Christmas in Aspen: How to Spend the Holidays

In December, Aspen’s Victorian downtown glows with holiday lights, and carolers gather beneath freshly lit trees while four mountains open their lifts across the valley. Down the road in Snowmass, families meet Santa and his reindeer before Christmas and watch a torchlight parade on New Year’s Eve.

Wintersköl opens the month with a torchlight parade on Aspen Mountain, and the season builds to fireworks on New Year’s Eve. Here’s how to plan your Christmas in Aspen and Snowmass, with the 2026 dates that are already confirmed.

Aspen’s four mountains open in two waves this winter, according to Aspen Snowmass. Aspen Mountain and Snowmass open on November 26, Thanksgiving Day. Aspen Highlands and Buttermilk follow on December 12. All four are scheduled to be open by Christmas week, conditions permitting.

Wintersköl is Aspen’s winter carnival, and this year it runs from December 10 to 13 across town and all four mountains. If your dates are flexible, it’s a festive reason to plan an early-December trip.

Thursday and Friday

The festival opens on Thursday, December 10, with a free screening of Aspen Extreme at the Wheeler Opera House at 7:30 pm. Over in Snowmass, the Snowmass Holiday Market runs from 5 to 8 pm on Friday, December 11, and 1 to 5 pm on Saturday, December 12, at the Snowmass Village Conference and Event Center. Free s’mores are served at Base Village and the Snowmass Mall from 3:30 to 4:30 pm each afternoon from December 10 to 12.

Saturday, December 12

Saturday is the big day. Aspen Highlands and Buttermilk celebrate their opening day, and the Wintersköl Beer Festival fills Wagner Park from 2 to 6 pm. As darkness falls, a bonfire burns in Wagner Park from 4:30 to 7:30 pm. At 7 pm, kids from local ski clubs ski down Aspen Mountain in lights for the torchlight parade, followed by fireworks. The schedule is still being finalized, so check the event page as the date approaches.

Tree Lightings Around Town

Two tree lightings open the season in early December. At The Little Nell, families gather in the courtyard for cookies, cocoa and cider while the Aspen High School choir sings carols and Santa poses for photos, as described in the Aspen Snowmass holiday guide. At the historic Sardy House on Main Street, the annual tree lighting has been a community favorite for more than 40 years, with music, cookies and cocoa.

Holiday History and Shows

The Aspen Historical Society hosts an Old Fashioned Open House and Holiday Market at the Wheeler/Stallard Museum in early December, with Victorian holiday decorations, carolers and an artisan market. After Christmas, its Holiday Downtown History Tour walks you through Aspen’s past and finishes at the Hotel Jerome, dressed for the holidays. Registration is required, and in 2025 it opened in early December.

The Wheeler Opera House has presented an expanded holiday lineup in recent seasons, and the Aspen Santa Fe Ballet’s Nutcracker usually plays the Aspen District Theatre in early December. Check both calendars as the season approaches.

Skating and Sleigh Dinners

Silver Circle, at the base of Aspen Mountain, is the town’s only outdoor ice rink, according to the Aspen Chamber Resort Association.(https://aspenchamber.org/explore/recreation/ice-skating) For indoor skating, the City of Aspen runs public skating sessions at the Aspen Ice Garden.

For a holiday night out, book a sleigh dinner at Pine Creek Cookhouse on Castle Creek Road near Ashcroft. A horse-drawn sleigh carries you about a mile and a half to dinner, with evening departures around 6 pm. Reservations are required, and holiday nights book early.

In 2025, the season began with Light Up the Night on the first Friday of December. More than 40 trees were lit on the Snowmass Chapel grounds, and Santa stopped by for carols and cocoa.

In 2025, Santa’s Village ran from December 21 to 24 at The Collective Snowmass, with real reindeer on the patio from 4 to 6 pm on December 21, 22 and 23. There was also a sensory-friendly Santa visit with Challenge Aspen and a Dog Santa for four-legged family members. Carolers stroll the Snowmass Mall in the afternoons, and Snowmass Chapel held Christmas Eve services at 4, 6 and 8 pm in 2025, with a shorter 4 pm service for young children.

For skating, The Rink at Snowmass Base Village is free, and so are the skate rentals.

With four mountains to choose from, you can match each day to the mood of the group. Aspen Mountain rises straight from downtown, so it’s an easy choice when you want to ski and then stroll into town for lunch. Snowmass is the largest of the four and has its own village at the base, which makes it a natural home base for families. Buttermilk is known for gentle terrain and a relaxed feel, and Aspen Highlands is a favorite with strong skiers. Free buses connect all four, so you can try a new mountain every day.

Our guide to things to do in Aspen has more ideas for days on and off the slopes, and our comparison of Vail vs Aspen helps if you’re still choosing a destination.

Aspen and Snowmass celebrate New Year’s Eve in different ways, so it helps to know which is where.

In Aspen, the fireworks are the main event. In 2025, they lit up the sky over Aspen Mountain at 8 pm. Earlier that afternoon, the Aspen Ice Garden offered free public skating from 3 to 6 pm.

In Snowmass, the torchlight parade is the highlight. In 2025, skiers carried LED torches down Fanny Hill from 6 to 7 pm. The Snowmass New Year’s Eve torchlight was open in 2025 to intermediate skiers and riders ages 8 and up who could ski without poles. Space was capped at 250 participants, and sign-up opened on December 28. Snowmass fireworks depend on mountain conditions, so watch for updates on the day. Our guide to the best torchlight parades in the Rockies covers other mountain towns that light up the slopes each winter.

Aspen makes it easy to leave the car parked. Free shuttles run around town, including a winter route from the Rio Grande Garage to the Silver Queen Gondola, according to the City of Aspen. RFTA buses between the four mountains are free, according to the Aspen Snowmass bus guide. If you’d like to ride the Silver Queen Gondola without skiing, you’ll need a sightseeing ticket. Pack warm layers for the evening events, and our Christmas ski trip packing list covers everything else.

When you’re ready to plan your holidays, our Aspen luxury vacation rentals are privately owned and prepared to a five-star standard, with our local team looking after every detail of your stay. We’d love to help you find the right home for Christmas.