NJ holiday light shows 2026: Dates, prices and drive-thrus

Some of my best family memories are from when the kids were little and we’d just drive through the neighborhoods looking at the lights.

One year we hit the light show at PNC. We took the kids to Storybook Land, where my parents took me and my brothers.

Thinking about it now, I can still see their young faces and that sense of wonder. A light show can be a gift that lasts forever. It lights up your mind.

New Jersey goes all out, and the 2026 season starts in the next couple of weeks. Here’s where to go, when they open, and what they cost.

A tip before you go: most drive-thrus sell timed tickets online, and the weekends right before Christmas sell out. Weeknights in late November are the sweet spot.

North Jersey

Skylands Stadium Christmas Light Show, Augusta: A mile-long drive-thru with more than 2 million lights, plus a free walk-through Christmas Village with s’mores, a light tunnel and a winter beer garden for the grown-ups. Select dates Nov. 21 to Dec. 30. Tickets are $29 per carload, or $79 for VIP express entry, and must be bought online in advance, per Skylands Stadium.

Turtle Back Zoo Holiday Lights, West Orange: Free, with no reservations needed, and one of the best deals of the season. The zoo hasn’t posted 2026 dates yet. Last year it ran from late November through Jan. 3, 5 to 9 p.m. Watch Turtle Back Zoo for this year’s schedule.

Central Jersey

Magic of Lights, Holmdel: The drive-thru at PNC Bank Arts Center runs nightly Nov. 20 through Jan. 3. Go in November and it’s $22 a car online. Through Nov. 19, you can lock in a $29.99 pass good any night, down from $39.99, per NJ Today.

Winter WonderLights, East Brunswick: A drive-thru at the Middlesex County Fairgrounds, starting around Nov. 20 and running daily through Jan. 3. It’s $40 to $50 per car, per New Jersey Isn’t Boring.

The Village at Anne Ellen, Manalapan: A Christmas tree farm turned holiday village, Nov. 6 to Dec. 30. Adults $24 to $28, kids $14 to $18.

Holland Ridge Farms Winter Wonderland, Cream Ridge: The tulip farm goes holiday from Nov. 13 to Jan. 10. Prices haven’t been posted yet.

Allaire Community Farm, Wall: An old-fashioned Christmas on the farm with walk-through light tunnels, Fridays through Sundays from Nov. 27 to Dec. 23, 4 to 8 p.m. Adults $12, kids $6.

Six Flags Great Adventure Holiday in the Park, Jackson: It’s back after skipping 2025, “reimagined” with themed lands, tree-lighting shows and holiday treats, according to NJBIZ. Six Flags hasn’t announced dates yet.

South Jersey

Storybook Land Christmas Fantasy with Lights, Egg Harbor Township: More than a million lights, Santa and Mrs. Claus through Dec. 23, and a new sleigh ride through falling snow. Select dates Nov. 14 to Dec. 30. It’s $42.95 per person, online only, per PhillyVoice.

Diggerland Drive-Thru Holiday Light Show, West Berlin: It returns Nov. 20 and runs through Jan. 3, per Diggerland. Tickets start at $37.99.

DiDonato’s Magical Holiday Express, Hammonton: Select dates from Nov. 14 through Dec. 23, from $22.95.

Holiday Light Show on the Lake at Historic Smithville: Free, and a South Jersey classic. Thursdays through Sundays from Thanksgiving weekend into early January, 5:30 to 8:30 p.m.

Dates and prices can change, especially with the weather, so check each website before you head out.

And don’t forget the free show. Some of the best lights are still the ones on your own block. Pile everyone in the car, take the long way home and look for that one house that went all out.

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