Heritage Museums and Garden Gardens Aglow in Sandwich MA 2024
Heritage Museums and Garden will sparkle with festive lights and decorations during the 2024 Christmas holiday season on Wednesday Thursdays Friday Saturday and Sunday nights 4:30-8:30 starting November 29th thru December 23rd
See all the holiday events on the Cape
Gardens Aglow takes place from with Ticket entry times are at 4:30 pm, 5:45 pm, and 7 pm nightly.
Gardens Aglow, a treasured holiday family tradition, transforms the grounds with more than twelve miles of holiday lights. Enjoy marshmallow-roasting, a reindeer scavenger hunt, visit with Santa Claus in the Model T, take carousel rides, holiday treats at Magnolia Café, and more.
Join us for the celebration of lights that has become a treasured Cape Cod holiday tradition for over a decade! Heritage’s expansive gardens will be aglow with beautiful light displays, extensive indoor holiday décor and numerous activities around the grounds and galleries. This year visitors can expect expanded lighting displays and outdoor interactives, along with all of your favorites from previous years!
The J.K. Lilly III Automobile Gallery, featuring:
An exhibit of Heritage’s antique and classic car collection
Visits with Santa in a 1913 Ford Model T
The American Art & Carousel Gallery, featuring:
An exhibit of winter-themed artwork from Heritage’s collection
Rides on the 1908 Looff Carousel
Lighted gardens and outdoor features, including:
The McGraw Family Garden of the Senses
The Old East Mill
The Flume Field
The Hydrangea Gardens (Cape Cod Hydrangea Society Display Garden and North American Hydrangea Test Garden)
The Wing House lawn
The Labyrinth
The Parade Field
The McInnes Garden
The Polar Playspace at the Parade Field, featuring:
Cape Cod Donuts food truck
Warming area with seating
Lawn games
Imagination Playground
Outdoor activities, including:
Reindeer Scavenger Hunt
Marshmallow roasting at the fire pits
Outdoor G-scale model train display, featuring bridges made of natural materials
Ice carving demonstration on Thursdays
Fun photo opportunities at the Outdoor Stage, Rhodie Grove, and more
Lawn games and giant building blocks at the Parade Field
Piped holiday music throughout the grounds
You can purchase tickets here
Are strollers allowed?
Yes, main pathways through the event and buildings are accessible by stroller. Optional paths with crushed shell or woodchipped surfaces are also marked on the map but may not be navigable by all wheelchairs/strollers. Strollers are allowed inside gallery spaces, but note that there is a designated stroller parking area located at the carousel.
How much time should I allow? How long does it take to visit?
While everyone’s experience varies, most visitors plan to spend an hour and a half enjoying Gardens Aglow.
Is there anywhere to get food or drinks?
Yes! Purchase soup, hotdogs, coffee, hot chocolate, mulled wine, and other holiday treats at Lilly’s Café. The Cape Cod Donuts foot truck located at the Parade Field offers fresh, hand-cut donuts and cider.
What happens if there is bad weather?
Gardens Aglow takes place in all weather conditions. Tickets are non-refundable. The lights have extra sparkle in the rain or snow! Heritage will only cancel a night of Gardens Aglow if a major weather event presents a risk to safety (for example, during severe storms with high winds). Visitors should check www.heritagemuseums.org for updated information about any closures. Updates will also be posted to Heritage’s facebook page, and a message will be recorded on our voicemail, which can be heard by calling 508-888-3300.
If Heritage must cancel a night, ticket holders will be notified of the cancellation via email. Ticket holders will be automatically refunded. Refunds will be offered to ticket holders only in the event that Heritage closes due to severe weather. If tickets are available for other dates and times, available options will be offered to affected ticket holders for rescheduling their visit. Please note that rescheduling is not guaranteed, and is only offered as an option for timeslots where tickets are not sold out. Tickets are not automatically rescheduled. Ticket holders affected by a cancellation will receive an email with all available options and information – this information will NOT be available on the Heritage website.
General Admission – date and time specific
Adults: $22
Youth (3-17): $12
Member Adults: $20
Member Youth (3-17): $11
Children 2 and under: Free
Walk-Up Tickets (if available)
Adults: $44
Youth (3-17): $24
Member Adults: $40
Member Youth (3-17): $22
Children 2 and under: Free
Flex Anytime Tickets – visit one time on any scheduled Gardens Aglow date at any time
Adult: $44
Youth (3-17): $24
Member Adult: $40
Member Youth: $22
Children 2 and under: Free
See the buzz
We loved it! Our two daughters 3 & 1 loved it to. It was a perfect mild evening. The lights are beautiful. Santa was amazing, spent time with no feeling of being rushed. He even showed our daughter that he has real hands under those white gloves! ( she was unsure if he had hands or was like a “cartoon”).
The marshmallow roasting was free, they have hot cocoa and mulled wine. It was great. The carousel is really beautiful, indoors. Overall this will be a new tradition for our family.
This was a wonderful experience. The gardens were lit beautifully. The activities, hunting for Santa’s reindeer , judging gingerbread houses, and making tree ornaments were fun. The car museum was a warm retreat and the Nutcracker Ballet entertaining.
Christmas lights on display though out the grounds. Activities for Children, beautiful carousel and a great car show. A lot of walking but worth the effort
1st visit to the Gardens Aglow and what a delight. We brought our 2 year old . grand daughter to the Santa visit. Just wonderful, unstructured, very approachable Santa & Mrs. Claus went out of the way to make the kids comfortable. Unlimited rides on the carousel, cookies and an ornament decorating table. A lovely visit is then capped by a walk through the gardens all lit for Christmas.
A beautiful stroll though Christmas Lights “all aglow” – a nature activity that is fun for the whole family. We took strollers for the littles and they walked some and rode some which worked out well as there are some inclines. The staff were very friendly and helpful. The lights are so beautiful, there are several places to go in and get warm as well as activities for the children. We had hot cocoa, hot cider, hot dogs and homemade donuts which were all yummy at a snack shack with outdoor heaters. I highly recommend this stroll through the gardens this holiday season. A real treasure.
Heritage Museums & Gardens
67 Grove Street
Sandwich, MA 02563-2147
