Topics Covered:

Boston Bruins game
Holiday lights at New England Botanical Gardens
Outlet shopping in New Hampshire
Walked around Beacon Hill
Candlelight string quartet at the First Church in Cambridge
Ate lobster at The Barking Shack
Shopping at Back Bay’s Newbury Street and Prudential
Top of the Prudential building for 360 views of Boston
First Night Boston
Boston Pops on New Year's Eve

What to do when friends and family visit Boston in the winter, when it’s frigid outside? 🥶 Well, my husband and I had just hosted his family from Germany over Christmas and New Year’s, so I have some tried and tested ideas to share! The key is to pre-book a handful of indoor activities in advance so you’ll get a chance to thaw from the cold while spending time together meaningfully (as compared to just killing time in a shopping mall).

Here’s a verified list of 10 things to do when non-Americans visit Boston!

1. Boston Bruins game at TD Gardens

In my article on the 5 everyday places that reveal the soul of its people, I’d written about Boston’s legendary sports culture. I stand by it- there is no better welcome to Boston than a sports game.

We caught a Bruins game that every evening that my extended family arrived. Airport to home, and straight to TD Gardens. If you’ve never seen the Bruins play, it’s less “sit back and watch hockey” and more action-packed. Case in point: players from both teams dropped gloves and started the game with a physical fight at the opening face-off. There were a total of three physical fights that game (in which the Bruins arguably won them all).

Between the stadium’s energy and random chats with passionate locals seated around, my German family easily overcame their jet lag that first evening.

2. Holiday lights at New England Botanic Garden

The holiday light display at the New England Botanic Garden was absolutely worth the visit. There’s something about thousands of colorful lights and illuminated installations that is instantly uplifting. The full walk took about 1.5 hours- just the right amount of time to enjoy being outdoors in the cold without feeling miserable. Along the way, there were stations offering s’mores and hot cocoa, which was a nice touch. The pathways were clearly marked, easy to navigate, and accessible for all ages, including wheelchair-friendly routes. The variety of themed light displays kept things visually engaging throughout, and I especially loved that the walk ended at two beautiful greenhouses where I could warm up while enjoying the indoor plant collections.

Entry times were staggered, so the garden felt festive and lively without ever feeling crowded. Parking was plentiful and free in the adjacent lot.

The themes change annually, so we’d definitely go again! Tickets are limited and tend to sell out quickly, so if you’re planning to go, it’s best to book early.

3. Outlet shopping in New Hampshire

We allocated half a day for shopping in New Hampshire because everyone loves 0% sales tax. We stopped at Pheasant Lane Mall for Apple products that are apparently less expensive here in the US than Europe, followed by the outlets at Merrimack Premium Outlets for their holiday sales on top of already discounted prices.

4. Walked around Beacon Hill

Beacon Hill is pure charm on any given day, and Christmas elevates it to a whole new level. We easily spent a couple of hours walking along the cobblestoned streets and popping into small boutiques. Everything was beautiful and quaint. Should we revisit during the holidays, I would absolutely reserve a table at Beacon Hill Books & Café for afternoon tea to complete the experience.

5. Candlelight string quartet

We were all glad to have tickets to Candlelight Concerts, if only because it was indoors and a much-needed reprieve from spending the day out in the cold. With five out of six of us being German, we arrived 20 minutes before the doors opened, which actually worked in our favor because seating in this particular venue was assigned by bench rather than a specific chair. Getting there early meant that we had our pick of spots for unobstructed views.

Our quartet played music from Queen and The Beatles. It was about an hour of music which flowed in an intimate setup, within historic First Church in Cambridge. No phones, no dialogue, simply an evening to reset and be present with family.

6. Lobster at The Barking Crab

No Boston visit is complete without lobster! Where in any given warm month we’d have driven up to Rockport for that coastal New England experience, this being winter, we settled for The Barking Crab at the Seaport instead. Same Atlantic waters. 🤷🏻‍♀️

Seafood isn’t a staple in the German diet, so the experience of digging into a massive lobster, crisp fried clams, and fresh seafood in general was a novelty. Paired that with a cool shack and great views? My family raved for 2 days.

10/10 experience for them out-of-towners.

Side note: We skipped the Snowport Christmas Market because there are far more superior Christmas markets in Germany, but it’s probably worth tying these two together if you’re in the area.

7. Shopping at Back Bay’s Newbury Street and Prudential

No visit to Boston feels complete without seeing the iconic brownstones along Newbury Street, so we made sure to stop by. The brands that especially caught my German family’s attention were Arc’teryx, Lululemon, and Alo.

We took shelter in the Prudential when it rained. Saks Fifth Avenue had some serious holiday discounts.

8. Top of the Prudential building for 360 views of Boston

We booked evening tickets to View Boston at the top of the Prudential to take in the city’s nighttime skyline. The dark ribbon of the Charles winding through the city, the glowing grid of Back Bay, and that unmistakable Citgo sign- it was all classic Boston. There were but a handful of people at the 9pm slot that we were in, which in turn gave us lots of time and space to soak up the views. It was a great way to calmly end a day of being in the city.

There is a beautiful white-themed bar where one could stop for drinks, though in our case, we did not and stuck to photos instead (next time!).

9. First Night Boston

We attended First Night Boston, which is a New Year’s Eve celebration centered around City Hall Plaza. Live music, mainly. If you’re thinking “free music can’t be that good”, I promise you’d be in for a surprise (as we were), because the music absolutely rocked!!! Yes, even at 4 pm when we were there in broad daylight, and the crowd had yet to fill the grounds, the music was banging.

The ice sculptures, on the other hand, were a letdown. For starters, they were scattered all over downtown Boston, which meant you really had to be motivated to hunt them down. Was it worth the effort? Honestly, no. The ones at City Hall Plaza were tied to the MA 250 campaign (no one is interested in logos), while others were not well-lit.

If music and ice sculptures aren’t your thing, at the very least, go for the 7 pm fireworks on the Common. This was our second time seeing them at that hour, and I can promise the crowd isn’t overwhelming. You can either take the train in or park at a nearby garage- and those 15 minutes are definitely worth it.

10. Boston Pops on New Year’s Eve

We bought tickets to the Boston Pops, which is an offshoot of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, for their 8 pm concert at Symphony Hall. It was the perfect follow-up to the 7 pm fireworks. Spending two hours at the orchestra gave us a chance to dress up, enjoy exceptional music, and still make it home just before midnight to ring in the New Year.

My German family visited. Here’s a list of 10 verified cool things to do over Christmas and New Year’s.