Every year, soon after Halloween, a truck belonging to the Nonantum Children's Christmas Party Association pulls up at Coletti-Magni Park, and volunteers start putting up the lights. The Newton Beacon reported last December that preparation for the season begins right after Halloween, starting with buying supplies and planning activities. By early December the 18-foot Santa statue is standing in the park and waving toward Watertown Street.
Plenty of Newton residents who live outside the village know the Santa from driving past. Fewer know that the City doesn't run the display. One volunteer association has run it since 1954, and the lights are the visible end of a much quieter December project.
December Runs on the Association's Calendar
The three big dates in Nonantum's December all come from the association. Here is the 2026 schedule it has posted:
| Event | Date | Time | Where |
|---|---|---|---|
| Coletti-Magni Park Lighting | Sunday, December 6 | Hot chocolate and caroling at 6:15 p.m., lights on at 7:00 p.m. | Coletti-Magni Park, 391 Watertown Street |
| Nonantum Christmas Parade | Sunday, December 13 | Starts at 12:00 p.m. | Through the village |
| Dan Fontaine & Memphis Sun Mafia: A Vegas Christmas | Sunday, December 20 | Tickets to be posted by the association | To be announced by the association |
The park sits at the corner of Watertown and Bridge Streets, and the City of Newton's facility listing names it as the site of the holiday lighting.
If you went last year, the parade date matters. In 2025 the parade went through the village on December 21, four days before Christmas. This year it's scheduled for December 13, eight days earlier, so it lands the Sunday right after the lighting. That puts the village's two largest public gatherings on back-to-back weekends. Last year's lineup, as WHDH reported, included Santa, elves, the Grinch, Rudolph and Frosty.
The lighting draws a big crowd for a single corner of a village. Fig City News counted at least 300 people, plus a number of dogs, on Watertown Street in front of the park for the 2025 ceremony. Master of Ceremonies Frank Battista led the carols, and Mayor Ruthanne Fuller gave welcoming remarks.
The Santa and the Mailbox
Fig City News dates the first tree lighting to 1950, when a 30-foot, 2.5-ton Santa Claus presided. The Santa standing today has been in place since 1982 and is 18 feet tall. The Newton Beacon describes it as the neighborhood's third Santa, replacing earlier ones that served the community over roughly 70 years.
Next to the sleigh is a large red mailbox, with a flap set low enough for small children to reach. Fig City News reported that volunteers led by Linda Anderson answer every letter left in it. Her father started the commitment that Santa writes back to every child, and volunteers have been helping with the replies for 58 years. The same mailbox also takes donations for the association.
The List Behind the Lights
Anthony "Fat" Pellegrini Sr. founded the Nonantum Children's Christmas Party Association with a group of friends in 1954. After his death in 2004 his children took it over. His son, Anthony Pellegrini Jr., chairs it today, his daughter Linda Anderson runs much of the volunteer work, and a third generation has joined in.
The name refers to a party that no longer happens. The original children's Christmas party ended in 1992. It was held first at Our Lady Help of Christians and later at American Legion Post 440, and Santa used to arrive by helicopter. When the party moved to Post 440, children lined up in Our Lady's parking lot to take flights over to it.
These days the group's main December job is direct aid. Each December it hands out food baskets and gift cards to families in need. Pellegrini Jr. told the Newton Beacon how the recipients are chosen:
"My father had a list, and I'm still going by the list. So we give out a couple hundred gift baskets, and we have a list from not just Nonantum, but from Watertown, Newton Corner, the (Newton) Falls, throughout the area."
Compare that with the association's early years. Fig City News reports that the association and its partner society once raised enough to give local children 2,000 bags of toys sorted by age and gender. The toy bags have given way to a couple hundred baskets going to households well beyond the village. Fig City News also reports special holiday baskets for neighborhood widows and veterans. Outside December, the association supports local charities including the John M. Barry Boys & Girls Club and Newton Athletes Unlimited, and it builds floats for the Memorial Day parade.
"We're always there at anybody's beck and call," Pellegrini Jr. told the Newton Beacon. "That's what my father used to do, so our goal is to keep it going."
The Other Organization at the Corner
The association doesn't decorate the park alone. According to Fig City News, the St. Mary of Carmen Society works with it on the park decorations and on the big pre-Christmas parade.
The Society started in 1935 as a mutual aid organization for immigrant families. Many of them came from San Donato, a village about 68 miles east of Rome, and Our Lady Help of Christians has long been the community's spiritual home. The Society also runs Festa, the five-day heritage celebration held each July. Last December it sold Christmas trees across Bridge Street from the park to fund its charitable work. "These guys all helped one another," Jim Pellegrine told Fig City News. "The world changes and we do what we can."
So two mutual aid traditions meet at the corner of Watertown and Bridge. One dates to 1935 and the other to 1954.
Building a Sunday Around the Lighting or the Parade
The lighting starts at 6:15 on a Sunday evening and the parade at noon the following Sunday, so both work well with a meal close by. A few spots within walking distance:
- The Dooliner, 7 West Street. This Irish pub lists bar, kitchen and brunch hours on its own site, which fits a noon parade.
- Nonantum Press Room, 191 Adams Street. The sandwich shop posts Tuesday through Saturday hours on its site, so plan a Saturday stop if you want lunch from there that weekend.
- Tommy Doyle's, 349 Watertown Street, a short walk down Watertown Street from the park.
- Eddie's Breakfast & Lunch, 394 Watertown Street, on the same stretch as the park.
For a broader look at what's opened and closed around the city this year, our recent post on the Newton Centre Green follows the same season in a different village.
Where the Money Goes In
The association raises its own money. Donations go in by mail to PO Box 12, Newton, MA 02495, through its website, or by Venmo. The red mailbox in the park also accepts donations. The association also raises money with a golf tournament and with the Vegas Christmas show. Last year's show, starring Elvis Presley tribute artist Dan Fontaine, sold out. Tickets for the December 20 show will go up on the association's site.
You can help before the lights go on, too. The Rosemary Seibold Thanksgiving Drive collects groceries for neighbors' Thanksgiving meals through November 24 at Our Lady's Parish Office, according to the parish's event listing. Our Lady Help of Christians is at 573 Washington Street.
Then there's a December 6 detail for families. Children who leave a letter in the red mailbox will hear back from Santa, because a volunteer will write the reply.
At Steph Crawford Group, we think the best way to know a village is to know who keeps its traditions going, and in Nonantum that's a family, a mailbox and a list. If you'd like to talk about Newton's villages beyond what the listings say, our Newton page is a good place to start, and we're always happy to hear what your corner of the city does in December.
