Festival of Lights runs Nov. 13 to Dec. 31; Boone Hall's free tree festival is Nov. 21-22; Miracle @ SWC on Shem Creek from Nov. 20; Santa visits and more.

Last checked Oct. 16, 2026. This page is updated each year at the same address; the dates below are for the 2026 season. Facts come from each organizer’s own page, linked below. The Christmas Light Parade and the Lights Up tree lighting have their own page: Christmas parade and tree lighting.

Mount Pleasant’s holiday season starts before Thanksgiving. Boone Hall Farms opens it with a free Christmas Tree Festival on Nov. 21-22, Shem Creek gets a Christmas pop-up bar from Nov. 20, and Charleston County’s drive-through Holiday Festival of Lights runs nightly across the harbor from Nov. 13 to Dec. 31.

Who to call

  • Holiday Festival of Lights: Charleston County Parks, 843-795-4386; park office 843-406-6990
  • Boone Hall: plantation 843-884-4371; farms 843-856-5366
  • Town special events: events@tompsc.com, main line 843-884-8517

The season at a glance

Date Event Where
Nov. 13 to Dec. 31, nightly Holiday Festival of Lights James Island County Park, Charleston
Nov. 20 to Dec. 31 Miracle @ SWC pop-up bar Saltwater Cowboys, Shem Creek
Sat. and Sun., Nov. 21-22 Christmas Tree Festival (free) Boone Hall Farms
Saturday, Nov. 21 Lights Up tree lighting Towne Centre (details)
Sat., Dec. 5 and 12 Mingle with Kringle James Island County Park
Sunday, Dec. 6 Wine Under the Oaks (21 and up) Boone Hall Plantation
Saturday, Dec. 12 Holiday Market and Craft Show Farmers Market Pavilion (details)
Sunday, Dec. 13 Christmas Light Parade Coleman Boulevard (details)

Holiday Festival of Lights

The county’s Holiday Festival of Lights at James Island County Park, 871 Riverland Drive, Charleston, is open every night from Nov. 13 through Dec. 31, 2026, from 5:30 to 10 p.m. It is the festival’s 37th year. Visitors drive a route past more than 750 lighted displays, then park to walk the festival grounds.

  • Tickets are priced per vehicle, sold in advance or at the gate, and cost more on nights the county expects to be busy. It labels each night green, yellow or red for expected crowds; advance tickets are cheaper and are not refundable. Gold Pass members get one free entry a year.
  • On the grounds: a 15-minute train ride ($5 a person), a carousel, a climbing wall, gift shops and a sand sculpture made from more than 50 tons of sand, according to the attractions page.
  • Santa is at the festival from 6 p.m. to closing every night from Nov. 13 to Dec. 23. The visit is free; sign in with an elf when you arrive and your phone is notified as your turn nears. Photos are sold separately.

Mingle with Kringle is a private daytime visit with Santa on Saturday, Dec. 5, and Saturday, Dec. 12, for groups of up to five. It costs $85, includes a digital photo package and one festival gift pass, and registration closes the Thursday before, according to the county’s Santa page.

Christmas at Boone Hall

  • Christmas Tree Festival, Saturday and Sunday, Nov. 21-22, 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Boone Hall Farms, 2434 N. Highway 17. Admission is free. Free crafts, a photo booth, live music and photos with Santa from noon to 6 p.m. on your own phone; fresh-cut trees, wreaths and cookies for sale. Pets stay home.
  • Christmas at Boone Hall Plantation. The plantation house is decorated for the holidays with sweetgrass and cotton ornaments and magnolia wreaths, and the house tour is included with regular admission. In 2025 the decorations were up from Dec. 8 to Jan. 1, with tours 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday to Saturday and noon to 5 p.m. Sunday; Boone Hall had not posted 2026 dates as of Oct. 16. Closed Christmas Day.
  • Wine Under the Oaks, Sunday, Dec. 6, 1 to 5 p.m. A ticketed holiday wine tasting under the oaks at the plantation, 1235 Long Point Road, with oysters and desserts. Adults 21 and older only, no babies or children.
  • A Gullah Christmas Concert. Gullah Christmas stories and songs by the Plantation Singers on the Cotton Dock, with a tour of the decorated house beforehand. The 2025 concert was Wednesday, Dec. 10, at 7 p.m.; the 2026 date was not posted as of Oct. 16.

Shem Creek and the harbor

  • Miracle @ SWC returns to Saltwater Cowboys, 130 Mill St., Nov. 20 to Dec. 31: holiday decor, themed cocktails and mocktails and an SWC holiday market. Hours are 11 a.m. to midnight Monday to Saturday and 10 a.m. to midnight Sunday.
  • Ice skating by the shore. In 2025, Charleston Harbor Resort and Marina, 20 Patriots Point Road, ran a synthetic ice rink on the harbor from Nov. 27, Thursdays to Sundays through the season, the town’s listing said. The resort had not posted 2026 dates as of Oct. 16. Resort: 843-856-0028.

Lights in the neighborhoods

The town’s tourism office says homes along Shem Creek, in the Old Village and in I’On are decorated each season and suggests a slow drive through them; it says local shops, restaurants and offices decorate too, according to its holiday guide.

Hanukkah

Hanukkah 2026 begins at sundown on Friday, Dec. 4. Chabad of Charleston and the Lowcountry, at 477 Mathis Ferry Road in Mount Pleasant, co-hosts Chanukah in the Square with the City of Charleston and the College of Charleston’s Jewish studies program in Marion Square downtown. The 2025 lighting was Sunday, Dec. 14, from 4 to 6 p.m., free and open to all, the college said. The 2026 date was not out as of Oct. 16.

Frequently asked questions

When is the Holiday Festival of Lights in 2026?

Every night from Friday, Nov. 13, through Thursday, Dec. 31, 2026, from 5:30 to 10 p.m. at James Island County Park in Charleston. Tickets are priced per vehicle and cost less bought in advance.

Where can I see Santa in Mount Pleasant?

Santa is at Boone Hall Farms’ free Christmas Tree Festival from noon to 6 p.m. on Nov. 21-22, at the Lights Up tree lighting at Towne Centre on Nov. 21 and at the Holiday Market on Dec. 12. At the Festival of Lights, visits are free from 6 p.m. nightly, Nov. 13 to Dec. 23.

Is there a menorah lighting near Mount Pleasant?

Chabad of Charleston and the Lowcountry, at 477 Mathis Ferry Road in Mount Pleasant, co-hosts Chanukah in the Square in Marion Square downtown; in 2025 it was Sunday, Dec. 14, from 4 to 6 p.m. The 2026 date was not out as of Oct. 16. Hanukkah 2026 begins at sundown Friday, Dec. 4.

When is Miracle at Saltwater Cowboys in 2026?

Miracle @ SWC runs Nov. 20 to Dec. 31, 2026, at Saltwater Cowboys on Shem Creek, 11 a.m. to midnight Monday to Saturday and 10 a.m. to midnight Sunday.