CLEVELAND, Ohio – You don’t have to travel to the North Pole to get in the spirit this holiday season. A trip to Sandusky might suffice.
The city, an hour west of Cleveland, is debuting its Sandusky Christmas Market this weekend, with 35 vendors in wood huts spread across Schade-Mylander Plaza near the downtown waterfront. Among their wares: books, bandanas and build-your-own stuffed animals.
The idea was conceived by Sandusky native Chris Corso, currently of Columbus, who accompanied his mom, Judy Corso, on a Christmas-market themed cruise through Europe last December.
Afterward, he declared to her: “We have to do this in Sandusky, mom.”
Fast forward to today: The market debuts this weekend, running Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays through Dec. 22.
It’s one of more than a dozen events and activities spread across Ohio and beyond, designed to get you in the spirit this holiday season.
There are unique shopping experiences, bright lights and loud music, along with places for quiet reflection. However you like to celebrate the season, there’s likely a destination nearby for you.
Here are 12 picks for close-to-home holiday trips to take this season:
The first Sandusky Christmas Market gets under way this weekend.Courtesy Judy Corso
Downtown Sandusky
To get his market off the ground, Chris Corso borrowed 10 old Frontier Town huts from Cedar Point and added another 12 built from scratch in Amish country. The event also features food trucks, beer gardens, entertainment and kids activities. For more information and a schedule: sanduskychristmasmarket.com
Nearby: Cedar Point is closed for the season, but its two year-round resorts are open for holiday merriment.
Sawmill Creek in Huron kicks off its Season of Joy this weekend with Holiday Hideout, a festive pop-up bar; entertainment, featuring the Mistletones and the Sawmill Carolers, plus Hideout Holiday Trivia and the Holiday Helper Hotline. Also: a S’mores & More bar, Paint & Sip and a New Year’s Eve party featuring Not Fast Enuff. For details: sawmillcreekresort.com
Meanwhile, at Castaway Bay, the park’s indoor waterpark resort, a Castaway Christmas features daily meet and greets with Santa, holiday arts and crafts, Reindeer Games, and a special ship lighting ceremony in the main lobby. And on Dec. 31: Noon Year’s Eve, a kid-friendly party to welcome in 2025. Information: castawaybay.com
One of nearly 100 Victorian-era scenes in downtown Cambridge, Ohio.Susan Glaser, Cleveland.com
Dickens Victorian Village, Cambridge
Cambridge, about 110 miles south of Cleveland, has again transformed itself into a Victorian-era village, with dozens of Dickensian scenes set up throughout downtown.
The tradition began in 2005, when a local business owner came up with the idea to increase foot traffic downtown. It’s grown into a two-month long holiday extravaganza, including a nightly light show set to music on the façade of the Guernsey County Courthouse.
Activities include trolley tours, horse-drawn carriage rides, afternoon tea, Cambridge Glass Museum tours and more.
Start your visit at the Welcome Center and Curiosity Shoppe, 708 Wheeling Ave. The fun runs through Dec. 31. Information: dickensvictorianvillage.com
Nearby: Historic Roscoe Village, the recreated 1830s-era canal town that’s located within Coshocton, is hosting its low-wattage Christmas Candlelighting Ceremony at 6 p.m. Dec. 7 and Dec. 14. In addition, self-guided Roscoe Christmas Tours are offered 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Dec. 7, Dec. 14 and Dec. 21-24. For details: roscoevillage.com
Read more: A holiday scene from a Dickens novel: Exploring Cambridge, one of Ohio’s best small towns
The Guernsey County Courthouse in Cambridge, completed in 1861, comes alive with lights and music every evening through Dec. 31.Susan Glaser, Cleveland.com
Steubenville Nutcracker Village is celebrating its 10th anniversary this year – with more than 200 life-sized nutcrackers decorating the downtown streets, including characters from literature, movies, sports and history. Look for Father Christmas, Rosie the Riveter and native son Dean Martin, among many others.
Additional activities include an advent market, Christmas parade, holiday tea and more. The display runs through Jan. 10. See steubenvillenutcrackervillage.com
The festivities continue at nearby Historic Fort Steuben, which is hosting Christmas at the Fort on weekends through Dec. 22, with tours, lights, music and more. Details: oldfortsteuben.com
Nearby: Across the river in Wheeling, West Virginia, Oglebay resort is hosting its 40th annual Winter Festival of Lights, with its centerpiece 6-mile drive-through holiday display, featuring more than 100 illuminated attractions (daily through Jan. 5). Also here: Holidays at the Mansion, Gardens of Light, Christmas at the Good Zoo, plus overnight packages at Wilson Lodge. Details: oglebay.com
Skating on the Royal Fountain at Kings Island’s WinterFest in Mason, Ohio.
WinterFest at Kings Island
Kings Island’s popular WinterFest event is back, starting this weekend, with live entertainment, ice skating on Snow Flake Lake and the park’s iconic 314-foot Eiffel Tower adorned as a giant Christmas tree.
Also: WinterFest Wonderland Parade, live entertainment, Artisan Village and dozens of rides in operation, including Mystic Timbers, the Racer and the Kings Island and Miami Valley Railroad, which travels through light displays depicting the 12 Days of Christmas.
The fun runs select days Nov. 29 through Dec. 31. Tickets start at $29.99. Information: visitkingsisland.com
Nearby: The quaint town of Lebanon kicks off the holiday season on Dec. 7 with its 35th annual Lebanon Horse Drawn Carriage Parade and Christmas Festival. The festival runs 10 a.m. to 8 p.m., with music, a petting zoo and visits with Santa. There are two horse-drawn carriage parades – the first at 1 p.m. and the second, a candlelight version, at 7 p.m. Details: lebanonchamber.org
Also nearby: The Cincinnati Zoo’s PNC Festival of Lights is under way, with more than 5 million LED lights shining bright throughout the property. Also: Fiona fairies in Fairyland, a blacklight puppet show and Wild Lights on Swan Lake. Information: cincinnatizoo.org
Also: Historic Clifton Mill, in the small Southwest Ohio town of Clifton, welcomes the season on Nov. 29 with 4 million lights illuminating the mill, surrounding gorge, riverbed and trees. Also here: A Santa Claus collection, Miniature Village plus music and light show on the covered bridge. The show is offered nightly through Dec. 30; admission is $15. Information: cliftonmill.com
Wild Lights at the Columbus Zoo.Moment Editorial/Getty Images
Downtown Columbus
Looking for a new way to take in holiday lights? Consider a Segway tour through downtown Columbus. The festive Holiday Lights Tour, offered by SegAway Tours of Columbus, includes a two-wheel cruise through downtown’s Scioto Mile, the Arena District and Columbus Commons, all while enjoying holiday music through a wireless sound system. Tours are 90 minutes and offered twice nightly. Cost is $49. Information: segawaytoursofcolumbus.com
Nearby: Wildlights at the Columbus Zoo continues through Jan. 5, with the Sparkling Spruce, 12 Days of Wildlights train ride, Holiday Tree Trail and more. Information: columbuszoo.org. The Franklin Park Conservatory, too, is fully decked out for the season, with Conservatory Aglow in the evenings and Holiday Blooms during the day. Details: fpconservatory.org
German retailer Kathe Wohlfahrt is a long-time vendor at Pittsburgh’s Holiday Market, which runs through Dec. 24 at Market Square.The Plain Dealer
Downtown Pittsburgh
Or head east to Pittsburgh, where downtown’s Market Square has again been transformed into the People’s Gas Holiday Market, a European-style fair with dozens of vendors offering everything from ornaments to Advent calendars to pottery. Also nearby: Outdoor ice skating on the Rink at PPG Place, a holiday window display competition and Wonder & Light, a holiday-themed public art display. Details: downtownpittsburghholidays.com
Nearby: Phipps Holiday Magic runs through Jan. 5 at the Phipps Conservatory (advanced reservations required); and Glowland, “where art meets light,” is brightening Pittsburgh’s Oakland neighborhood through Dec. 14.
Punderson Manor, a state park lodge in Geauga County, decorated for the season.
Ohio State Park lodges
For a slower-paced December getaway, consider an overnight at one of 10 Ohio State Park lodges, all decked out for the holidays.
The lodges, located in some of the state’s most picturesque settings, all have restaurants, indoor pools and access to some of the state’s best hiking trails and outdoor spaces. Closest to Cleveland: Punderson Manor, the Lodge at Geneva-on-the-Lake and Mohican State Park Lodge.
Special events include holiday movies, children’s crafts, visits with Santa, New Year’s Eve celebrations and more. Information: greatohiolodges.com, thelodgeatgeneva.com
Holiday wine trails
To really get in the spirit, visit one of two close-to-Cleveland holiday wine trails, offering festive themes, food, drinks and a special gift this season.
The Tannenbaum Trail (also known as the Vines & Wines Trail) features 19 wineries in Lake and Ashtabula counties, with festivities planned for weekends through Dec. 22. Tickets are $75 for two (but don’t delay because they will sell out). The Deck the Wreath Wine Trail includes a dozen stops west of Cleveland, primarily in Lorain and Erie counties, and runs Dec. 6-7, 13-14 and 20-21. Tickets are $55 for two. Details: ohiowines.org/events
One of New York city’s Christmas store window displays for tour guests to check out at Castle Noel, November 10, 2022, as the everything Christmas museum celebrates its 10th anniversary. John Kuntz, cleveland.com
Castle Noel and Medina
The quaint town of Medina, about 30 miles southwest of Cleveland, could be a setting for a Hallmark movie, with its picturesque town square all dolled up for the holidays.
Snag a reservation for Castle Noel, filled with a treasure trove of holiday memorabilia – elaborate window displays from Saks Fifth Avenue and other New York City flagships; costumes and props from “The Santa Clause” and “Elf”; plus a replica red slide from “A Christmas Story” that you can test out.
Spend the rest of the day strolling, dining and shopping downtown. Information: mainstreetmedina.com
Read more: How Castle Noel transformed Medina into one of Ohio’s top holiday destinations
A holiday getaway to Cleveland must include a visit to the Christmas Story House in Tremont. (Scott Shaw/The Plain Dealer)The Plain Dealer
Downtown Cleveland
Finally, let’s not forget our hometown of Cleveland for holiday merriment, including downtown’s WinterLand, with thousands of lights decorating Public Square, plus ice skating, entertainment, shopping and dining. It kicks off this weekend.
Fans of “A Christmas Story” can tour the house where parts of the 1983 movie were filmed, and then see the tale come alive on stage at Playhouse Square’s Allen Theatre (through Dec. 23).
For an extra special overnight, book a stay in the Hilton Cleveland Downtown’s Mr. Kringle Suite, an extra-large room decked out in holiday finery. Details: mrkringle.com/mrkringle
Nearby: Check out Frost at the Cleveland Botanical Garden or Wild Winter Lights at Cleveland Metroparks Zoo.
Related: Celebrate the season: 80 holiday events and festive things to do in Cleveland
Frost, the winter show at Cleveland Botanical Garden, includes new seasonal exhibits and light displays, 40 themed Christmas tress and 60 gingerbread constructions. The immersive holiday experience opens Saturday, November 23 and runs through Sunday, January 5, 2025.David Petkiewicz, cleveland.com