Time To Stop Complaining About The Cape May, NJ, Christmas Parade

The West Cape May Community Christmas Parade is an experience you won’t forget. It already happened this year, but definitely try to get there in 2025. Imagine walking down a charming street, surrounded by all the twinkling lights, the sounds of festive music, and the excitement of people from all over, gathered together to celebrate the holiday season. It’s one of the biggest and most beloved Christmas parades in all of South Jersey, and for good reason!

The parade takes place in Cape May each and every year. It's a place known for its old-fashioned Christmas charm. It’s like stepping into a holiday postcard, with beautiful Victorian homes decorated in sparkling lights and holiday wreaths. Every year, thousands of people — locals and tourists alike — flock to this beautiful town for the parade.

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What makes the parade so special is the sense of community. It’s not just a parade. It’s a celebration of togetherness. You’ll see local groups, schools, and businesses all contributing to the fun. There are marching bands playing your favorite Christmas tunes, elaborately decorated floats filled with families and friends, and even Santa Claus making a special appearance to kick off the holiday season. The floats are often the highlight, with each one telling a different holiday story or showing off creative decorations, many of them hand-crafted by locals.

It seems like each and every year over the last 5 or so, the parade's charm and wonder is stripped away by all the complaints people make about it on social media. It's amazing how so many people can create first-world problems out of an event that's become so beloved over the last 50 years or so.

Complaints About Cape May's Christmas Parade

People have been in complaining in local Cape May-based Facebook groups about how annoyed they were that people put chairs out to save prime viewing spots before the parade. Some people even put them out the day before.

I don't care whether you're a local and you live there year-round or you have a summer home there. Here's my take: GET OVER IT. I'll be honest... most of Cape May is now full of people who have enough money to not have to worry about making ends meet or how they're going to put food on the table. If the most you're worried about is whether or not chairs are out front to save spots for people to watch the parade... it sounds like your life is going pretty well.

If you're a homeowner who sets chairs up so other people can't sit in front of your house for the parade, that's pretty petty in my opinion. If you want to set up chairs, fine. But, if somebody else sets chairs up in front of your house on that strip of grass near the curb before you get to, well, guess you're s*** out of luck. Don't complain about it. It's public property.

Crowds and mayhem around events like this are what you should expect when living in a shore town like Cape May. If you can't deal with it, my suggestion is to move. There's one commenter who hit the nail on the head addressing all the "Karens." You can read that one here.

Listen, I love Cape May. It's an amazing place. It's just so disheartening to see all the complaining when this is supposed to be a happy and festive event for the region. It overshadows the beauty and fun of the parade itself. Oh, and about the gaps during the parade... it's been like that for years. Deal with it.

Thanks for coming to my Ted Talk.