Local guide

The holidays, Kitsap style.

What is there to do for the holidays near Olalla, WA? Plenty, and most of it is free. Gig Harbor lights its waterfront tree on Saturday, December 5, 2026. Poulsbo holds its Viking Julefest bonfire the same weekend. Port Orchard runs its Festival of Chimes and Lights, Bremerton lights its Winterfest tree on November 28, and lighted boat parades circle two harbors in December. All of it is within 45 minutes of the house.

Tree lightings, boat parades, Viking bonfires, and markets, Thanksgiving through New Year's.

Written by Assaf, the Olalla Bay editor. Updated October 2026.

Dates below are the ones actually published for 2026. Where an organizer has not posted 2026 dates yet, we say so and give the standing pattern instead of guessing. Check the organizer's page before you drive: December schedules shift.

Gig Harbor: the waterfront does Christmas

The harbor town fifteen minutes from the house goes the hardest, and it starts early. Shop the Harbor, the holiday launch party on the waterfront, runs Saturday, November 14, 2026. The city tree lighting follows on Saturday, December 5, 2026, at Skansie Brothers Park: live music, complimentary cookies and cocoa from the Waterfront Alliance, and Santa, from late afternoon into the evening. It is free.

The Holiday Village returns to Ancich Waterfront Park with holiday photo displays and free photos with Santa on select December weekends. The 2026 dates have not been published yet; in 2025 it ran the first three weekends of December. The Gnome Hunt runs through December in the waterfront district: find the hidden gnomes in local businesses for a prize drawing.

On the water, the Gig Harbor Yacht Club lighted boat parade has run for more than fifty years. Boats decked in lights start at Arabella's Landing marina and circle the harbor twice. The 2026 date has not been published yet; in 2025 it ran December 13, typically the second Saturday of December. Best viewing: Skansie Brothers Park, Jerisich Dock, Ancich Waterfront Park, or the Bogue viewing platform. Bring a blanket.

On land, the Lighted Car Parade runs the third Saturday of December through downtown, organized with the Kiwanis Club, with a food and toy drive for the FISH Food Bank. In 2025 that was December 20; the 2026 date has not been published yet. And all December, Gig Harbor Fire & Medic One runs Santa's firetruck route through the neighborhoods; the route map is posted once it is set.

Dinner before or after: the Gig Harbor food guide has the waterfront restaurants, and the Gig Harbor guide covers the town itself.

Poulsbo: Vikings do Christmas

Poulsbo, about forty minutes north, does the holidays Norwegian style. The tree lighting ceremony is the Friday after Thanksgiving, November 27, 2026, at MIW Waterfront Park, put on by the Poulsbo Chamber. Then the main event: the Viking bonfire and Julefest, run by the Poulsbo Sons of Norway Vikings on the first Saturday of December at the same waterfront park. The Vikings escort the Lucia Bride in by boat, light the yule log, Miss Poulsbo lights the town tree, and Santa closes the night. The 2026 date has not been published yet. It is free.

The Poulsbo Heritage Museum holiday market is set for two weekends in 2026: November 27 to 29 and December 18 to 20, 10am to 4pm, local makers and gifts. And Poulsbo's lighted boat parade, the "Christmas on the Bay" tradition now in its 57th year, runs in December 2026 with the exact date still to be announced.

Port Orchard: Chimes and Lights

Port Orchard, twenty minutes away, centers its season on the Festival of Chimes and Lights downtown: the Jingle Bell Run in the morning, Santa's arrival, the tree lighting at City Hall, hay wagon rides, choirs, and a holiday pet parade. The standing pattern is the first Saturday of December; the 2026 date has not been published yet. The same weekend, Christmas Lane fills the Port Orchard Marina with decorated boats in the Sinclair Inlet Yacht Club competition. Free to walk and look.

Bremerton: Winterfest and Candy Cane Lane

Bremerton's Winterfest tree lighting is set for Saturday, November 28, 2026, in Quincy Square downtown: youth performances through the afternoon, Santa's arrival at 5pm, and the lighting of a 25-foot Noble fir in front of the Roxy Theatre at 6:30pm, with live music into the evening. Free.

For lights, drive Candy Cane Lane, the Bremerton neighborhood where the whole street goes all in every December. It is the local drive-through tradition: slow roll, windows down if the rain allows, no tickets needed.

Thanksgiving week

Thanksgiving 2026 lands on Thursday, November 26. If you want to earn the pie, the Silverdale Rotary Turkey Trot runs that morning at 8am at Newberry Hill Heritage Park, with 5K and 10K courses through the woods and proceeds fighting hunger in Kitsap. Registration closes before race day; there is no day-of signup, so register ahead.

Back at the house, Thanksgiving is the whole argument for the place: one big table, the bay outside the window, the beach out back, and the hot tub after dinner. The winter guide has the full case for the season.

New Year's Eve, then the Plunge

For December 31, the Port Gamble Theater hosts its New Year's Eve Pajama Jammy Jam starting at 8pm, about 45 minutes north. Bremerton's Roxy Theatre ran a New Year's Eve party with live music going into 2026; the 2026 edition has not been announced yet.

Then January 1 belongs to Olalla. The Polar Bear Plunge goes off at noon from the Olalla Creek bridge, across from the market, a cannon shot and a crowd of costumed jumpers. Our plunge guide has the details. It is the correct way to start the year.

Holiday weeks at the house

The house sleeps ten, which is exactly the size of the gathering most people are trying to solve for around the holidays. One house, one big table, the beach out back, and the hot tub for the evenings. Christmas week runs to Friday, December 25, and New Year's week follows it. These are the first weeks to fill every year. The private beach belongs to house guests only, so a holiday crowd never competes with anyone for the shoreline.

Questions people ask

When is the Gig Harbor tree lighting in 2026?

Saturday, December 5, 2026, at Skansie Brothers Park on the waterfront. Live music, cookies and cocoa, and Santa. Free.

When is the Gig Harbor lighted boat parade in 2026?

Not published yet. In 2025 the Yacht Club ran it on December 13, typically the second Saturday of December. Watch from Skansie Brothers Park, Jerisich Dock, or Ancich Waterfront Park.

What is Julefest in Poulsbo?

The Scandinavian Christmas celebration: the Sons of Norway Vikings escort the Lucia Bride in by boat, light the yule log, and Miss Poulsbo lights the town tree at the waterfront park. First Saturday of December; the 2026 date is not published yet.

Where can we see Christmas lights near Olalla?

The waterfronts do the heavy lifting: Gig Harbor's harbor, Port Orchard's marina during Christmas Lane, Poulsbo's waterfront park. In Bremerton, drive Candy Cane Lane. All free to view.

Is there anything for New Year's Eve in Kitsap?

The Port Gamble Theater hosts a New Year's Eve Pajama Jammy Jam on December 31, 2026. Bremerton's Roxy ran a party going into 2026; the 2026 edition is not announced yet. January 1 is the Polar Bear Plunge in Olalla.

Do we need tickets for Kitsap holiday events?

Most of it is free: tree lightings, boat parades, the Holiday Village, neighborhood lights. The exceptions are usually New Year's Eve parties and some theater shows. Confirm on the organizer's page before you go.