Last year the Grace Farms Holiday Market took place on one day, Saturday, December 13. This year Grace Farms has scheduled it on twelve days, from Friday, November 27 through Thursday, December 10. Add the other New Canaan organizations that have posted 2026 dates, and holiday shopping in town now runs from the first weekend of November to December 23.
With more days to choose from, two dates now carry most of the pressure. One is a Tuesday morning in mid-November when the Chamber's gingerbread kits go online. The other is the first weekend of December, when Grace Farms is open on Saturday and Sunday alongside a different Carriage Barn pop-up market each day. What follows takes the season in order, because each date affects the next one.
Silvermine starts this weekend
The season begins up on Silvermine Road. Silvermine Arts Center holds its Artisans Market | Fine Art & Craft Fair on Saturday and Sunday, November 7 and 8, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Admission is free, and more than 20 artisans are listed. The 2026 page lists candles, ceramics, jewelry, glass, prints, stationery, woodwork, textiles and accessories. That mix fits teacher gifts, hostess gifts and the stocking stuffer you'd otherwise end up buying online in December.
The same weekend starts something longer. Silvermine's Holiday Salon – The Gift of Art opens November 7 and runs through December 23, with gallery and store hours of 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Tuesday through Saturday. The arts center is at 1037 Silvermine Road. Because the Salon stays open almost until Christmas, Silvermine is the one place on this calendar you can go back to after the December rush. The craft fair itself is just one weekend.
Mid-November moves to Main Street, then online
The following week, New Canaan Library at 151 Main Street has scheduled "Cooking Instruction: Chef Julia Deane Makes Holiday Appetizers" for Tuesday, November 10, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. On Friday, November 20, from 2 to 4 p.m., the library holds "Cricut Crafts for Adults: Winter Holiday Bookmarks." Those two programs make a gentle start to the month. The date between them is the one with a real deadline.
On Tuesday, November 17, at 10 a.m., families can reserve a gingerbread house kit for the 2026 Holiday Stroll through the New Canaan Chamber of Commerce website. There are 150 kits. Once built, the houses go on display in windows across town. The Chamber's own announcement says the kits are typically all claimed within an hour of going live.
If you get a kit, two more dates follow:
- Friday, November 20: pick up the kit at 93 Cherry Street, where the New Canaan office of Brown Harris Stevens donates the kits to the community.
- November 30 through December 3: deliver the finished house to its assigned window.
This is the earliest real deadline of the season, and it comes three weeks before the Stroll itself. Thanksgiving week falls between pickup and the delivery window.
November 21 at the Nature Center
The day after kit pickup, the New Canaan Nature Center holds its Holiday Market on Saturday, November 21, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Admission is free, and School of Rock plays holiday music. Last year the market was on Saturday, November 22, so the 2026 date is one day earlier and the all-day Saturday format is the same.
The 2026 vendor list includes The Riverfield House, Arm Candy Collection, Portraits, Inc. with Elizabeth Ker, A Girl And A Cupcake, Mikelle Design, Smiling Fish, Orchard St Design and Gioiella Jewelry. The Nature Center describes the selection as jewelry, clothing, candles and other gift items. It is the last big market before Thanksgiving, and the only one on this calendar that takes up a single Saturday from opening to close.
Grace Farms takes over after Thanksgiving
Grace Farms opens its market the day after Thanksgiving. The 2026 series runs Friday through Sunday, November 27 to 29; Tuesday through Sunday, December 1 to 6; and Tuesday through Thursday, December 8 to 10. None of the twelve dates is a Monday. Every date runs during Grace Farms' regular public hours, which work out to 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on the weekday and Saturday dates and noon to 5 p.m. on the two Sundays, November 29 and December 6. The address is 365 Lukes Wood Road.
According to a Grace Farms listing on the New Canaan Chamber calendar, the market carries art sets, toys, treats, mugs, teas, coffees, books and Grace Farms items, along with handmade ornaments and embroidered pieces by Nasreen Sheikh and the Empowerment Collective.
Last year's single Saturday was something you had to plan around. Twelve days change that for most of the run. A Tuesday afternoon in early December is now an option, and so is the long Thanksgiving weekend. That flexibility holds until the first weekend of December.
December 5 and 6 is when everything overlaps
The Carriage Barn Arts Center at 681 South Avenue has set its 2026 Deck The Walls dates. The exhibit sells small original artwork up to 24 by 24 inches, all priced at $500 or less, plus limited-edition prints, sculpture and handcrafted ornaments, jewelry, textiles, cards and candles from local artisans. One-of-a-kind wreaths are displayed to buy or bid on, and gift wrapping is available.
Here are the Carriage Barn's event dates next to the Grace Farms hours for the same days:
- Thursday, December 3: Deck The Walls Holiday Party at the Carriage Barn, 5 to 8 p.m., tickets required. Grace Farms is open 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
- Saturday, December 5: Holiday Pop-Up Market 1 at the Carriage Barn, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., indoors and outdoors, with extra vendors, refreshments and entertainment. Grace Farms is open 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
- Sunday, December 6: Holiday Pop-Up Market 2 at the Carriage Barn, noon to 4 p.m. Grace Farms is open noon to 5 p.m.
- Saturday, December 12: Deck The Walls Family Day at the Carriage Barn, free, with family crafts and activities. Grace Farms' series has already ended on December 10.
That first weekend in December is the only time on the 2026 calendar when two organizations run holiday markets at once. Each day has a defined window. Saturday's Carriage Barn pop-up closes at 3 p.m. and Grace Farms stays open until 5. On Sunday, both open at noon. Arrive at either one at 3:30 on Saturday and you can see only one of them.
The weekend probably lines up with the Holiday Stroll too. The Chamber's annual-events page describes the Stroll as an Elm Street evening on the first Friday of December. In 2026 that Friday is December 4, a day Grace Farms is also open. The Chamber has not yet posted a 2026 Stroll date or time, so treat December 4 as the usual pattern until it does. What is confirmed is the setup: the 2026 gingerbread houses must be in their windows by December 3, the day before that usual Friday.
If the Stroll follows its usual pattern, December 3 through 6 would bring the Carriage Barn party, an Elm Street evening, two Carriage Barn pop-ups and four Grace Farms market days into one stretch of four days.
After the peak
The season eases off from there. Grace Farms has three weekday dates left, December 8, 9 and 10. The library holds "Diamond Painting for Adults: Winter Tree Magnets" on Tuesday, December 8, from 6 to 8 p.m. The Carriage Barn's free Family Day on Saturday, December 12, closes out its exhibit. Silvermine's Holiday Salon stays open Tuesday through Saturday until December 23.
For your phone calendar, the four entries are a 10 a.m. reminder on Tuesday, November 17; Saturday, November 21 at the Nature Center; Saturday, December 5, starting at the Carriage Barn before its 3 p.m. close; and a weekday Grace Farms visit on December 8, 9 or 10, when the first-weekend crowds have passed.
I love this time of year in New Canaan, and much of it happens at Grace Farms, the Carriage Barn, Silvermine and the Nature Center. If you're thinking about how your own home might look for the holidays, or what a well-styled December could mean for a spring sale, I'm glad to talk it through. April D Kaynor is always happy to hear from neighbors. Let's Connect.
