When the Newtown Holiday Festival returns to Main Street on Sunday, December 7, people of all ages looking for some holiday-themed fun should be able to find something that appeals to them.

The festival runs from 11 am until 4 pm, rain, shine, or light snow. It is one of the final events in a weekend that has come to open the holiday season in Newtown. Friday night will see the lighting of the tree at Ram Pasture. Saturday will be filled with events across town, from greens sales and a pancake breakfast to the lighting of a tree in Sandy Hook Center that evening. In addition to the Holiday Festival on Sunday, the weekend will close with the lighting of a third tree, this time in Hawleyville.

The Holiday Festival, anchored at Edmond Town Hall, 45 Main Street, offers a little bit of everything under one umbrella.

Newtown Savings Bank is again the major sponsor of the five-hour festival, which benefits Newtown Youth & Family Services (NYFS). The town’s oldest bank is also sponsoring one of the festival’s events, the Holiday Tea. Formerly called the Victorian Tea, organizers have renamed the refreshments break in Edmond Town Hall’s Alexandria Room but will continue to offer mulled apple cider, tea, and plenty of homemade treats for the enjoyment of all ticket-holders. Live music will again be performed on the room’s stage.

The Holiday Festival will also feature additional returning favorites: a Gingerbread House Contest, The Festival of Trees, and performances from The Nutcracker Suite.

Entries for this year’s Gingerbread House Contest will be displayed in the town hall’s gymnasium. Judging will take place by 3:30, with winners to be announced once completed. (See separate story with rules for the contest.)

Students from Newtown Centre of Classical Ballet will offer performances of The Nutcracker Suite in the town hall’s theater at noon and 2 pm.

Historic Trolley Rides, which debuted last year, are also back. Where three rides were offered last year, NYFS has added a fourth historic tour for this year’s festival. Town Historian Dan Cruson has agreed to again offer narration of the trolley tours.

Kaitlyn Johnson, the community coordinator for NYFS, said Holiday Festival guests last year “really, really loved that new offering.

“Dan really goes into a lot of detail, and people enjoy that as well,” she added. “It’s really nice to be able to see the houses and hear about them. We love giving people options. They can walk, ride, or both.”

There are no reservations for the trolley tours, she said. Seats will be filled on a first-come, first-served basis. The 30-minute tours will depart from and return to the town hall at 11:15 am, and 12:15, 2 and 3 pm.

After a one-year hiatus, the very popular Historic House Tour is returning. Four homes on Main Street and one on East Street, all decorated by a local designer and their team, will be open for ticket-holders.

“Absent from last year’s event,” Ms Johnson said, “the community spoke and we listened.”

The addresses and descriptions of the privately owned homes will be announced just before the Holiday Festival.

New additions for December 7 will include a Yankee Candle sale, a Scholastic Books sale, and The Frozen Frenzy.

The Yankee Candle sale and the Scholastic Books sale will be presented in the town hall’s gymnasium, along with the Festival of Trees. The latter is moving, said Ms Johnson, from its longstanding location at C.H. Booth Library into larger quarters because of its popularity. The gymnasium, she said, will allow more space for the presentation of decorated trees, wreaths, and other items donated by local businesses, organizations, families, and individuals.

Trees are of various shapes and sizes, both live and artificial, including ceramic, wood, and even stuffed. Most decorated trees have themes. All are won through raffle. Tickets will be available during the festival, and winners will be announced at 4:15. Money raised through the sale of raffle tickets will also benefit NYFS.

“The Festival of Trees keeps growing; it’s very popular, so it makes sense to move it into a larger space,” said Ms Johnson. “This also allows for more one-stop shopping, with the Yankee Candles and books being offered in the same room.

“Grandparents love to buy books for kids,” she continued, “and they don’t always get to go to book sales as schools. So we decided to bring books to the festival.”

At The Frozen Frenzy, which will begin at noon, children will have the chance to make a craft based on the popular Disney movie, enjoy a Frozen-inspired snack, play games, sing karaoke, and even meet some of the characters. There are no age restrictions, and costumes are certainly welcome.

“I’m sure if they wore them for Halloween, they would love to wear them again,” Ms Johnson said of the many Elsa and Olaf costumes seen just a few weeks ago. “We would love to see children in costume.”

In addition, The Jingle Bell Jam — another new Holiday Festival event — will be performed Saturday, December 6, at 7 pm, in the Alexandria Room of Edmond Town Hall (see related story). The concert will feature favorite holiday tunes performed by Goldrush.

Admission to The Jingle Bell Jam will be a separate $10 ticket purchase, which can be done in advance or at the door. Those who attend Jingle Bell Jam can then take their ticket stub to the festival on Sunday and receive reduced admission of $5 off an adult ticket.

Holiday Festival tickets are $10 for individuals and $25 for families (two adults, two children). Each additional child is $5.

Tickets are available at Everything Newtown, 61 Church Hill Road; and Newtown Savings Bank locations at 39 Main Street and 228 South Main Street (Sand Hill Plaza) in Newtown, 68 Stony Hill Road in Bethel, and 99 Federal Road in Brookfield.

Jingle Bell Jam tickets will also be available at the Newtown Savings Bank locations mentioned above, as well as NYFS headquarters, 15 Berkshire Road.

Holiday Festival tickets will also be on sale on December 7 at Edmond Town Hall.

Newtown Youth & Family Services is dedicated to helping children and families achieve their highest potential. The nonprofit agency combines clinical services and positive youth development programs to provide a continuum of care to residents of the greater Newtown area.

NYFS is the designated mental health clinic for Newtown/Sandy Hook. It is licensed by the Department of Children & Families as an outpatient psychiatric clinic for children and by the Department of Public Health as a psychiatric outpatient clinic for adults and as a facility for the care or treatment of substance abusive or dependent persons.

NYFS is accredited by the Council on Accreditation.

For a detailed list of events and times, including ticket information, visit newtownyouthandfamilyservices.org.