Christmas wishes for in-laws USA families love to send at the holidays carry warmth, gratitude, and a little American cheer. Whether you are writing to your mother-in-law in Texas, your father-in-law in Ohio, or your brother-in-law and sister-in-law across the country, the right words can make the family dinner feel even closer. This list brings together heartfelt, funny, and short messages made for American homes, snowy mornings, and long drives home for Christmas. In-laws become family in the truest sense at Christmas. They welcome you to the table, share treasured recipes, cheer for the same football team, and help trim the tree. A thoughtful wish thanks them for that welcome and tells them how much their love means through the year. Use these 45 wishes in a card, a text, a holiday letter, or a toast at the table. Pick one that fits your family, add a personal line about a shared memory, and send it early so it arrives before the turkey is carved and the eggnog is poured. Last up...
The best things to do at Christmas in Aix-en-Provence mix golden stone, glowing plane trees, and centuries of Provençal tradition into one of the warmest holiday escapes in southern France. While Paris and Strasbourg draw the biggest crowds, Aix offers something rarer: a Christmas that still feels local, where mulled wine scents the Cours Mirabeau and tiny clay santons fill the market stalls.
Every December, the Cours Mirabeau hosts around fifty wooden chalets, while the Foire aux Santons celebrates a tradition found nowhere else in France. Add les treize desserts, the famous thirteen desserts, plus concerts, carousels, and day trips to Marseille and Avignon.
This guide gathers 15 original ideas in five themes: markets, santons, festive food, lights and music, and day trips. Joyeux Noël, which means Merry Christmas, and welcome to Aix.
Last updated: September 25, 2026
Jump to: Christmas Market | Santons | Thirteen Desserts | Lights and Music | Day Trips | Who Will Love It | FAQs
Christmas in Aix beats along the Cours Mirabeau, the wide plane-tree boulevard through the old town. From mid-November it fills with chalets, lights, and roasted chestnuts.
1. Browse the fifty wooden chalets. Local artisans sell ceramics, lavender sachets, and olive wood gifts. Stalls stay open late on Fridays and Saturdays.
2. Sip vin chaud and snack as you walk. Vin chaud, French mulled wine, is served warm with cinnamon and orange. Pair it with roasted chestnuts, called marrons chauds, or churros.
3. Watch the boulevard light up at La Rotonde. Start at the Fontaine de la Rotonde and walk uphill as dusk falls. The plane trees glow, windows shine, and musicians play carols.
2. Meet the Santons of Provence
No Christmas in Provence is complete without santons, small hand-painted clay figurines that fill every Provençal nativity scene. Santon means little saint.
4. Wander the Foire aux Santons. The Santons Fair on the Allées Provençales gathers artisan santon makers, known as santonniers. Watch painters finish tiny faces by hand, and buy a figure to start your own crèche.
5. Step inside the Santons Fouque workshop. The Fouque family has made santons in Aix since the 1930s. Their workshop holds close to two thousand figures, from classic shepherds to playful modern characters.
6. Admire the giant nativity scenes. Aix displays several large crèches each December, including the santonniers’ scene on the Cours Mirabeau and the Grande Crèche Aixoise at the tourist office, more than thirty feet long.
Food is the soul of a Provençal Christmas. The most famous tradition is les treize desserts, the thirteen desserts served after Midnight Mass on Christmas Eve.
7. Learn the thirteen desserts. The thirteen desserts include dried figs, raisins, almonds, and hazelnuts, plus nougat, dates, fresh fruit, and the olive oil flatbread called pompe à l’huile.
8. Taste a calisson, the sweet emblem of Aix. The calisson is an almond-shaped sweet made from candied melon and ground almonds with a sugar glaze, made in Aix since the fifteenth century. The most famous maker is Léonard Parli.
9. Shop the thirteen desserts and truffle markets. In the week before Christmas, Aix hosts a dedicated thirteen desserts market, plus seasonal truffle stalls. Vendors offer tastings of olive oil, tapenade, honey, and candied fruit.
4. Enjoy Lights, Music, and Old Town Evenings
When the sun sets early in December, Aix does not go quiet. The old town fills with light projections, concerts, and carousels through early January.
10. Watch the Christmas illuminations switch on. The festive lights switch on in late November, usually with a projection show on the Halle aux Grains facade and the lighting of the giant tree at the Town Hall square.
11. Hear a Christmas concert or the Pastorale Maurel. Aix hosts Christmas concerts in churches and halls all December. Do not miss the Pastorale Maurel, a traditional Provençal nativity play with shepherds and angels.
12. Ride the carousels and find Santa’s letterbox. Two Christmas carousels spin in the city center through the season, and a giant tree with Santa’s letterbox stands near the Town Hall, where children post letters to Père Noël, Father Christmas.
5. Take a Day Trip from Aix for a Fuller Provençal Christmas
Aix is the perfect base for exploring Provence at Christmas, with fast trains and short drives to festive towns. A day trip adds a second market or a hilltop village.
13. Spend a day at the Marseille Christmas market. Marseille, under an hour away by train, hosts one of the largest santon fairs in France beside its own Christmas market. The old port glows with lights.
14. Visit Avignon and the Palais des Papes. Avignon, about an hour by train, dresses its medieval center for Christmas with a market, a Ferris wheel, and an ice rink before the Palais des Papes.
15. Escape to Sainte-Victoire and the Luberon villages. For a quieter day, head toward Mont Sainte-Victoire, the mountain Cézanne painted again and again, or into the Luberon villages of Lourmarin and Bonnieux. Village squares host small Christmas markets.
Christmas in Aix-en-Provence for Every Traveler
Aix rewards every kind of traveler at Christmas. Use these quick slices to shape your trip.
Families
Children love Aix at Christmas: carousels, Santa’s letterbox, santon figurines, and giant nativity scenes give younger visitors plenty to spot. Visit the markets in late afternoon so the lights are on.
Couples
For couples, Aix is one of the most romantic Christmas cities in France. Book a candlelit table off the Cours Mirabeau, share a vin chaud, and walk from La Rotonde to the Town Hall as the lights come on.
First-Time Visitors
If this is your first trip to Provence, let Aix be your gentle introduction. The old town is compact and walkable, and the market and santon fair sit minutes apart. Give yourself three days.
Frequently Asked Questions About Christmas in Aix-en-Provence
When is the Aix-en-Provence Christmas market in 2026? The Cours Mirabeau market and Santons Fair are expected to run from mid-November to December 31, 2026, with lights into early January 2027. Dates are provisional, so check the official Aix-en-Provence tourism website before you travel.
What are santons? Santons are small hand-painted clay figurines from Provence, used to build nativity scenes. They show the Holy Family alongside village characters such as bakers and shepherds. Aix hosts a dedicated Santons Fair every December.
What are les treize desserts? Les treize desserts, the thirteen desserts, are a Provençal Christmas Eve tradition: thirteen sweet dishes, including dried fruit, nuts, nougat, and pompe à l’huile, served after Midnight Mass and left on the table for three days.
Is Aix-en-Provence good for Christmas with kids? Yes, Aix is one of the most family-friendly Christmas destinations in France. Carousels, Santa’s letterbox, the santon fair, and giant nativity scenes keep children entertained, and the compact old town means short walks.
How many days do I need in Aix at Christmas? Three days is ideal: one for the Cours Mirabeau market and Santons Fair, one for food, museums, and evening lights, and one for a trip to Marseille, Avignon, or the Luberon villages.
What is the weather like in Aix at Christmas? December in Aix is mild, with daytime temperatures often around 10 to 14 degrees Celsius and plenty of crisp sunshine. Evenings are chilly, so bring a warm coat, and expect occasional rain rather than snow.
More Christmas Inspiration
Keep planning your French Christmas with these guides from Merry Christmas Wishes.
15 Best Things to Do at Christmas in Marseille — the perfect day trip pairing.
15 Best Christmas Markets in France for 2026 — where Aix ranks among the country’s most festive markets.
Best Christmas Traditions in France — the customs that make a French Christmas unique.
The True Story of Christmas in France — the history behind the celebrations.
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