Christmas In Cape May, NJ – A Winter Wonderland

Stephen and I spent a week in Cape May, NJ for Christmas in 2023 with my mom and stepdad Steve.

Cape May is a seaside city with a population of fewer than 3,000 people, but it has a reputation for being a beautiful and quaint place to visit in December due to how it’s decorated.

We weren’t disappointed! This is what our visit looked like so you can do it too if it interests you.

Where We Stayed

We stayed at the cutest little, 2-bedroom, dog-friendly Airbnb on Cape May island (this one). It was only about a 5-10 minute drive to downtown Cape May and ~15 minutes to the lighthouse and Cape May Point State Park.

The host was delightful and she’d already decorated it for Christmas, including special cute touches like dogs in stockings Christmas ornaments on the tree, Christmas-themed flannel sheets on the beds, and small decorative touches in every other space including a lot of lovely lights outside the property and her home.

You’re in an apartment over the garage, but it doesn’t feel like that at all. It has a private entrance and its own private, 1-acre fenced-in “dog park.” The bedrooms were identically sized and delightful and the bathroom was a good size with all the amenities you might want. She told us as we were leaving that she’s using January 2024 to update the kitchen, which was still just fine and serviceable.

What We Did

Holiday Lights Trolley Ride

We made it a priority to book tickets for the Cape May Holiday Lights Trolley Rides and it was definitely worth it.

It’s a 30 minute ride around town in a trolley with historic facts about Cape May and Victorian Christmas traditions. We’d planned to go and drive back around or walk around another time to look at the lights more closely; while that didn’t happen, we still felt like we had a great experience.

Downtown Cape May

We spent one evening walking around the main streets and shops, went to see the official city Christmas tree, and visited the Winter Wonderland at Congress Hall.

The members of our party had started to drop like flies to a winter flu and so we didn’t get out much more for a few days. But I’m glad we got to go and do a little shopping. I would recommend spending more time at the Washington Square shops and less time at the Winter Wonderland – the main street with all the cute shops and cafes were definitely the highlight and there’s live music there during the holidays.

Cape May Lighthouse & Cape May Point State Park

Stephen was down for the count and working by the time we went to see the Cape May Lighthouse and walk Truffles for a few minutes at the beach at Cape May Point State Park.

It was a cold and windy day, but bundled up we got some fun pictures and Truffles puppreciated getting to go onto the sand to play with her ball since ball is life.

There were a few remaining tickets for historic house tours that we suggested to my mom and stepdad, but they didn’t end up booking them. We enjoyed a few quiet days at our Airbnb, but if you wanted to go to more “traditional” stores instead of the boutiques on Cape May they’re only about 15 mins away.

Where We Ate and Drank

Willow Creek Winery & Farm

Mom and I went out to hear live music at the Willow Creek Winery & Farm. The wine and service was great and you can either sit outside with your pup in the slightly heated tent to hear the musician or, if you’re pup-free like we were, you can hear it being played in the outside bar (which is actually an indoor and heated building) which is separate from the restaurant.

Elaine’s

In addition to drinks at Willow Creek Winery & Farm, we all had a tipple at Elaine’s. On the day we went into downtown for shopping and the Winter Wonderland, Stephen and I noticed dog-friendly, heated outdoor seating with a giant inflatable screen showing the NFL football game.

We texted mom and Steve to join us there and we all enjoyed their fantastic drinks, service and snacks while watching first the football then, during half-time, the original “How the Grinch Stole Christmas.”

Panico’s Bistro

We had dinner at a BYOB (Bring Your Own Bottle) restaurant in a renovated church. It was a fantastic Italian meal at Panico’s Bistro.

Because of the difficulty getting liquor licenses in New Jersey, many Cape May locations are turning to BYOB. We stopped in at the Sunset Liquors store to grab some wine on the way over and it was a fantastic choice; Sunset was one of the few places still open in the winter until 10 pm.

I highly recommend making sure you save room for dessert at Panico’s!

We found all our activity options, including live music at local places, on the Christmas in Cape May website. Book early for house and trolley tours!