https://www.wisconsinfrights.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/wisconsin-haunted-holiday-fireplace.jpg 670 1200 Charlie Hintz https://www.wisconsinfrights.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/wisconsin-frights-sm.png Charlie Hintz2022-12-17 11:07:582022-12-17 11:07:58Wisconsin Haunted Christmas FireplaceLooking for unusual things to do this Christmas in Wisconsin? Well, you’re in luck, because during the holidays Wisconsin transforms into a weird winter wonderland. From the annual Milwaukee Krampusnacht and the appearance of the curious Kooky Cooky House, to the dazzling light display, holiday markets, Christmas villages, Christmas Card Town, and the even the ghost of the Christmas Tree Ship, there’s no shortage of magical and mysterious things to do in Wisconsin during the Yuletide season. You can even watch a giant cheese wedge drop on New Year’s Eve.
Pour some eggnog, make yourself a raw beef and onion sandwich on rye, and explore the oddities of a weird Wisconsin Christmas.
Christmas Things to Do in Wisconsin
https://www.wisconsinfrights.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/wisconsin-haunted-holiday-fireplace.jpg 670 1200 Charlie Hintz https://www.wisconsinfrights.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/wisconsin-frights-sm.png Charlie Hintz2022-12-17 11:07:582022-12-17 11:07:58Wisconsin Haunted Christmas Fireplace
https://www.wisconsinfrights.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/rave-haunted-tour.jpg 900 1200 Charlie Hintz https://www.wisconsinfrights.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/wisconsin-frights-sm.png Charlie Hintz2022-12-07 12:27:482022-12-07 12:33:12The Rave Haunted Holidays Tours
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https://www.wisconsinfrights.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/christmas-with-krampus.jpg 900 1200 Charlie Hintz https://www.wisconsinfrights.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/wisconsin-frights-sm.png Charlie Hintz2022-11-22 14:56:352023-01-27 10:40:57Christmas with Krampus
https://www.wisconsinfrights.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/new-years-big-cheese-drop-plymouth.jpg 670 1200 Charlie Hintz https://www.wisconsinfrights.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/wisconsin-frights-sm.png Charlie Hintz2021-12-28 11:58:362022-12-04 09:26:32New Year’s Eve Big Cheese Drop
https://www.wisconsinfrights.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/bloodbeat-thumbnail.jpg 1080 1920 Charlie Hintz https://www.wisconsinfrights.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/wisconsin-frights-sm.png Charlie Hintz2021-12-24 23:48:002022-07-25 09:00:02Blood Beat is a Weird 1980s Christmas Horror Filmed in Wisconsin
https://www.wisconsinfrights.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/christmas-tree-ship-ghost-lg.jpg 670 1200 Charlie Hintz https://www.wisconsinfrights.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/wisconsin-frights-sm.png Charlie Hintz2021-12-24 11:13:142022-12-14 10:00:04The Ghost of the Christmas Tree Ship
https://www.wisconsinfrights.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/where-to-see-santa-wisconsin.jpg 670 1200 Charlie Hintz https://www.wisconsinfrights.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/wisconsin-frights-sm.png Charlie Hintz2021-12-22 10:13:312022-12-02 14:12:09Where to See Santa in Wisconsin
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https://www.wisconsinfrights.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/madison-krampus-run.jpg 900 1200 Charlie Hintz https://www.wisconsinfrights.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/wisconsin-frights-sm.png Charlie Hintz2021-12-09 11:46:502023-01-27 11:49:24Dachsland Krampuslauf
https://www.wisconsinfrights.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/lincoln-tallman-house-holiday-tree-show.jpg 900 1200 Charlie Hintz https://www.wisconsinfrights.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/wisconsin-frights-sm.png Charlie Hintz2021-12-07 14:12:042022-12-04 09:24:55Lincoln-Tallman House Holiday Tree Show
https://www.wisconsinfrights.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/chippewa-falls-christmas-village.jpg 900 1200 Charlie Hintz https://www.wisconsinfrights.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/wisconsin-frights-sm.png Charlie Hintz2021-12-07 13:22:102022-12-04 09:25:13Chippewa Falls Christmas Village
https://www.wisconsinfrights.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/kooky-cookie-house.jpg 900 1200 Charlie Hintz https://www.wisconsinfrights.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/wisconsin-frights-sm.png Charlie Hintz2021-11-23 12:35:482022-12-04 09:24:38Kooky Cooky House
https://www.wisconsinfrights.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/zombie-christmas-caroling-milwaukee-krampusnacht.jpg 350 650 Charlie Hintz https://www.wisconsinfrights.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/wisconsin-frights-sm.png Charlie Hintz2019-12-07 15:08:002021-11-01 13:49:15Watch Zombie Puppets Sing Christmas Carols
https://www.wisconsinfrights.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/milwaukee-krampusnacht-ft.jpg 670 1200 Charlie Hintz https://www.wisconsinfrights.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/wisconsin-frights-sm.png Charlie Hintz2018-07-09 17:14:462022-12-04 09:22:59Milwaukee KrampusnachtChristmas in Wisconsin FAQ
What is the most Christmassy town in Wisconsin?
Wisconsin has many Christmas towns worthy of a Hallmark movie, but there are a few that definitely stand out for their charm and coziness.
Cedarburg is filled with Christmas magic as the unique shops and galleries decorate their windows and storefronts for the holidays with extravagant displays. You’ll also find Santa’s Workshop and plenty of events and activities all Christmas long.
Ripon brings the Old World Christmas spirit with the annual Dickens of a Christmas, where you’ll find carolers, horse-drawn carriage rides, and characters like Ebeneezer Scrooge brought to life inside living window displays.
Elkhorn is officially the Christmas Card Town of Wisconsin, as artwork depicting various snowy scenes around town were used for a series of popular Christmas cards in the 1950s.
What are the best Christmas light displays in Wisconsin?
Nothing gets you feeling the holiday spirit quite like the colorful twinkling bulbs of a Christmas light display. Here are a few Wisconsin displays you should definitely check out:
- Christmas Carnival of Lights in Caledonia
- Green Bay Botanical Garden’s Garden of Lights
- Enchantment in the Park in West Bend
- Madison’s Olin Park Holiday Fantasy in Lights
- Milwaukee’s Candy Cane Lane
- Making Spirits Bright in Sheboygan
- Rotary Winter Wonderland in Marshfield
- Chippewa Falls Christmas Village
- Rotary Botanical Gardens Holiday Light Show in Janesville
- Celebration of Lights in Oshkosh
Santa takes to the sky with the Lake Geneva Balloon Company
Strange Ways to Visit Santa
Sure, you can just take the kids to the mall for pictures with Santa. But these unique experiences celebrate all that is weird and wonderful about the holidays in Wisconsin.
Christmas Card Town
Elkhorn, WI is most widely known as the home of the Beast of Bray Road, but during the holiday season the town takes on another persona as the “Christmas Card Town.” The city of Elkhorn garnered national attention when it was featured in a 1952 television series called “The March of Time.” In that episode, city workers were filmed decorating the downtown area for Christmas with evergreen garland and bells.
In 1958, artist Cecile Johnson was commissioned by the Ford Motor Company to paint six images of small town life. Johnson recalled the holiday scenes she saw of Elkhorn on TV, and that became the inspiration for those works. Later, those paintings were printed by a major publisher as Christmas cards, solidifying Elkhorn’s reputation as the idyllic Christmas card town.
The city commissions an artist to create a new, official Elkhorn Christmas card every year that can be purchased at various places throughout town. Artists Jan Castle-Reed and T. James Carson have contributed numerous works over the years.
Elkhorn Christmas card by T. James Carson
Christmas Ghost Ship
The Rouse Simmons, better known as the Christmas Tree Ship, sank below the waves of Lake Michigan more than 100 years ago. But that doesn’t stop her from still trying to deliver her final load of pines on Christmas Eve.
