Solvang: One of the Best Christmas Towns Ever!

Julefest Shares Danish Traditions from Now Until January

by Shannon Brooks | December 5, 2024

Read all the stories for ‘Tis the Season 2024 here.

Solvang’s reputation as a winter wonderland for revelers in search of holiday cheer has been growing in prominence. In August, Newsweek magazine ranked Solvang the number-two “Best Christmas Town in America” on its list of the top 10 “places that really know how to trim their trees, deck their halls, and make everyone feel the magic of the holidays.” (Grapevine, Texas, claimed the number-one spot.) Solvang also landed the number-three spot on Oprah Daily’s list of “30 Most Magical Christmas Towns and Villages Across the World.”

Known as the Danish Capital of North America, Solvang was settled by Danish-Americans who purchased 9,000 acres of land next to Mission Santa Inés in 1911. They advertised the newly established village to people of Danish heritage across the U.S., opened a folk school, and grew a community that is now generations deep. The charming Danish aesthetic and authentic flavors started drawing tourists in the 1940s, and ever since, tourism has been part of the community’s bread and butter.

True to Solvang’s Danish roots, Julefest (pronounced “yule-a-fest”) puts a Scandinavian spin on the festivities. The word “Jule” was originally associated with winter solstice in the Norse era, and Julefest means “Christmas festival.” According to Susan Lee, who runs the Solvang Visitor Center with the help of her father, Dean Klitgaard, the community-wide celebration started with a window-decorating reveal in the mid-1960s. Klitgaard explained that the window unveiling was inspired by a Danish holiday tradition of admiring elaborate holiday displays along the streets of Denmark.

Klitgaard moved his family to Solvang after attending Brooks Institute of Photography, so Susan was born and raised in town. She recalled being a child and looking forward to the first Friday in December, when all the shops would pull the sheets off their holiday window displays and the community would gather to witness the unveilings, sipping hot cocoa and enjoying Danish butter cookies. “As a kid, it was so exciting, because when the window unveiling night came, you knew it was the beginning of the Christmas season,” Lee recalled. “I can remember coming home from school and being so excited to go as a family that night.”

A parade followed the next day. “Santa Claus always came in a different fashion at the tail end of the parade. Everyone always tried to guess how he would enter,” Klitgaard said with a chuckle. “One year, Santa came in on a fire truck; another year he came in on a sleigh. One year, he even came in with Pinto cars towing him from the local Ford dealership, and all the Pintos had reindeer horns on them!”

For many years, the celebration was under the banner of Winterfest. The name changed to Julefest in the early aughts, as a better fit for the Danish village, and the programming has grown and evolved each year since.

Julefest officially kicked off November 29 after Thanksgiving. The Tree Lighting on Friday, December 6, marks the ceremonial grand opening with an evening of music, storytelling, and entertainment. The tree lighting is a highlight of the year for Klitgaard. “Sometimes we have celebrities light the tree; sometimes we have children light the tree — it’s almost like guessing how Santa Claus is going to come to town,” he said of that surprise component. “After the tree is illuminated, ballet dancers dance around the tree, and that is such a special thing. It’s like the Nutcracker ballet going on right in the park.”

Under the banner of the theme “Gingerbread Dream,” the charming Julefest Parade hits the streets of Solvang Saturday, December 7, at 11 a.m. Every evening through January 5, visitors can catch a 15-minute light show every hour on the hour in Solvang Park from 5 p.m. through 9 p.m. Thanks to the addition of more LED lighting, “It’s going to be more spectacular than it’s ever been,” Lee enthused.

New this year is a weekly Wednesday Maker’s Market (Dec. 11 and 18) in conjunction with the regular Wednesday farmers’ market and featuring nearly 40 local artisans — perfect for thoughtful gift shopping. On Saturdays, carolers perform from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m., and every Saturday and Sunday, families can take advantage of photo ops with Santa Claus in Santa’s Village in the park from noon until 4 p.m.

Kids will enjoy taking on the Nisse Adventure challenge, searching for 10 wooden gnomes hidden around town on a scavenger-style hunt. You pick up the clues at the Visitor Center, then find the gnomes and take pictures of each before returning to the Visitor Center to claim your prize. It’s completely free and open to all ages.

Those who want to learn more about Danish traditions can join guided walking tours offered every morning at 10 a.m. Candlelight tours are also offered on select evenings; tickets are required for all tours, so book ahead to reserve your spot. Solvang Trolley runs evening light tours as well. And Julefest wraps up in spectacular fashion with the Solvang Christmas Tree Burn set for Friday, January 10.

Julefest has become such a big draw that December is one of the most important months for the Solvang business community, and Julefest has a very positive impact on the lodging sector to close the calendar year. “We have many guests who return annually [for Julefest],” said local hotelier Angie Horn, who owns and operates the Viking Inn and Atterdag Inn. “For the past few years, December has been the highest month for both of my little hotels in occupancy, average daily rate, and income,” she added. “This is very significant, considering that December is a more profitable month than July, when many people are on vacation.”

The welcome economic boost also extends to retail and food and beverage. As Lisa Mesa, who owns The Good Life cellar, explained, “Financially, December is our most profitable month of the entire year, and I believe that we owe that to the month-long Julefest celebration. Visitors can come any day of the week to see and feel the holiday spirit; it’s not reserved for just one day or one weekend.”

She summed up the spirit of the season perfectly: “Walking through Solvang during Julefest, especially at night, feels like walking through a holiday movie — it’s quaint, charming, and nostalgic!”