For years, a December weekend in Merrimack meant the New Hampshire World Christmas Market at the Anheuser-Busch brewery on Daniel Webster Highway. This year the market will be held in the White Mountains, and the brewery property belongs to a biotech company. What remains in town is smaller and run by volunteers and nonprofits, and most of it falls on two days. Saturday, November 21, opens the season. Sunday, December 6, is its centerpiece.
The Market Left With Its Host
When the plant's closure was announced last December, The Nashua Telegraph reported that the brewery would shut in early 2026 after 54 years. It also reported that the World Christmas Market and the brewery's other holiday events that weekend would be the last ones held there. The Clydesdales had already stopped training on the grounds in 2018.
Nourish New England, the nonprofit that organizes the market to raise money against food insecurity, has moved the 2026 market to Owl's Nest Resort at 40 Clubhouse Lane in Thornton. The market will use the resort's Sunset Pavilion, The Vault and the Racquet Complex. Here are the dates:
- Saturday, December 12: 11 a.m. to 6 p.m., rain, snow or shine
- Sunday, December 13: 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., rain, snow or shine
- December 19 and 20: backup dates, used only for a power outage, town shutdown or extreme weather
Owl's Nest Resort's event page lists more than 80 craft and food vendors, eight food trucks, live music, and a Kids Zone with photos with Santa. Ticket sales support Nourish New England's work. If the market is part of your family's December, the dates still look familiar. Getting there now means a drive north.
What the Brewery Site Is Now
NH Business Review reported in September that United Therapeutics Corporation had bought the property at 221 Daniel Webster Highway, which covers nearly 300 acres between Route 3 and the Merrimack River near the Nashua line. The site held the brewing operation, a tasting room, beer garden space, and the stables where the Budweiser Clydesdales once lived. Boston.com reported a price of $47.5 million from deed records. A Patch story syndicated across several local outlets put it at $47 million.
The new owner hasn't said much about its plans. United Therapeutics already runs a facility on Commercial Street in Manchester, and NHBR reported that construction plans, designs and a redevelopment timeline have not been released. WMUR reported that the company would not share further details about the purchase. According to the minutes of the September 10 Town Council meeting, the town manager said only that the company plans to move some of its business to Merrimack and expects construction projects "within the next few years." No one has announced a holiday event, tour or reopened beer garden there this year. Until that changes, the town's holiday season happens elsewhere.
November 21 Is the New Opening Day
Several organizations picked Saturday, November 21, which makes it the closest thing Merrimack has to an opening day for the season. Three events fall on it, and their hours overlap enough to do all three in one day.
| Time | What | Where |
|---|---|---|
| 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. | 44th Annual Holiday Craft Fair, run by the Parents & Teachers of Thorntons Ferry School | Thorntons Ferry Elementary School, 134 Camp Sargent Road |
| 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. | Craft with the Currier Museum of Art | Merrimack Public Library |
| 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. | Season opening day, Merrymac Christmas Tree Farm | 400 Boynton Street, Bedford |
The PTTF fair is in its 44th year, which makes it one of the longest-running dates on Merrimack's holiday calendar. At the library session, participants make ornaments for the Currier Museum's "Galleries of Trees" exhibition and take one home. That links a Merrimack craft table to one of Manchester's best-known holiday displays.
Merrymac Christmas Tree Farm describes itself as a family-owned farm in Merrimack, but its retail lot is just over the line at 400 Boynton Street in Bedford. Its 2026 season opens Saturday, November 21. After that, weekday hours are 5 to 7 p.m. and weekend hours are 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Noel's Tree Farm at 21 Charles Bancroft Highway in Litchfield opens the same day and stays open daily until Christmas, closing only on Thanksgiving. Families who like to get a tree in November can head to either farm from the craft fair.
The Weeks Leading In
Before November 21, a few events carry the season over from fall. The Merrimack Valley Farmers' Market at 708 Milford Road runs Thursdays from 3 to 7 p.m. through November 5. Vendors sell produce, meat, fish, baked goods, prepared foods and crafts. That leaves two more Thursdays after this one before the market closes for the year.
The next weekend, Knights of Columbus Council 6725 holds its 26th Annual Fall Craft Fair on Friday, November 6, and Saturday, November 7, at Mastricola Upper Elementary School, 26 Baboosic Lake Road. Its Patch listing mentions crafts, a bake table, an auction and food.
Merrimack still has a local taproom now that the big brewery has closed. Able Ebenezer Brewing Company, at 31 Columbia Circle, has food trucks on its calendar. Brickoven Catering Pizza is scheduled for Friday, November 6, and Blue Nose Pit Masters BBQ for Saturday, November 14. It works out to a Friday that starts at the craft fair on Baboosic Lake Road and ends with pizza on Columbia Circle.
December 6 Carries the Rest
Merrimack Parks & Recreation's 34th Annual Holiday Parade and Tree Lighting is on Sunday, December 6. This year's theme is "Deck The Halls: A Festival of Holiday Lights." The route covers about a mile:
- Step-off is at 3:00 p.m. from The Commons Shopping Plaza, 515 Daniel Webster Highway.
- The parade heads south on Daniel Webster Highway.
- It turns right onto Baboosic Lake Road, then left onto McElwain Street.
- It ends in the Town Hall parking lot at 6 Baboosic Lake Road.
The tree lighting at Abbie Griffin Park, behind Town Hall, starts as soon as Santa arrives, at about 3:45 p.m. Floats check in between 1:45 and 2:45 p.m. at the Parks & Recreation table in front of Tractor Supply and line up along Front Street. The best-decorated float that fits the theme wins $100, and the entry deadline is Wednesday, December 2. The parade's Daniel Webster Highway stretch is short. Spectators who want a spot along the route will need to choose it before 3 p.m. on the day.
Another holiday light may appear on the same road. On September 10, the Town Council accepted a donated $5,000 programmable lighting system for the Central Fire Station at 432 Daniel Webster Highway. It can show red or holiday and event themes. No installation date was given, so whether it's lit in time for the parade is still open.
Six days after the parade, the Christmas market opens in Thornton. Merrimack families can now plan December in three parts: the fairs, library session and tree lots on November 21, the parade and tree lighting on December 6, and a day trip to the market on December 12 or 13.
If a December this full has you weighing whether your current home still suits the way your household uses Merrimack, Childs Realty Group can talk it through calmly, without any pressure to decide. Schedule A Consultation whenever the timing makes sense, even if that's after the parade.