We don’t need to go anywhere for a holiday getaway, we have one in our hometown. Thick with Colonial-era architecture, Newburyport is straight out of a Dickens novel. Add a glistening 60-foot Douglas fir at the foot of State Street, wrap every surface and storefront in garland and red ribbon, fill the streets with shoppers and the sky with 17th-century church spires, and you’ve got your own little chapter of ‘‘A Christmas Carol’’ 45 minutes north of Boston. Each year, two ‘‘Invitation Nights’’ are set aside where merchants do a little something extra to make shoppers feel festive: a few extra candles for decoration, or free cookies and hot cocoa at the entrance. Other days there are house tours, concerts, sing-alongs, and, of course, Santa will be stopping by.

Invitation Nights Dec. 7 and 14, 6 to 9 p.m. Holiday Sing Along, Dec. 15, 11 a.m., at the Firehouse Center for the Arts, 978-463-7336, firehouse.org.

Holiday House Tour, Dec. 8, 978-462-8681, CustomHouseMaritimeMuseum.org.

For a full schedule of holiday events go to NewburyportChamber.org.