
Collingsweird Holiday Bizarre, Sunday, December 13, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.: 55 artists and makers at the Collingswood Grand Ballroom. The spelling is on purpose.
Community Menorah Lighting, date to be announced: outdoors at the Lumberyard on Collings and North Atlantic, then indoors at the Collingswood Senior Community Center, 30 West Collings Avenue.
Santa keeps office hours on December weekends at 808 Haddon Avenue: Friday nights 5 to 8 p.m., Saturdays and Sundays 1 to 3 p.m., plus 7:30 to 9 p.m. on tree lighting night. Carolers take the Zane School steps on Friday and Saturday evenings in December. And downtown parking is free all month.
Quick math on that Collingswood Cash deal, as a hypothetical example: spend $50, get $70 to spend in town. That's a 40 percent bump, if you beat the crowd to it.
Moorestown's Candlelight Stroll: Saturday, November 21
Moorestown kicks things off early. Moorestown Township's calendar lists the Moorestown Business Association's Main Street Candlelight Stroll for Saturday, November 21, 2026, from 4 to 8 p.m. on Main Street between Chester Avenue and Church Street. Picture Main Street lined with luminarias, shops and restaurants putting out seasonal offerings, a holiday pie contest, horse drawn carriage rides and Santa.
No Moorestown tree lighting had landed on the township calendar by late October. Moorestown also has no PATCO station, so plan to drive this one.
How to Plan the Season
November 21 is a doubleheader: the Collingswood Cash line forms before dawn and the Moorestown stroll starts at 4 p.m. Coffee in between is recommended. Thanksgiving weekend belongs to Collingswood, tree lighting Friday night and parade Saturday morning. Haddonfield is the open question.
Collingswood and Haddonfield sit a few stops apart on the PATCO line, so a car free evening is realistic. Check PATCO for weekend service before you go. Heading across the river? See the Philadelphia holiday markets and rinks guide.
What This Means for Owning or Renting Nearby
Thinking about living close enough to walk to all this? All three towns have walkable main streets ringed by older housing. Around Kings Highway in Haddonfield you'll see colonial era and Victorian houses on small lots, plus some apartments over shops. Near Haddon Avenue and the PATCO station in Collingswood it's mostly early 20th century single homes and twins with front porches, with apartment and condo buildings close to the line. Moorestown's Main Street is lined with older houses, and the lots get bigger as you move away from the center. The Haddonfield, Collingswood and Moorestown pages go deeper.
As of September 2026, Zillow's Home Value Index put the typical home in ZIP code 08108 (Collingswood) at about $501,000 and in ZIP code 08033 (Haddonfield) at about $812,000, according to Zillow Research. Those are ZIP level numbers, not a price for any particular block.
When you're comparing these towns, Max times the walk from each listing to the downtown and the PATCO station, checks the borough calendar for parade routes and street closures around your move date and lays the New Jersey costs (property taxes, the attorney review period) next to the Pennsylvania option. Buying? Start at Buy. Renting? Start at Rent. For the numbers and the contract side, see Philadelphia versus New Jersey cost of owning and New Jersey attorney review.
Maximize Your Weekends.
Official Sources
Partnership for Haddonfield: 2026 Holiday Lighting Services Bid Notice (June 9, 2026)
Moorestown Township: Main Street Candlelight Stroll (calendar listing)
FAQ
When is the Collingswood tree lighting in 2026?
The Collingswood holiday tree lighting is Friday, November 27, 2026, at 7 p.m. at Borough Hall. Santa makes his entrance from the top of Borough Hall on the fire department's ladder truck, which is hard to top. The holiday parade follows Saturday, November 28, at 10 a.m. on Haddon Avenue, per the Borough's holiday page.
When are Haddonfield's holiday events in 2026?
Haddonfield hadn't posted its 2026 holiday dates as of October 28, 2026. The Partnership for Haddonfield's downtown events calendar showed nothing upcoming, and the Borough calendar was quiet too. The Partnership did open bids in June 2026 for holiday tree lighting throughout Downtown Haddonfield, so the lights are coming. The schedule just isn't public yet.
When is the Moorestown Candlelight Stroll in 2026?
The Moorestown Main Street Candlelight Stroll is Saturday, November 21, 2026, from 4 to 8 p.m. on Main Street between Chester Avenue and Church Street, per Moorestown Township's calendar. The Moorestown Business Association runs it: luminarias along Main Street, a holiday pie contest, horse drawn carriage rides and a visit from Santa.
Is parking free in downtown Collingswood for the holidays?
Parking in downtown Collingswood is free all December, according to the Borough of Collingswood's holiday page. Even better, Collingswood has its own PATCO station, so you can get to the tree lighting and parade weekend from Philadelphia or the other PATCO towns without hunting for a spot on Haddon Avenue at all.
