Top 8 Small Midwest Towns for Christmas

With the holiday season starting up a number of communities are kicking off their annual Christmas celebrations. There are a number of communities that do a great job to celebrate the holidays, but there are a few that stick out and are above the rest in what they do. The following is a list of the towns in the upper Midwest that really seem to do it right. They aren’t in any particular order, as they should all be celebrated equally for the work that they do for the festivities.

Pay close attention though, there may be an aspect from one community’s activities that you may want to incorporate into your own. For more information make sure to check out the links in the post to get more details.

Durango, Colorado

It’s not hard to get the Christmas feel in a Colorado mountain community, but Durango makes sure that you get a full Christmas experience. The fun kicks off with Noel Night with nighttime shopping, live music and entertainment. There’s also the Snowdown Light Parade and the famous Polar Express. Each year the Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad recreates the magical journey with treats for passengers and visits from famous characters in the book/movie.

Darby, Montana

Atchison, Kansas

There’s plenty of family-friendly activities each December in Atchison, Kansas. A lighted Christmas parade is held early in the month along with horse-drawn sleigh rides, Breakfast with Santa, a ladies night out, and stage performances of “It’s a Wonderful Life”. There’s also an annual Christmas Stroll that takes place on Small Business Saturday with shopping, activities and treats.

Santa Claus, Indiana

It’s hard to consider Midwest communities who do up the holidays right without considering Santa Claus, Indiana. After all, they call themselves America’s Christmas Hometown. Things got started in 1914 when Santa Claus’ 14th postmaster, James Martin, took it upon himself to answer the children’s letters. Today a non-profit organization, Santa’s Elves Inc, and the Santa Claus Museum, organize volunteers to answer over 22,000 letters each year. There’s also a candy castle, Santa’s Land of Lights, and plenty more activities.

Frankenmuth, Michigan

Frankenmuth is home to Bronner’s CHRISTmas Wonderland, the World’s Largest Christmas Store. You can also experience a traditional Christkindlmarkt, a european themed outdoor market in heated tents. There’s also light displays and a variety of events.

Red Wing, Minnesota

Each year, Red Wing holds their Holiday Stroll, an event that starts with a pancake breakfast with Santa Claus and continues throughout the day. An assortment of activities include the parade, gingerbread house making, ornament creating, baby reindeer, sleigh rides, a tree lighting ceremony,  several bands throughout the day and much, much more.

Branson, Missouri

If you are known as America’s Christmas Tree City, you better back that up. Branson is well known in the Midwest for their summer entertainment activities. But the community doesn’t slow things down during the winter. Their activities include two live Christmas shows, 1,000 decorated Christmas trees, an eight-story special effects Christmas tree and the Holly Jolly Christmas Light Parade.

Corning, Wyoming

Corning and the Southern Finger Lakes put on a celebration each year that is quite a spectacle of activities. There’s a Parade of Lights through their Gaffer District. You can also make your own glass ornaments. But the main event is an evening festivity called “Sparkle“, complete with horse-drawn carriage rides, local and regional choral groups filling the air with Christmas songs, a live nativity, and a variety of food and free activities for families. There’s also numerous craft vendors selling their wares.