Hanover’s Top 10 Weekend Events (December 5–7)

You may have heard the myth that red cars cost more to insure, often with varying reasons why. The truth is, the color of your car has nothing to do with your premium. Insurance companies are more interested in your vehicle’s make, model, age, safety features, and your driving history. What’s not a myth, though — is that people really can save a ton of money by switching insurers. Check out Money’s car insurance tool to see if you could, too.

SEE IF YOU COULD SAVE

🙏 Sponsors keep this little newsletter alive and growing. Your support of them means the world to me.

I hope everyone had a restful Thanksgiving weekend and got whatever ratio of pie to social interaction you needed to feel like a functioning human again. I ended up spending my holiday with family and took the weekend off from publishing, which was both unplanned and very needed. Thank you for your patience.

Since Christmas and New Year’s Day both fall on Thursdays this year, the Top Weekend Events emails for those weeks will go out on Friday instead. Consider them your holiday weekend cheat sheets, arriving a day late but still piping hot.

A big thank-you to this week’s sponsors, Money.com, Mindstream, and Livelong Media. Clicking their links directly supports this newsletter.

Every community project starts with a handful of people who show up early, cheer loudest, and believe before anyone else does.

Darlene · Brian · Holly · Andy

Founding Supporters make it possible for this newsletter to stay free, independent, and centered on the good that’s happening in our hometown. If Heart of Hanover has helped you discover something new or feel a little more connected, I’d be honored if you’d join them.

Here are the best of the best. Full event details are listed chronologically below.

🧡 First Friday Art Walk
💛 Photos with Santa @ Back 2 Health
💚 Christmas Market @ Rusty Naill Pallet & Co.
💙 $1 Holiday Showing: The Polar Express @ R/C 16 Hanover
💜 Visit with Santa and Mrs. Claus @ Ikka’s Creative Treasures
🧡 Holiday Pet Photos & Adoption Event @ Nature’s Pet Place
💛 Christmasfest @ Fat Bat Brewing
💚 Pictures With Santa @ Red Barn Boutique
💙 Scuba with Santa @ YMCA Hanover
💜 Photos with the Grinch @ The Curious Little Playhouse

(Yes, it’s basically a Christmas takeover this weekend. Hanover said festive mode ON.)

📆 Friday, December 5 | 5 PM – 8 PM
📍 Downtown Hanover, Center Square and beyond

Downtown is basically putting on its sparkly holiday earrings and showing off. Little Fox, Fat Bat, The Serpent’s Key, the Arts Guild, Aldus, and several other spots are staying open late so you can sip, stroll, and pretend you’re the artsy type who “collects pieces.”

This month’s highlights include Tea Polek, whose work leans cozy, weird, queer, and joyfully odd in all the right ways, plus Nancy Starr, whose bold landscapes and animal portraits feel like a warm hug from the universe.

Grab a hot drink, bundle up, and wander. Parking is free after 6 PM, so you can use that money for art, snacks, or emotional support coffee.

📆 Friday, December 5 | 5 PM – 7 PM
📍 1446 Baltimore Street
💵 Free, sponsored by Devon Ellis (State Farm)

If your holiday budget is giving “please, not another $40 photo package,” this is your moment. Back 2 Health is hosting completely free Santa photos, plus treats, hot cocoa, and enough sugar to power a small elf village.

Dustin Lippy Photography is snapping the pics, Santa is fresh and jolly, and your children will possibly smile cooperatively. No promises.

Just tap “Going” on the Facebook event page so they know how many candy canes to acquire.

📆 Friday, December 5 | 10 AM – 4 PM and 6 PM – 8 PM
📆 Saturday, December 6 | 10 AM – 3 PM
📍 639 Frederick Street, Suite 2

This is peak cozy Hanover energy. More than 30 handmade vendors, festive drinks, and a shop that somehow manages to smell like cinnamon rolls even when no one is baking.

If you want gifts that scream “I did not buy this in a panic at Target,” this is the place. Candles, woodwork, jewelry, treats, home décor, all made locally.

Perfect for crossing names off your list or just treating yourself because you survived November.

📆 Saturday, December 6 | 10 AM
📍 380 Eisenhower Drive
💵 $1 (I know! I triple-checked.)

A whole movie outing for one single dollar. Truly the economy we deserve.

R/C Hanover Movies 16 is making holiday magic accessible with The Polar Express, plus a sensory friendly showing for kids who need a calmer experience. Hot popcorn, pajama vibes, and zero pressure.

If your kid leaves believing a train might actually pull up outside your house, that’s between you and Santa.

🔗 Buy your online tickets ASAP!

📆 Saturday, December 6 | 11 AM – 2 PM
📍 1081A Carlisle Street
💵 Free

Ikka’s Creative Treasures is hosting the most low pressure Santa stop of the season. No lines, no upsells, no elves trying to coax your kid into smiling.

Just pop in, hand Santa your list, take as many photos as your phone storage allows, and enjoy the vibe.

📆 Saturday, December 6 | 11 AM – 1 PM
📍 805 Baltimore Street
💵 Cash donation for photos

Nature’s Pet Place is inviting you, your family, and every chaos gremlin with fur to come get holiday photos. A cute backdrop will be ready, all you need is your phone and a small cash donation.

Operation Paws for Homes will also be there with adoptable pups who will try to steal your heart. No pressure to take one home, but… I’m just saying.

It’s wholesome, adorable, and guaranteed to boost serotonin.

📆 Saturday, December 6 | 12 PM – 6 PM
📍 10 N Railroad Street

This is the kind of holiday event that could only happen in Hanover. Fat Bat is bringing back Twelf Day, their winter spiced ale (yes, you can get the sugar rim), plus Christmas themed seltzers, vendors, crafts, and a visit from Mr. and Mrs. Claus.

The Blake Slusaw Jazz Trio is playing live from 12 PM to 3 PM, so you can shop, sip, and feel like the main character of a Christmas movie who owns a quirky bakery and is about to fall in love with a guy who wears flannel.

Also, Northern Redneck BBQ will be there feeding everyone like the heroes they are.

📆 Saturday, December 6 | 12 PM – 3 PM
📍 805 Baltimore Street, Suite 313
💵 Free, donations are optional - but very much appreciated!

Red Barn Boutique is hosting their annual Santa pictures, where the vibes are kind, the pets are welcome, and the price is gloriously free.

They’re collecting donations for For the Love of a Veteran and Heavenly Paws Cat Rescue, so you can feel good about helping humans and animals at the same time.

Take your own photos, bring your well behaved pets, and soak in the holiday charm.

📆 Saturday, December 6 | 2 PM – 4 PM
📍 500 George Street
💵 $10 ($5 for members who register early at the front desk)

Santa is going full aquatic and jumping into the YMCA pool for an afternoon of underwater holiday chaos. He claims it’s “chimney diving conditioning,” and honestly, who are we to argue.

Expect giggles, splashy antics, and the kind of memories your kids bring up for years. Register early to snag the member discount.

Jolly, ridiculous, and absolutely worth it.

🔗 Register Here

📆 Sunday, December 7 | 12 PM
📍 1000 Carlisle St, Suite 1225
💵 Free, sponsored by Infinitos

Meet the Grinch on the big chair out front and grab a Grinch Busy Box while supplies last. He’ll be dishing out photos, grumpy charm, and holiday mischief in classic Grinch fashion.

These are just a few of the happenings around town. The Heart of Hanover events calendar is updated constantly.

👉 View the Full Calendar

I have a big presentation coming up next week for the BLOOM York business grant. It has been a gauntlet of paperwork, roadblocks, and emotional whiplash, but I’m still pushing forward. If you could send a little good energy my way, I’ll happily take it.

This community keeps me going. Thank you for reading, sharing, cheering, and showing up for this little newsletter.

I’ll be back tomorrow with more updates. Same time, same place.

XoXo,
Megan

🧡 If you enjoyed this, tell a friend. Word of mouth keeps this little newsletter growing.

ChatGPT is revolutionizing how we work, but most people barely scratch the surface. Subscribe to Mindstream for free and unlock 5 essential resources including templates, workflows, and expert strategies for 2025. Whether you're writing emails, analyzing data, or streamlining tasks, this bundle shows you exactly how to save hours every week.

Subscribe for Your Free Bundle

🙏 Sponsors keep this little newsletter alive and growing. Your support of them means the world to me.

Subscribe to Livelong and get current, clinically grounded insights on diet, exercise, supplementation, and restorative sleep—pulled from the latest research and turned into do-this-now checklists. Information for serious health enthusiasts, Livelong makes longevity practical, measurable, and real.

Join 74,000+ readers today.

🙏 Sponsors keep this little newsletter alive and growing. Your support of them means the world to me.