Meredith's first holiday deadline of 2026 comes before any tree is lit. Three days after this post goes up, on Sunday, November 1, Hart's Turkey Farm starts taking Thanksgiving preorders by phone. Nineteen days after that, the whole-roasted family meals stop selling. The craft fair, the chili cook-off and both tree lightings all fall after that cutoff.
The lights also go up in two separate places. The Main Street tree is lit Saturday, November 28, at a kickoff run by the Meredith Area Chamber of Commerce and downtown merchants. Hesky Park's tree is lit Sunday, December 6, after an open house hosted by the town's Parks & Recreation department.
November 1 is a phone call, and the rules start right away
The Thanksgiving page on Hart's site is clear about the details. Preorders open November 1 at 603-279-6212, and Hart's asks that nobody call before 9 a.m. You pay with a credit card when you order. Cash is accepted only for in-person orders.
On Thursday, November 26, Hart's is open for pickup only, with no in-house dining. Hart's says the dining room is closed on Thanksgiving Day only, and full-service dining runs on any other day during its regular hours of 11:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. Hart's Market, the grab-and-go shop in the lobby, is open for side dishes and bakery items whenever Hart's is open during Thanksgiving week, Thanksgiving Day included.
There are two menus, and each runs on its own schedule:
| Whole Roasted Family Meals | Individual Turkey Dinners | |
|---|---|---|
| Order deadline | November 20, or earlier if they sell out | Preorder by Wednesday, November 25; call-in and walk-in orders also taken on Thanksgiving Day |
| Thanksgiving Day pickup | Curbside, in half-hour windows | Curbside, every 15 minutes, 10 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. |
| Other pickup days | Nov. 25 curbside, 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. or 4 to 6 p.m.; Nov. 27, 28 and 29 at the front desk, 1:30 or 4:30 p.m. | Call Hart's the same day for any pickup before Thanksgiving |
The Thanksgiving Day windows for family meals cluster in three groups: 10 to 11 a.m., 12:30 to 1:30 p.m., and 3 to 4 p.m. Nothing is scheduled between 11 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. or between 1:30 and 3 p.m., so plan the meal around those gaps. Hart's page also has a banner listing Thanksgiving pickup as 11:30 a.m. to 4 p.m., which doesn't match the 10 a.m. start on the detailed schedule. Confirm your window when you call.
The family meals also offer one thing the individual dinners don't: a pickup day after Thanksgiving. Choosing Friday, Saturday or Sunday at 1:30 or 4:30 p.m. means a heat-and-serve dinner for a gathering that doesn't happen on Thursday.
November 20 closes the books, and the craft fair opens the next morning
Friday, November 20 is the key date of the month. It's the last day to order a family meal, assuming they haven't already sold out. It's also the last day to cancel. Cancellations on or before November 20 are refunded minus a $25 processing fee. After that date, Hart's makes no refunds, changes or cancellations.
The town's first holiday event comes the next morning. The 15th Annual Community Holiday Craft Fair runs Saturday, November 21, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Meredith Community Center, 1 Circle Drive. Admission is free. Fifteen years in, it's an established part of the calendar. The fair falls in the gap between locking in the Thanksgiving order and the long weekend that follows.
November 28: Main Street lights its tree
Two days after Thanksgiving, the season moves downtown. The Festival of Trees 2026 is presented by the Meredith Area Chamber of Commerce with the Shop Main Street, Meredith group. It kicks off Saturday, November 28, at Community Park on Main Street.
Two things start at 5:30 p.m. One is the Annual Chili Cook-Off, which is open to the public for tasting. The Chamber names 55 Main Kitchen & Bar and Hart's Turkey Farm among the entries. The other is the official lighting of the downtown tree, along with community decorating. The Chamber's listing includes one specific invitation:
Attendees are invited to bring an ornament to hang on the Community Park tree.
Hart's comes back into the season here. Two days after its Thanksgiving pickups, it's one of the named kitchens at the downtown cook-off.
The kickoff also opens a monthlong giving campaign that runs November 28 through December 26. Participating Chamber members and Main Street storefronts act as donation sites and holiday tree stops. So far the Chamber lists four donation-tree locations:
- White Birch Gifts
- Winnipesaukee Woodworks
- Meredith Inn
- Élevé Clothier Contemporaine
The Chamber says every donation supports a Meredith-area nonprofit. Donated items must be new, unused and unwrapped. The list of accepted items is still marked "Coming Soon," so check the Chamber's page before shopping for donations. Businesses can still register to host a giving tree or donate a raffle prize.
December 6: the town lights Hesky Park
The second lighting is a week and a day later, at Hesky Park, and the town runs it. Meredith Parks & Recreation holds its annual Holiday Open House on Sunday, December 6, from 2 to 4 p.m. at 1 Circle Drive. The listing includes arts and crafts, a climbing wall, pictures with Santa, games and refreshments. Admission is free. The listing invites attendees on to Hesky Park afterward for the Annual Tree Lighting Ceremony at 5 p.m.
The two lightings differ in a few ways. The November 28 lighting is on a Saturday evening, comes with chili from local kitchens, and launches a merchant-run giving campaign through the Main Street shops. The December 6 lighting is on a Sunday afternoon, starts with a family open house at the Community Center, and is lit at 5 p.m., an hour after the open house ends. Households that come to both see the downtown tree first, then the one at Hesky Park.
Online calendars still carry some old dates. A few Visit NH listings for the open house and the Hesky Park lighting still show Sunday, December 7, 2025. The 2026 open house listing has the correct date, December 6.
Parks & Recreation has one more December event at the same address. Holiday Movie Night is Saturday, December 12, in the Community Center's Activity Center gymnasium, with doors at 5:30 p.m. and the movie at 6 p.m. The title hasn't been announced yet.
The Santa Express boards in Lincoln
The operator's 2026 Santa Express page lists Granite State Railway's Lincoln Station, 64 Railroad Street in Lincoln, as the boarding point for this year's Santa trains. Its Winnipesaukee Railway page describes the two-hour Meredith rides as summer only.
For anyone making the drive north, the 2026 Santa schedule runs November 27 through December 23:
- Friday, November 27: trains at noon and 2 p.m.
- Fridays in December: one train at 2 p.m.
- Saturdays and Sundays: trains at noon and 2 p.m.
- Tuesday, December 22 and Wednesday, December 23: one train at 2 p.m.
The Santa Express opens the day after Thanksgiving, and on Saturday, November 28, it has trains at noon and 2 p.m. That leaves time to get back to Community Park for the 5:30 p.m. chili cook-off and Main Street tree lighting.
The 2026 season, in order
| Date | What | Where |
|---|---|---|
| Sun., Nov. 1 | Hart's Thanksgiving preorders open, 9 a.m. or later | 603-279-6212 |
| Fri., Nov. 20 | Last day for family meals and for cancellations | Hart's Turkey Farm |
| Sat., Nov. 21 | Community Holiday Craft Fair, 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. | Meredith Community Center, 1 Circle Drive |
| Wed., Nov. 25 | Individual dinner preorder deadline; early family-meal pickup | Hart's Turkey Farm |
| Thu., Nov. 26 | Thanksgiving pickup only, no in-house dining | Hart's Turkey Farm |
| Sat., Nov. 28 | Chili Cook-Off and Main Street Tree Lighting, 5:30 p.m. | Community Park, Main Street |
| Nov. 28 to Dec. 26 | Festival of Trees giving campaign | Participating Main Street storefronts |
| Sun., Dec. 6 | Holiday Open House, 2 to 4 p.m.; Hesky Park Tree Lighting, 5 p.m. | 1 Circle Drive, then Hesky Park |
| Sat., Dec. 12 | Holiday Movie Night, doors 5:30 p.m. | Community Center gymnasium |
If you're hosting this season and thinking about how your Meredith home might look to buyers in the months ahead, the team at Cheryl Zarella & Associates would be glad to help. Request a complimentary home valuation and we'll prepare a clear, considered view of where your property stands before the spring market.
