Last December's Christmas Through the Village happened on a gray day. The wagon riders sang carols anyway as Laff 'n' Lyon's horses pulled them through the village, and people stopped in the street to catch up with friends, according to The Post-Journal's account of the 2025 Christmas Through the Village. Santa and Mrs. Claus walked Main Street handing out candy canes. The Sharp Boutique ran a free hot cocoa bar, and the Grinch made appearances.
The event comes back December 5 and 6, 2026. Last year, its organizer linked a smaller turnout to how many other towns hold events that same weekend.
Last year's organizer saw a smaller crowd
Nancy Sonney owns The Secret Cubby of Antiques and organizes Christmas Through the Village every year. During the 2025 event, she told The Post-Journal that her shop had been "very steady throughout the day" but that attendance seemed lower overall.
"It's difficult to say why. My best guess is that there are so many other places having events this weekend."
The paper listed the competition. Sugar Plum Saturday in North East, Pa., a Christmas arts and craft fundraiser in Clymer, Fredonia's Miracle on Main Street and Dunkirk's Christmas on Central Holiday Extravaganza all landed on the same weekend. Findley Lake has kept its event in the first week of December since it began many years ago.
Up the road, the ski season starts around the same time. Peek'n Peak opened for 2025–26 on December 6, 2025, the Saturday of last year's village event. For this winter, OnTheSnow's projected-openings page lists Peek'n Peak at Dec. 5 and warns that its dates may not be official or final. If the lifts do start that Saturday, the village's biggest holiday event and the resort's opening will share a weekend for the second year in a row.
The November dates are spread out more. The library craft show and the Cubby's Vintage Christmas happen within a few doors of each other on Main Street, and the resort's November events sit on separate days or hours.
The run-up, in order
The Visit Findley Lake events calendar and the Tour Chautauqua listings set out the sequence:
- Saturday, Nov. 7, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Fall Craft Show for the Alexander Findley Community Library, Findley Lake Fire Hall, 10372 Main St.
- Saturday, Nov. 7, 5 to 9 p.m. Peek'n Peak's 13th annual Wurst Party Ever, Main Ski Lodge.
- Wednesday, Nov. 11. New York Free Fishing Day. The calendar notes that all regulations apply.
- Saturday and Sunday, Nov. 21–22, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Secret Cubby of Antiques Vintage Christmas, 10378 Main St.
- Thursday, Nov. 26, 10:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Thanksgiving Brunch at Bistro 210, Peek'n Peak. Reservations required.
- Saturday and Sunday, Dec. 5–6. Christmas Through the Village.
The calendar says dates can change and recommends checking each host's website or Facebook page before heading out.
Nov. 7 starts at the fire hall and ends on the hill
The first Saturday of November has the busiest single day on the list. The Fall Craft Show at the fire hall lists more than 30 tables of handcrafted goods, plus food and desserts, a 50/50 raffle, vendor raffles and kids' activities. It runs 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., and the listing credits the Alexander Findley Community Library. The library's show is a smaller cousin of Christmas Through the Village. Holiday shopping starts in the same block, a month earlier.
An hour after the craft show closes, Peek'n Peak's Wurst Party Ever opens at the Main Ski Lodge with 44 beers, German food and a 26-piece German band, from 5 to 9 p.m. The after party moves to Bistro 210 from 9:30 p.m. to 12:30 a.m. with Hyde & Seek, and a Hair of the Dog breakfast buffet is on the schedule for Sunday, Nov. 8. That puts a village fundraiser and the resort's biggest pre-season party on the same day, back to back, with no overlap in hours.
Two weeks out, the organizer opens her own doors
Secret Cubby's Vintage Christmas falls on Nov. 21 and 22, two weeks before the village event its owner organizes. Both days run 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the shop. Visit Findley Lake's shopping directory describes the Cubby as a source for vintage finds, collectibles, furniture and décor.
The Cubby sits at 10378 Main St., a few doors from the fire hall at 10372. Several of the businesses The Post-Journal named as busy during last year's event are on the same stretch:
- Toast Wine + Spirits, 10365 Main St., with Spruce home goods next door
- Twin Docks, 10375 Main St.
- The Sharp Boutique, 10406 Main St., which hosted last year's cocoa bar
- Our Own Candle Company, a short drive off Main Street at 2779 N Rd., where the outlet and gift store share space with Findley Lake Fashions
The Post-Journal reported brisk sales at both the gift store and the outlet store of Our Own Candle Co. last December.
Off-season hours vary by source, so call ahead. Toast's own contact page lists noon to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday, 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday and 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday. Visit Findley Lake's directory shows somewhat different hours for Toast, and it lists Secret Cubby as open daily from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Since the shops set their own winter schedules, checking with them directly is the safest way to plan a Saturday.
The weekly schedule keeps going between events
The weeks between the big dates aren't empty. Community Connections at Findley Lake runs a standing weekly schedule. Its calendar of events for October 2026 lists coffee hour on Tuesdays from 9 to 10 a.m., Mahjong and Mexican Train on Tuesdays at 1 p.m., card games on Thursdays from 6 to 8 p.m., chair yoga on Mondays and Wednesdays at 3 p.m., and line dancing on Fridays from 2:30 to 3:30 p.m. The group asks attendees to RSVP with Christy Ball at 716-769-2473 or [email protected], and it offers rides by request. The November page will show whether the same rotation continues. Weekly programs like these tend to run all year.
Thanksgiving week shifts back up the hill. Bistro 210 serves its Thanksgiving Brunch from 10:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on Nov. 26, and reservations are required.
What Dec. 5–6 looked like last time
The Tour Chautauqua listing for this year's Christmas Through the Village gives the dates but no hours or activity schedule so far. The 2025 event is the best guide to what to expect. That year's new feature was magician Jorge Cruz of Erie, who performs as Magic De Jorge. He walked through the village on both days, doing tricks for children and adults and handing small Christmas gifts to kids, The Post-Journal reported. The regular features were the Laff 'n' Lyon wagon rides, Santa and Mrs. Claus, the Sharp Boutique cocoa bar and the Grinch.
Whether this year's crowd grows or shrinks will depend partly on everything else scheduled for that weekend, as Sonney noted last year. The craft show tables, the Cubby's Vintage Christmas and the Main Street shops are all open in November, weeks before Dec. 5.
If you own near Findley Lake or up at the Peak and want to talk about how the winter calendar affects your property, from what buyers notice on a December showing to how seasonal weekends shape a rental, The Nielsen Wroda Team would be glad to help. Start with an instant home valuation and we'll go from there.
