What's Happening in Bethlehem This Week: December 14-20, 2026

The week of Monday, December 14 through Sunday, December 20, 2026 is the final full week of Christmas City season in Bethlehem. Christkindlmarkt Bethlehem runs its last December weekend Thursday through Sunday at SteelStacks, Christmas City Village opens its final weekend Friday on Main and Broad Streets, Cirque Dreams Holidaze brings its holiday spectacle to Wind Creek on Friday and Saturday, and Moravian and Lehigh students sit their fall finals while Freedom hosts Whitehall on the basketball court. This roundup covers Hanover Township (where 3650 Stephen Crane Ln sits), the City of Bethlehem, Bethlehem Township, the Bethlehem Area School District, well-reviewed places to eat, Wind Creek Bethlehem, and Lehigh and Moravian universities. Everything below was checked against official and current sources during this week's research.

Around Bethlehem: Hanover Township, the City, and Bethlehem Township

In Hanover Township, Northampton County, where 3650 Stephen Crane Ln sits, no Board of Supervisors meeting falls inside this window; the board held its December session Tuesday, December 8 at 7:00 PM at the Municipal Office, 3630 Jacksonville Road, and the next session follows Tuesday, December 22 under the township's second-and-fourth-Tuesday schedule. Agendas and livestream details post ahead on hanovertwp-nc.org. Curbside leaf collection, which runs mid-October through late November or the first week of December, has wrapped for the season, so any remaining leaves should go in approved yard-waste bags ahead of the winter pickup. Christmas trees are accepted through the township's yard-waste program, provided they are free of ornaments and tinsel; the collection schedule posts on the public works pages at hanovertwp-nc.org.

In the City of Bethlehem, the Christmas City calendar is at its peak. The Live Advent Calendar continues its nightly run in the Sun Inn Courtyard at 564 Main Street, 5:30 PM each evening through December 23, with a new window revealed each night. Christmas City Village, the free outdoor holiday market of wooden huts on Main and Broad Streets, opens its final weekend Friday through Sunday, December 18-20, from 11:00 AM to 7:00 PM. Downtown tours keep running too: the Christmas City Stroll, a guided walking tour at $20 for adults, the Bethlehem By Night motorcoach tour, the Spirits of Christmas Pub Walking Tour, and the Trees of Historic Bethlehem exhibition at three historic sites, all listed at historicbethlehem.org and visithistoricbethlehem.com.

At SteelStacks on the South Side, Christkindlmarkt Bethlehem runs its final weekend of the season Thursday through Sunday, December 17-20 at the ArtsQuest Center, 101 Founders Way, with hours 10:00 AM to 6:00 PM Thursday and Sunday and 10:00 AM to 8:00 PM Friday and Saturday, and free entry Friday from 5:00 to 8:00 PM courtesy of ArtsQuest. The market closes for the season on Sunday, December 20. The Musikfest Cafe on the SteelStacks campus hosts Adam Ezra Group Friday, December 18 and The Sofa Kings Reunion Show Saturday, December 19 at 7:30 PM, per current music listings; confirm showtimes on the ArtsQuest calendar at artsquest.org. Note that the South Side's monthly First Friday gallery walk already took place December 4, so the next one lands in January.

Bethlehem Township holds no Board of Commissioners meeting inside this window; the board's two December sessions fall Monday, December 7 and Monday, December 21 at 7:00 PM in the Municipal Building, 4225 Easton Avenue, under the first-and-third-Monday schedule, so the December 21 session lands the Monday right after this week. Curbside leaf collection continues through mid-December, weather permitting; leaves must be loose at the curb and free of branches and debris. Christmas trees are not collected curbside; they can be dropped at the Township Yard Waste Recycling Center at 4450 Falmer Drive during regular operating hours. Agendas and the holiday office schedule post at bethlehemtownship.org.

Bethlehem Area School District, Freedom, and Liberty

The district runs its final full school week of the year Monday, December 14 through Friday, December 18. Winter break closes schools Monday, December 21 through Friday, January 1 per the published 2026-2027 calendar, and classes resume Monday, January 4. The BASD Board of Directors holds its regular monthly session Monday, December 14 at the district's usual Monday-evening time; confirm the agenda and livestream on the district calendar at basdschools.org.

Winter varsity sports stay busy heading into the break. Per current basketball listings, Freedom's boys' varsity team hosts Whitehall Saturday, December 19 at 1:00 PM. The full day-by-day slate of boys' and girls' basketball, wrestling, swimming, and indoor track posts on the district's High School Varsity Athletics calendar, with EPC league games typically landing Tuesday and Friday; confirm times on basdschools.org, since winter schedules can shift.

Good Places to Eat in Bethlehem

Fresh picks for Christkindlmarkt's final weekend and a week of holiday errands, all real, verifiable places and a short drive from Hanover Farms:

• Martellucci's Pizzeria at 1419 Easton Avenue serves pizza and Italian favorites with a 4.5-star average across about 34 reviews, a handy stop on the way to or from downtown.
• Rudy's Bar & Grill at 1406 Center Street is a neighborhood bar and grill with a 4.1-star average across about 36 reviews.
• P.J. Whelihan's Pub + Restaurant at 3395 High Point Boulevard is a suburban pub standby just north of Hanover Farms, with a 3.9-star average across about 188 reviews.
• ZEST bar+grille at 306 South New Street on the South Side offers upscale-casual American dining with a 4.2-star average across about 100 reviews, a fitting choice before an evening at Wind Creek or Lehigh.
• Sotto Santi Restaurant at 10 West 4th Street is a South Side Italian spot with a 4.2-star average across about 23 reviews, with online ordering available.
• For a casual lunch, D & S Caribbean Kitchen at 31 West Union Boulevard brings Caribbean plates and sides to the table.

If you are heading to Cirque Dreams Holidaze at Wind Creek, the casino's own dining runs from the casual Urban Table to the Chop House steakhouse, both listed on the venue's dining page at windcreek.com/bethlehem/dining. Downtown tables fill fast on Christkindlmarkt weekends, so call ahead.

Events at Wind Creek Bethlehem

One headline show anchors the week at the Wind Creek Event Center at 77 Wind Creek Boulevard: Cirque Dreams Holidaze, the family-friendly holiday spectacular of acrobatics, music, and theater, plays Friday, December 18 at 8:00 PM and Saturday, December 19 at 2:00 PM, per the venue's official calendar. Tickets run through the venue's official channels at windcreekeventcenter.com. The casino's free lounges, including the Molten Lounge, post their live-band and DJ lineups week by week at windcreek.com/bethlehem.

Lehigh University and Moravian University

At Lehigh University, fall final exams end Wednesday, December 16, and the campus settles into its winter recess from roughly December 17 through 27 before Winter Term begins Monday, December 28. On the basketball court, the women's team hosts American University Saturday, December 19 at Stabler Arena, with tip time confirmed on the official schedule; the men's team plays on the road this weekend to close its non-conference slate. Confirm both at lehighsports.com. The Zoellner Arts Center wraps its December calendar with student and holiday programming; see what remains at zoellner.cas.lehigh.edu.

At Moravian University, fall final exams run Monday, December 14 through Friday, December 18, with classes ending Saturday, December 19 and final grades due by noon Monday, December 21. Christmas Vespers, the university's candlelight choral tradition, returns this December; the 2026 ticket-request page is live at moravian.edu/2026vespers1, with service dates published on the Music Department's concert calendar at moravian.edu/music/concert-schedule. Payne Gallery at 346 Main Street keeps free public hours Tuesday through Sunday, noon to 4:00 PM, with "Bill Needs: A Visual Journey Through the History of the Moravian Church" on view through Friday, December 18. Men's and women's basketball schedules for the week post at moraviansports.com.

The Week Ahead in One Glance

• Mon Dec 14: The final full school week of the year begins; Moravian fall finals begin; BASD board regular session on the Monday-evening schedule.
• Tue Dec 15: Live Advent Calendar 5:30 PM in the Sun Inn Courtyard; Moravian finals continue.
• Wed Dec 16: Lehigh fall final exams end; Live Advent Calendar 5:30 PM.
• Thu Dec 17: Christkindlmarkt's final weekend opens 10:00 AM to 6:00 PM at SteelStacks.
• Fri Dec 18: Christkindlmarkt 10:00 AM to 8:00 PM with free entry 5:00 to 8:00 PM; Christmas City Village final weekend opens 11:00 AM to 7:00 PM; Adam Ezra Group at the Musikfest Cafe; Cirque Dreams Holidaze at Wind Creek 8:00 PM; Payne Gallery's "Bill Needs" exhibition closes after today.
• Sat Dec 19: Freedom boys' basketball hosts Whitehall 1:00 PM; Cirque Dreams Holidaze at Wind Creek 2:00 PM; Lehigh women host American University at Stabler Arena; The Sofa Kings Reunion Show at the Musikfest Cafe 7:30 PM; Christmas City Village 11:00 AM to 7:00 PM.
• Sun Dec 20: Christkindlmarkt closes for the season, 10:00 AM to 6:00 PM; Christmas City Village final day 11:00 AM to 7:00 PM.

Looking past the weekend: BASD winter break begins Monday, December 21 with Bethlehem Township's Board of Commissioners meeting at 7:00 PM that evening, Moravian's fall grades are due by noon December 21, Christmas Eve and Christmas Day events fill the city December 24-25, and PEEPSFEST, the New Year's Eve countdown celebration at SteelStacks, lands December 31.

What Buyers and Sellers Should Know About a Bethlehem December

December rewards prepared buyers. Serious shoppers come out this month: relocations, year-end moves, and life changes bring them into the market even as the holidays fill the calendar. With fewer homes listed, a buyer with a pre-approval in hand can move quickly when the right house appears, and sellers are often motivated to reach an agreement before the new year. For context on how a December has behaved locally, GLVR's most recently published full-December snapshot, covering Lehigh and Northampton Counties in December 2024, showed 509 closed sales, a median sales price of $329,900, about 1.1 months of supply, and homes selling in a median of 24 days; conditions change month to month, but it is a useful baseline for the traditional December lull.

For sellers, winter showings come with their own checklist: keep walkways and steps clear and safe, put the heat and lights on before every showing because December showings often happen after dark, keep holiday decorations simple so buyers can picture their own furniture in the room, and have the heating system's service records ready to show. A documented, economical heat source is a genuine selling point in a Lehigh Valley winter; the pellet stove at 3650 Stephen Crane Ln is exactly that kind of feature.

On timing, a closing by December 31 can let a buyer include mortgage interest, prorated property taxes, and discount points on the current tax year's return even if they own the home for only a few weeks; ask your tax advisor whether it applies to you. Just plan for the calendar: lenders, appraisers, and title companies slow down around the holidays, so a year-end closing means contracting and starting underwriting early in December at the latest.

As always, event details, times, and lineups can change, so confirm directly with the township, city, school, venue, or university before heading out. I research this roundup fresh every week from official and current sources, and I never publish an event I cannot verify.

While you are out enjoying the final week of Christmas City season, remember that 3650 Stephen Crane Ln in Hanover Farms is listed at $414,900, with 3 bedrooms plus an office or possible 4th bedroom, 1.5 baths, an in-ground pool, and a covered patio. If you are thinking about buying or selling in the new year, December is a good month to start the conversation. To arrange a private tour, call Tim Tepes at (484) 275-0056 or use the contact page.