There are two tree lightings this season, held a week apart by two different governments. Swedesboro lights its tree at Borough Hall on Saturday, November 28, a few hours after its Christmas parade comes down Kings Highway. Woolwich Township lights its own tree on Saturday, December 5, at Locke Ave Park, with a fireworks show that will cost township taxpayers nothing.
If you live in Woolwich, both events are yours. The borough downtown is where you shop and eat, and the township park is where your kids play ball. Since Halloween, the Kings Highway side of the season also has a new storefront with ordering deadlines that run from Thanksgiving through New Year's Eve.
One Downtown, Two Calendars
Swedesboro and Woolwich work like one community, but on paper they are separate municipalities. Each one runs its own holiday event. The borough's parade and Borough Hall lighting appear on Historic Swedesboro's event listing, with the parade at 1 p.m. on downtown Kings Highway and the lighting at 6:30 p.m. The township's event is set by Woolwich Township Committee resolutions passed in October.
The gap is what makes the calendar work. One Saturday is about the downtown, its storefronts, and a parade route lined with businesses. The next is about a township park with room for inflatables and a fireworks launch. You don't have to choose between them, and the timing means you can make it to both.
The season starts on Kings Highway, though, before either lighting.
The Wednesday Before Thanksgiving, at 1252 Kings Highway
Gather to Graze opened at 1252 Kings Highway in downtown Swedesboro on Halloween morning. It sits across the street from the Red Hen and BLK SHP restaurants. 42Freeway covered the grand opening and described a crowd of family and friends who came out to support owner Karen and her team. The business spent six years in Mullica Hill. When that building was sold, Karen needed a new location and chose Swedesboro's Kings Highway. 42Freeway's July report on the move placed the shop next door to the Swedesboro Pastry Shop.
The move matters for the holidays because the business has changed shape. In Mullica Hill, Gather to Graze grew from grazing boards into graze boxes, grazing tables, and fully catered events. The Swedesboro storefront has a classic Main Street front, with a centered door and a large display window on each side. Kitchen prep takes up the back left of the shop, and the front and much of the right side are open to customers. Up front, you can talk through an event with the team and shop for display trays and other kitchen and dining items. The grab-and-go side carries prepackaged charcuterie-style options, salads, Boylan sodas, and Cowboy cold brew.
For Thanksgiving, everything comes down to one day. The Gather to Graze Thanksgiving ordering page says:
"We will be completing orders Wednesday, November 25th. Orders will be shrink wrapped for freshness."
Pickup times are scheduled, and you have 30 minutes from your agreed time to collect your order. If you miss that window, the order goes to the next person in line because refrigeration space is limited. You would then wait for your order to be finished. Every graze box comes with fresh fruit, roasted red pepper hummus, vegetables, artisanal cheeses, crackers, mild and hot Italian salami, olives, gherkins, dried fruit, nuts, honey, and something sweet. The Large and Extra Large boxes also include seasonal bread, vegetable dip, and Italian bread, and each box gets a few Thanksgiving extras. The Small Graze Box is $65. Solid wood trays are available on request, priced separately. Orders go through the business's website.
Three days later, the same block becomes a parade route.
November 28, a Parade and a Lighting Downtown
In 2026, the Saturday after Thanksgiving is the date of Swedesboro's Christmas parade and Borough Hall tree lighting, which puts the businesses along Kings Highway, the new Gather to Graze at 1252 among them, right on the parade route.
| Time | What | Where |
|---|---|---|
| 1 p.m. | Annual Christmas Parade with floats, bands, performers, and Santa | Downtown Kings Highway |
| 6:30 p.m. | Tree lighting ceremony | Swedesboro Borough Hall |
Last year's parade gives a sense of the logistics. The 2025 parade was sponsored by ShopRite and the Greater Swedesboro Business Association and ran from Walter Hill School to Church Street. Traffic was detoured around Kings Highway, and Newtown Press advised visitors to arrive early and park off the main street. With a 1 p.m. start and a 6:30 p.m. lighting, there's a long afternoon in between that can be spent on Kings Highway itself.
A week later, the season moves to Locke Avenue.
December 5 at Locke Ave Park, and Who Pays for the Fireworks
The Woolwich Township Committee set its Annual Holiday Tree Lighting for Saturday, December 5, 2026, from 6 to 8 p.m. at Locke Ave Park, 58 Locke Ave. The rain date is Sunday, December 6. Two resolutions in the township's October 5 meeting packet show what the evening involves and what it costs.
The first, R-2026-398, approves a contract with D&M Fireworks LLC for a public fireworks display at the park, not to exceed $5,500. It also states that Aqua Industries sponsored the display, so it comes at "no cost to the taxpayers of Woolwich." The contract still requires sign-off from the Swedesboro/Woolwich Fire Bureau and proof of insurance before the show can go ahead.
The second, R-2026-402, hires Empire Events LLC for event equipment, inflatables, electrical power, and certified staff attendants, not to exceed $956.10.
Comparing the two numbers shows how the night is paid for. The fireworks are the biggest line item at up to $5,500, and a local sponsor covers them. The inflatables, power, and staff cost less than a fifth of that.
The two lightings also feel different. Swedesboro's ends a full day downtown with a parade. Woolwich's is a two-hour evening at the park, with inflatables, fireworks, and space to spread out.
The Deadlines Around Both Lightings
Gather to Graze's holiday ordering page lists ordering cutoffs for Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year's, and the last three are still ahead. Here is the rest of the season in order:
- Wednesday, November 25. Last day for Gather to Graze Thanksgiving orders, with scheduled pickup windows.
- Saturday, November 28. The Kings Highway parade at 1 p.m., and the Borough Hall tree lighting at 6:30 p.m.
- Saturday, December 5. Woolwich Township tree lighting, inflatables, and sponsored fireworks at Locke Ave Park, 6 to 8 p.m., with a December 6 rain date.
- December 23. Last day for Gather to Graze Christmas orders.
- December 31. Last day for Gather to Graze New Year's orders.
If you're hosting family between those two Saturdays and want to talk through what's changing in Woolwich and Swedesboro this year, Haley's Homes is local, and we keep track of these calendars all year. Get your instant home valuation or schedule a neighborhood consultation, and we'll make sure December 5 is on your calendar too.
