On Mount Hope Avenue, Halloween Hands Off to the Holidays in November. Here's the Rockaway Townsquare Calendar.

At 357 Mount Hope Avenue, the old Party City building is spending its last Halloween weekend as a Spirit Halloween store. Within days it changes over to Christmas. Spirit lists the same storefront for its Rockaway holiday pop-up, and its store locator gives the address as "Former Party City." Up the road at Rockaway Townsquare, Simon has already posted the season to the hour. Santa photos start Nov. 13, Santa's arrival is Nov. 14, and Black Friday doors open at 6 a.m.

The mall's store directory is less settled. Several of the most talked-about additions for this season still say "coming soon," with no date. The holiday calendar on Mount Hope Avenue is fixed. Much of the new-store list is not. To plan the next eight weeks on this stretch of Rockaway Township, use the dates the mall has posted and treat each new storefront as a bonus once it actually opens.

The Former Party City Changes Over First

The first holiday store on the corridor this year isn't inside the mall. Rockaway News reported on Oct. 15 that Spirit Christmas, the holiday pop-up run by the company behind Spirit Halloween, is returning to the former Party City space near Rockaway Townsquare in November 2026. It's the same address Spirit uses for its Halloween store this fall. The shop also ran there during the 2025 holiday season, so the switch from Halloween to Christmas is now a repeat event on this block.

The opening date is still not official. Spirit's locator says only that the Rockaway store opens in November. Rockaway News found Nov. 6 listed as the expected opening on a third-party holiday countdown site. The outlet noted that most locations switch over in the days after Oct. 31 and that Spirit has not posted official hours. Rockaway is one of four Spirit Christmas stores planned in New Jersey for 2026. The others are in Mays Landing, Marlton and Riverdale.

Spirit says this year's stores include the Candy Cane Express, an interactive Christmas train station. It has animatronic Heat Miser and Snow Miser from The Year Without a Santa Claus, Snoopy from Peanuts, and the Misfit Toys, plus an Arrivals and Departures desk where children can write letters to Santa. The shelves carry indoor and outdoor decorations, life-size nutcrackers, light-up holiday sweaters, pet apparel, gift wrap and party supplies. For anyone with young children, a stop at the train station on the first November weekend works as a warm-up for the visit with Santa the following week.

The Mall's Calendar, Posted to the Hour

Inside Rockaway Townsquare, Simon has posted every event with a date and time:

The first two rows describe two separate starts. The Santa Photo Experience opens on Friday, Nov. 13. That's one day before the Santa arrival event on Saturday evening, Nov. 14, when Santa comes in on a fire truck and leads a parade through the mall. Families who want photos without the arrival-night crowd can go Friday. Families who want the parade should plan on Saturday at 6 p.m.

The two events also use different doors. The parade starts at the Cheesecake Factory/P.F. Chang's entrance. For the photo set in Macy's Court on the lower level, Simon names the entrance beside Chipotle as the best way in. On a busy night, parking near the right door saves you a walk across the building.

Two of the events are easy to miss on a general holiday flyer. Pet nights are Sunday, Nov. 22 and Sunday, Dec. 13, both 6:30 to 8 p.m., after the regular photo line has thinned out. Caring Santa is a sensory-friendly session on Sunday morning, Dec. 6, from 9 to 10:30 a.m., before the mall gets busy. It requires a reservation. The Holiday Wish Tree runs from Nov. 13 to Dec. 21, so anyone planning to give through it has until the Monday before Christmas.

The Hours Change Around the Holidays

Four dates in the posted special hours matter most. The mall is closed on Thanksgiving, Thursday, Nov. 26. Black Friday, Nov. 27, runs 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. Christmas Eve hours are 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., and the mall is closed on Christmas Day.

Extended shopping hours run from Sunday, Nov. 29 through Wednesday, Dec. 23, and they change from day to day. Saturday, Dec. 19, for example, is listed as 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Because the hours shift during that stretch, check the specific date before you go. The Saturday before Christmas does not follow the same schedule as an ordinary December weekday.

The Directory Is Changing on Its Own Schedule

This is where the season is less predictable. In late August, NJ.com reported that three new tenants were coming to Rockaway Townsquare, based on the mall's website. DICK'S House of Sport would take space on both levels. Cairo Bites, a Mediterranean fast-casual spot serving Egyptian and Middle Eastern food, would open on the lower level. Socks & Jammies, which sells socks, slippers and sleepwear, would go on the upper level. The report said no opening dates were listed.

Two months later, Simon's store directory shows mixed progress:

• Open now: Cairo Bites on the lower level. SNIPES, the sneaker and streetwear store, is marked "Now Open" on the upper level.
• Coming soon, no date posted: DICK'S House of Sport, still listed across both levels. Socks & Jammies, on the upper level.
• Also coming soon, no date posted: China Experience, a Chinese restaurant planned for the upper level, and Pasta Lab, a restaurant listed for the upper level.

So of the six newest names, two have opened. The other four could open before Christmas or after New Year's, and nothing posted so far says which. The biggest of them, DICK'S House of Sport, is the hardest to plan around. NJ.com described it as an experience store with gear for everything from baseball to yoga and wrestling to lacrosse, plus an interactive area where shoppers can practice their skills. Until Simon posts a date, a holiday shopping list that depends on it may need a backup plan.

The rest of the mall is unchanged. Macy's and JCPenney are still the anchors, with more than 140 other businesses. The Cheesecake Factory, P.F. Chang's and Chipotle are still the sit-down and quick-service options alongside the dining pavilion. The new names add to that lineup without replacing anything.

The Errand Run Down the Road

The corridor has one other new stop since last season. ALDI opened its second Rockaway store this June at 327 Mount Hope Avenue. NJBIZ had reported a planned June 25 grand opening. With the grocery store, the Spirit Christmas pop-up at No. 357 and the mall entrance all on the same short stretch, one trip in mid-November can cover Thanksgiving groceries, holiday decorations and a Santa visit.

What the Mall Is Zoned For, and What That Doesn't Mean Yet

The mall property has drawn attention for housing as well as shopping this year. At a December 30 special meeting, The Citizen reported, the township's planner described letting residential units go anywhere on the 222-acre mall property, including underused parking areas, while keeping it "a ratable," meaning a property that pays taxes. He also said no developer had approached the township. On March 10, 2026, the Township Council voted 9-0 to amend the Regional Business Multifamily Overlay District. According to the meeting minutes, the council president said one of the ordinances rezoned the mall area.

At that same meeting, the township's attorney said the housing plan contained only concept plans, that no site plan applications had been filed and no developers had shown interest, and that any future project would need planning board approval with notice to nearby property owners. Housing on the mall property is allowed by the zoning, but no one has proposed a project.

If the holidays have you thinking about how the Mount Hope Avenue corridor affects homes nearby, or what a house near Rockaway Townsquare would sell for, Anne Henderson is glad to talk it through. Request a complimentary home valuation, and Anne will follow up quickly with numbers specific to your street.