To ring in the holiday season, Mayor Michelle Wu visited neighborhoods around Boston to light up the city’s Christmas trees, bringing cheer, treats and visits from Christmas characters to all of the city’s communities. 

Beginning Dec. 7, The Enchanted Trolley Tour and Tree Lightings made its 28th annual festive trip through the city. Classic Christmas characters like Frosty the Snowman and Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer accompanied Santa Claus, Wu and a handful of city officials and employees on the tour. 

In Northeastern University’s backyard, the Enchanted Trolley Tour stopped in Mission Hill Dec. 7 to light the tree outside local businesses Laughing Monk Cafe and Penguin Pizza in Hanlon Square. 

“This is one of my favorite traditions in the whole city,” Wu said from a cheerfully decorated trolley. 

Sharon Durkan, Mission Hill’s city councilor, joined the mayor on the trolley to thank all the city workers in attendance.

“I’m so excited to be here in Brigham Circle; Mission Hill is so important to me,” Durkan said. “We are really blessed in this community to have local businesses that step up everyday.”

Durkan made sure to mention that she loves Laughing Monk Cafe. 

Penguin Pizza provided pizza to attendees. The neighborhood also indulged in the local business’ array of holiday treats, including apple cider and donuts, while eagerly awaiting the tree lighting.

The neighborhood’s local businesses were not the only Mission Hill staples to join the celebration. Longtime residents like Maynard Clark, who has worked in the Longwood Medical Area since the 1990s and has lived in Mission Hill for 13 years, attended the annual celebration. 

“I do show up, not for any real reason except that they have free apple cider,” Clark said. “And to see neighbors whom we don’t get to see very often.”

Boston City Councilor At-Large Henry Santana joined the tree lighting team atop the trolley to increase the community’s excitement. 

“I keep telling all my colleagues that Mission Hill is gonna be the best spot,” Santana said. “Mission Hill is the best neighborhood.”

After the city officials briefly spoke to attendees, it was time for the mayor to light the Christmas tree, but she couldn’t accomplish the feat by herself. Santa Claus joined the Enchanted Trolley Tour team to flip the switch and officially light the neighborhood’s tree. 

After lighting the tree, Santa Claus took his seat on the trolley and greeted children, inviting them to make their Christmas wishes. Children quickly formed a line for their turn to tell Santa Claus what they wished for this year. 

The city of Boston did not host the annual event alone; local community organizations like the Mission Hill Health Movement, or MHHM, contributed to the celebration. 

Mary Ann Nelson, the executive director for MHHM, passed out boxes of green and mint tea donated by local business Tipsy’s Beer and Wine to attendees. 

“We’ve done other things in the past, depending on what we have available,” Nelson said. “I want to say six or seven years ago, somebody had donated toys to us, so we gave them to Santa to hand out. But we haven’t been so fortunate lately. So for the last two years we’ve been handing out tea.”

Nelson said that her favorite part of the annual event is seeing the entire community come together, especially the neighborhood’s kids, who she doesn’t normally see.

“It’s just a community spirit — I know a lot of people in the neighborhood and it’s good to see them,” Nelson said. “There’s no kind of contentious element involved, like we’re not fighting about a development proposal, it’s just a fun time.”

The Enchanted Trolley Tour lit up Boston’s trees throughout the weekend, giving the Mission Hill community a special reason to come together and celebrate. 

Other tree lightings took place around Boston including in Fenway Dec. 4 and Boston Common Dec. 5.