Most of Downtown Freehold's Holiday Season Happens on a Weeknight. Here's December in Order

The tree at the Hall of Records gets lit on a Tuesday. On Tuesday, December 1, from 5:00 to 7:00 PM, DowntownFreehold.com holds its Annual Tree Lighting at 1 East Main Street. The Rock and Roll Choir performs, Court Jester serves hot cider, and the Freehold Fire Department may stop by with a very special guest. If it rains, the ceremony moves to Wednesday, December 2. Admission is free.

The rest of the season follows that pattern. Lay out every date on the Downtown Freehold holiday events page and most of the free public events fall on a Tuesday or Thursday evening. The weekend slots go to things you pay for or reserve: a trolley ride, a band's party and two meals with Santa. Planning December downtown comes down to saving a few weeknights and making a few phone calls early.

Five weeks on one grid

Here is the whole run, from the first open mic before Thanksgiving to the last Santa brunch five days before Christmas.

Four of the dated events land on a Tuesday, and the biggest community night lands on a Thursday. All of the reservation-only events fall on a Saturday or Sunday. If you work a standard week, the free events mean leaving the office on time. The weekend events need a phone call made in November.

The weekend tables fill by phone

Two downtown restaurants are hosting Santa this year, and both list reservations as required.

The American Hotel is running its Sunday Brunch with Santa four times: November 29 and December 6, 13 and 20, from 10:00 AM to 3:00 PM. The holiday listing asks families to bring a "wish" list and an appetite, sit down for the hotel's brunch specialties and take a photo with Santa. Reservations go through the hotel at (732) 431-3220. The November 29 seating falls on Thanksgiving weekend, so it is the one to book first if family is in town.

Sweet Lew's Café has a single date. Breakfast with Santa runs Saturday, December 12, from 9:00 AM to 12:30 PM, with reservations at (732) 308-1887. December 12 is also the busiest Jolly Trolley day, which lets a family build one full Saturday downtown: breakfast at Sweet Lew's in the morning and a trolley seat in the afternoon or evening.

The trolley leaves from the same hotel

The Jolly Trolley is the one downtown holiday event with a ticket price. Tickets are $25 for a 45-minute guided tour through historic Downtown Freehold. Costumed actors perform skits as characters from the early 1900s, and the listing promises appearances from Molly Pitcher, Martha Washington and Santa Claus. The route includes holiday music, storytelling and decorated Victorian homes. After the ride, riders get a photo with Santa and a complimentary hot chocolate ticket.

Rides depart from The American Hotel, and the listing asks riders to arrive 15 minutes early to check in. Friday, December 11 has departures at 5, 6, 7 and 8 PM. Saturday, December 12 runs every hour from 3 to 8 PM. Sunday, December 13 is held as the snow date. Ticket sales opened Sunday, November 1 at 11:00 AM through the Downtown Freehold website store, and there are no refunds unless the event is canceled. Open time slots are listed on the Jolly Trolley ticket page, so check that page before you build an evening around a particular departure.

A Sunday brunch reservation and a trolley ride both start at the same Main Street hotel, and the trolley snow date shares a day with the December 13 brunch. Families who want both on one outing can do it on that Sunday if the weather cooperates. If the snow date gets used, the trolley and the brunch crowd will be at the same address that day.

December 17 brings everything together

By the third week, the season's separate threads meet on one Thursday night. The Gingerbread Village Contest is listed for Thursday, December 17, from 4:30 to 7:30 PM. The holiday events page piles a lot more onto the same evening:

• Peter Guarino and a group of carolers walking downtown singing classic holiday songs
• A sing-along around the Holiday Tree at the Hall of Records, the same tree lit on December 1
• A vendor village
• Music from Erich the DJ Guy, plus tot dance, bubbles and more
• A Freehold Borough PBA toy collection at the gazebo from 6 to 8, taking unwrapped toys
• The winners of the Freehold Borough Recreation Holiday House Decorating contest

The toy collection and the house decorating announcement make this the night that reaches past Main Street. The decorating contest covers homes across the borough, and the PBA drive brings neighbors downtown with a bag in hand. If you can only make one downtown evening this December, this Thursday has the most going on. Bring an unwrapped toy and arrive early enough to see the gingerbread entries before the gazebo collection winds down.

The menorah lighting comes before dinner

The Menorah Lighting on Tuesday, December 8 runs from 4:00 to 5:00 PM, earlier than any other evening event on the calendar. At that hour it overlaps with school pickup and the end of the workday, so it works best for anyone who can step out a little early. It also falls one week after the tree lighting, on the same night of the week, which makes the first two Tuesdays of December the backbone of the downtown season.

The FBAC Open Mic Nights on Tuesday, November 17 and Tuesday, December 15 continue the same weeknight rhythm before and after the main holiday events. Details for each are on the Downtown Freehold calendar.

The one fundraiser held outside town

One item on the Downtown Freehold holiday page takes place outside downtown. The Eddie Testa Band's Fourth Annual Christmas Party is Friday, December 4, at Our House Restaurant, 420 Adelphia Road in Farmingdale. General admission is $65 per person. Doors open at 7:00 PM. The band plays from 7:30 to 9:00 PM, and nationally touring comedian Adam Hunter goes on at 9:30 PM. A portion of the proceeds benefits DowntownFreehold.com and the events and programs it runs through the year.

It's the only late-night event on the list, and December 4 is the one Friday with nothing scheduled downtown. It also helps pay for the season. The tree lighting is free to attend, and a ticket to this party is one of the ways the organization that runs it gets funded.

What to do this week

Most of December downtown needs nothing more than a free evening, but a few things need a call or a purchase now:

1. Call The American Hotel at (732) 431-3220 for a Brunch with Santa seating, starting with November 29 if relatives are visiting for Thanksgiving.
2. Call Sweet Lew's Café at (732) 308-1887 for Breakfast with Santa on Saturday, December 12.
3. Check open Jolly Trolley departures for December 11 and 12 on the Downtown Freehold store, and keep December 13 open in case of snow.
4. Put Tuesday, December 1, Tuesday, December 8 and Thursday, December 17 on the calendar. The menorah lighting starts at 4:00 PM, and the other two get going in the late afternoon or around 5:00 PM.
5. Pick up an unwrapped toy before December 17 for the PBA collection at the gazebo.

Here at The Haven Group, we live and work in Central Jersey too, and we'll be downtown on these same evenings. If you have a question about the season in Freehold, or about anything else on your mind this winter, Get in Touch. We're always glad to talk.