Cambria Christmas Market's 2022 Dates Are Already Aglow

A POIGNANT FAREWELL: How we bid goodbye to a spirit-gladdening celebration can really run the gamut, emotion-wise, but there are a few touchstones, traditions, and meaningful moments we all likely share with other people who celebrate. If you're a big Halloween buff, you may spend the days just after Oct. 31 devouring the candy around the house. Fourth of July? You're likely polishing off the Popsicles as a way to wrap up the summer-sweet holiday. And Christmas? That particular time of closure can be especially bittersweet, as we pack away the plaid bows, carol-cute music boxes, and all of the adorable decorations as we face the long winter ahead.

IF JANUARY HAS BEEN PARTICULARLY POIGNANT, and you're still humming a few bars of "Deck the Halls" in your head every day, it is time to feel a dose of peppermint-scented cheer: The Cambria Christmas Market, one of the best-known holiday happenings on the Central Coast, has revealed its 2022 dates. True, things won't get to glittering around the outdoor wonderland of colorful lights, warm sips, and charming crafts before late November, but knowing that there's a noel-nice to-do, already on the Christmas-focused calendar, is something of a comfort to holiday lovers. Also interesting to note? You can book a tempting package at the Cambria Pines Lodge right now, if you want to savor that anticipating-a-vacation kind of feeling.

THE MERRY MARKET... will keep the whimsy festively afloat through Dec. 31, 2022. Good to know? Weekends can get busy, and if you'd like to stay close, looking into an overnight nearby is definitely the way to ho, ho, go.