For those who are full of the holiday spirit, they may find their fa-la-la-la’s in these cities.
“For a city to be really attractive for the holidays, it needs to offer something for everyone—from kids to the grandparents,” says Kirsten Maxwell, founder of kidsareatrip.com, a family activities website.
Realtor.com®’s research team sifted through the data of the 150 of the largest metros to identify those with the most holiday magic. They weighed factors like Christmas tree and holiday decoration businesses per capita; number of toy stores; number of Christmas trees cut down per state; percentage of listings with a fireplace or chimney (for Santa); Google searches for holiday events; and more.
The top 10 cities for holiday cheer (along with the standout that helped the city nab a spot on the list), according to realtor.com®, are:
- Hickory, N.C.: Christmas tree farms
- Eugene, Ore.: number one in the nation for Christmas tree production
- Buffalo, N.Y.: the highest concentration of toy stores per capita
- Pittsburgh: a high number of townies who return home for the holidays
- Sarasota, Fla.: Plenty of holiday parties; alcohol consumption spikes here in December
- Hartford, Conn.: one of the highest concentrations of Jewish residents in the country
- Providence, R.I.: holiday decorations and home to one of the world’s largest toy makers, Hasbro
- Salisbury, Md.: holiday shopping and its Christmas activities, like its parade
- St. Louis: high concentration of fireplaces in homes
- Lafayette, La.: a shrimping town that bills its season as Christmas on the Cajun Coast
Read more about what makes each of the top 10 cities special during the holidays
at realtor.com®.
Source: “Top Tinsel Towns: 10 Surprising Cities Whose Holiday Charms Are Worth Unwrapping,” realtor.com® (Dec. 11, 2017)
