Holidays here are when entire communities get cozy. Jingle bells hang from doors and dog collars alike. Bakeries bustle behind windows frosted with snow. Streets and pocket parks glow with joy—reflected in the smiles of those who hung the lights and those who simply love that they’re there.
“Something special happens when Catskill communities gather downtown to light a Christmas tree,” says Callison Stratton, a musician and Youth Programs Coordinator for the Western Sullivan Public Library Network. “I could try to describe it, but it’s something you should experience. It’s not so much what it looks like, but how it makes you feel.”
Magic Made by Hand
For Callison, it’s a magical feeling created by collaboration, joy and shared pride in a community that cares. This is a place where loaves of homemade cranberry bread show up in mailboxes with kind messages. Where cards, cookies and beeswax candles are crafted in schools as only a kid can.
Ornaments made today will hang on fresh-cut firs for generations. Teens will wonder why their parents kept them, only to seek them out years later—rehung during a college visit or with their own children at grandma and grandpa’s.
“My daughter, Rosemary, is at an age where everything makes her eyes get big this time of year,” Callison adds. “It’s a new magic for our family. I get so much joy watching her face as we walk down Main Street. She’ll stop in wonder at a store window we’ve passed hundreds of times and point to something I didn’t see before either.”
Elven Workshops & Evening Plans
Art classes and libraries become elven workshops fueled by mini marshmallows and—at the Western Sullivan Public Library—gingerbread cookies from Be Kind Bake House.
“Pick any evening and there’s something to do,” says Callison, noting that all library events are completely free and open to everyone.
Tree lightings, free movie nights, caroling and cocoa stands. It’s all happening in a community that’s unrushed. You won’t see decorations on the scale of Macy’s or Saks, but what you will see are displays made with care by local shop owners—curated with things crafted right here.
For Callison and her family, it’s a time for Catskill communities to come together. Local shopping days pair with food and clothing drives.
“It’s not about consumerism as much as it is about taking care of each other. Buying and giving right here,” she says. “The local business community is why this is such a special place to live and raise a family. There’s genuine purpose in what we do for each other, and that carries over into everything.”
A Step Back in Time
In Callicoon, the holidays mean stepping back in time. During Dickens on the Delaware, the community transforms into a Victorian winter wonderland complete with shopkeepers and townsfolk in period attire.
Carolers serenade streets adorned with lights, holiday trees and wreaths as they stroll among outdoor fire pits and horse-drawn buggies.
The Western Inn and Callicoon Depot become a storybook-style holiday market filled with local goods—knitted items, pottery, soaps. Wreath making, cocoa sipping and cookie decorating happen while neighbors and new friends greet each other as “kind madam” and “good sir.” Children run about, scarves and mittens half on.
As evening settles, holiday cocktails, mulled wine and Victorian-inspired tastings are shared while choirs sing and scenes from a Roving Christmas Carol are performed throughout the sparkling downtown. All of it flowing into a Victorian Ball with all the charm of Christmas past.
Traditions Old & New
Callicoon is unique in the Dickensian sense, but the holiday spirit transcends towns. Outdoor ice rinks spring to life with winter’s spark. Sleds and kids slip and scream with the joyful laughter that can only come from feeling just the right amount of out-of-control.
“It’s a time when everyone seems to be out and about,” says Dasha Sienitsky, a realtor for over 20 years who grew up in the Sullivan Catskills. “I’m not sure how it’s possible, but the holidays have the same feel as a farmers market, yet somehow warmer despite the snow.”
While each town does something unique, Dasha has a soft spot for Bethel—especially Peace, Love & Lights, a drive-thru illuminated tradition hosted each December at Bethel Woods Center for the Arts.
“I love seeing how each town dresses up for the holidays, but what Bethel Woods does is a must-see. There’s nothing quite like it, especially for visitors. I go every year and am truly amazed each time,” she says, adding that she also discovers something new while shopping locally.
The Catskills of Sullivan County are a place where things are happening. Old buildings brought back to life as pottery studios through genuine sweat equity. A café here, a brewery there, a place that makes things from honey and maple syrup. It’s a quirky mix born from the creativity of a new generation where working for yourself is a damn good lifestyle. Sharing it is even better.
When Togetherness Is the Gift
It’s a time when inviting friends over for appetizers turns into a progressive party that begins in the neighborhood and ends with a snow-filled stroll downtown because—whether you knew it or not—something is going on.
Maybe the Muppets have taken over the movie theater. A choir performance is happening at the elementary school. A local chef is teaching kids how to decorate cookies at the library. Callison and Rosemary will be there. Big eyes and all.
“For me, it’s about these moments,” says Callison. “It’s about the time we share with each other. Conversations and laughter. Creating memories and sharing them again year after year. I’m seeing the season in an entirely new way through my daughter, where everything is still pretty new.”
It’s experiencing a community that somehow feels fresh with each dusting of snow. A season of secrets where the excitement is wrapped in the joy of sharing. Window displays, downtown decorations and surprise plates of cookies left on a doorstep.
This time of year, smiles don’t cost a cent and are given freely—whether passing an acquaintance or a face seen for the first time. A warm nod to a time when we all felt a little closer to each other, from a place where most still do.