The Concord Museum's book-themed trees close their doors at 4 p.m. The Umbrella Arts Center's three floors of handmade gifts stay open until 5 p.m. A fire truck carrying Santa heads down Main Street at about the time the museum is locking up. All of that happens on Sunday, December 6, 2026. That is the only day this season when the museum's one special Family Trees program, the last day of the Umbrella's Winter Market and the town tree lighting all land on the same calendar square.
If you start at 1 p.m. and follow the published times, you can see all three by about 5:15 without rushing.
The museum's one special afternoon
The 31st annual Family Trees: A Celebration of Children's Literature opens at the Concord Museum, 53 Cambridge Turnpike, on Saturday, November 21, and runs through January 3, 2027. The museum calls it "a playful installation of dozens of stunning story trees, handcrafted by talented local volunteers and community organizations." It also mentions a scavenger hunt for families and says this year's mix includes titles by local authors and illustrators.
The 2026 book list has 38 titles. Some are classics, like Little Red Hen and A Snow Day for Amos McGee. Others are newer, like Thank You, Omu!, Revolutionary Mary, The Outermost Mouse and Who Donut? A Holiday Mystery. If your children have a favorite on the list, finding that tree is a good way to start the visit.
The exhibition has only one special event on its page this year, and it falls on December 6. An Afternoon with Authors and Illustrators runs from 1 to 3 p.m. The museum says visitors can "meet the local authors, illustrators, and even some of the characters from the books featured in this year's installation." Last year the comparable gathering was a 30th-anniversary birthday party on December 14. This year it moved a week earlier, onto the same Sunday as the tree lighting.
The closing hour matters more than it did last year. Family Trees is open Tuesday through Sunday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. In 2025 the weekend hours ran to 5 p.m., so this year's weekend visits are an hour shorter. If you arrive after the author program ends at 3, you have about an hour before closing.
Admission is the same as last year:
- Adults: $20
- Seniors and students: $15
- Youth ages 6 to 17: $10
- Children ages 3 to 5: $5
- Children 2 and under: free
- Museum members: free
Advance tickets are encouraged but not required. The exhibition raises money for the museum's education programs, which the 2026 listing says serve more than 17,000 students a year. Last year's listing said more than 15,000.
The Umbrella stays open an hour later
The museum closes at 4, but the Winter Market at The Umbrella Arts Center, 40 Stow Street, stays open until 5 p.m. on all three of its days, Friday, December 4, through Sunday, December 6. Each day opens at 11 a.m., and general admission is free. The Discover Concord listing calls the market "a twenty-year Concord tradition" spread across "three sunlit floors" of artists' studios, galleries and guest artisans' tables.
This year's market lists more than 30 vendors. Their work includes glasswork, jewelry, home décor, woodwork, stationery and clothing. There is also a Ceramics Sale with sculpture and practical pottery. Farfalle Italian Market is serving lunch, and the Little Big Coffee Cart has hot drinks.
You can also buy work from "Off the Wall," the Wedge Gallery exhibition by Umbrella Studio Artists. It runs from November 19 through December 20. That means you can see the work before the market crowds arrive and buy a piece on December 6.
The free family activities matter most for the Sunday plan. They run from 1 to 4 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday and from 3 to 5 p.m. on Friday. The Umbrella appreciates preregistration but doesn't require it. On Sunday, those activities overlap the museum's author program, which runs from 1 to 3. A family could split up for the early afternoon and meet again later.
The tree lighting starts as the other two wind down
The Town of Concord's annual tree lighting runs from 3 to 6 p.m. on Sunday, December 6, in Concord Center. The listing promises outdoor entertainment, a parade and "festive store fronts." The parade leaves The Hunt Gym at 4:40 p.m. Santa rides down Main Street on one of Concord's fire trucks, and he lights the town tree at about 5 p.m.
Those times fit neatly with the other two schedules. The museum closes 40 minutes before the parade starts, and the market's last hour runs until the tree is lit. The event begins at 3 p.m., as the author program ends, and the parade starts about 40 minutes after the market's family activities wrap up.
The town has a backup plan for bad weather. If there is soaking rain or snow heavy enough to plow, the decision to cancel the outdoor event will be made by 9 p.m. on Saturday, December 5. In that case, the Recreation Department will hold an indoor event from 4:30 to 6 p.m. at the Hunt Recreation Center. The Concord Recreation Department's tree lighting page is the place to check that Saturday night.
Sunday, December 6, hour by hour
Here is the full day:
- 11 a.m. The Winter Market opens its last day at 40 Stow Street. If you want first pick of the ceramics, come early.
- 1 p.m. An Afternoon with Authors and Illustrators begins at the Concord Museum. The Umbrella's family activities start at the same time.
- 3 p.m. The author program ends, and the town's tree lighting event begins in Concord Center.
- 4 p.m. Family Trees closes for the day, and the Umbrella's family activities end.
- 4:40 p.m. The parade leaves The Hunt Gym.
- About 5 p.m. Santa lights the town tree, and the Winter Market closes for the year.
- 6 p.m. The tree lighting event ends.
If you start in the morning, you can shop the market before lunch and still reach the museum by 1.
The quieter days around it
Some households will want to skip the crowds of December 6 and see each event on its own. The calendar makes room for that.
Family Trees opens Saturday, November 21. The museum is closed on Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. It is open on Mondays in December, on New Year's Eve and on New Year's Day. Out-of-town guests arriving Thanksgiving weekend can visit on Friday, Saturday or Sunday, but not on Thursday.
The Winter Market's Friday, December 4, is a shorter day for family activities, which run from 3 to 5 p.m. The vendors keep the same 11-to-5 hours all three days. "Off the Wall" stays up through December 20, two weeks after the market ends.
In West Concord, the season starts with a smaller project. This month, Art for All at 152 Commonwealth Avenue, Suite 16, held free Many Hands, One Merry Tree ornament-making sessions with supplies provided. The ornaments will decorate a holiday tree in the window of Debra's Natural Gourmet. Walk past Debra's this season to see what your neighbors made.
If you're thinking about how your own home might show during the holidays, or how December fits a move you're planning for spring, Ann Shaw Homes is happy to talk it through over coffee, whenever suits you. Request a personal market consultation, and Ann will bring her local knowledge of Concord to the conversation.
