Rally the corgi has sniffed out the Christmas season events for kids in Amherst for 2026. The Eric Carle Museum hosts a cozy evening of twinkle-light storytimes on Thursday, December 3, and the Merry Maple lights up on the North Common the very next afternoon, Friday, December 4. We check every date on the host’s own website and link straight there. For the rest of the state, see our Massachusetts Christmas events for kids guide.
What Rally found in Amherst
- 2 Christmas season events for kids in Amherst
- The Carle After Dark: Thursday, December 3, 4 to 7 pm, pay as you wish
- Twinkle-light storytimes at 4:30, 5:30 and 6:30 pm
- Lighting of the Merry Maple: Friday, December 4, 3 to 6 pm, free, lighting at 5 pm
- Every date checked on the hosts’ sites on Nov 11
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Free Christmas events for kids in Amherst
Tree lightingFree
Lighting of the Merry Maple
- When: Friday, December 4, 2026, 3 to 6 pm (tree illumination at 5 pm)
- Where: North Common, 4 Boltwood Ave, Amherst, MA 01002 (opens in maps)
- Cost: Free
- Ages: All ages
Expand to see the parent tip
Amherst rings in the season by lighting the Merry Maple, the big tree on the North Common in front of Town Hall, with the Amherst Area Chamber of Commerce, the Amherst Business Improvement District and the Town of Amherst sharing hosting duties.
Free festivities run downtown from 3 to 6 pm, the tree switches on at 5 pm, and families can stay on afterward for dinner and shopping along the downtown blocks.
Parent tip: The chamber says the full activity schedule is still to come, so check its event page the week before; plan to be on the North Common by 4:45 pm for the 5 pm lighting.
- Host
- Amherst Area Chamber of Commerce (opens in a new tab)
- Address
- North Common, 4 Boltwood Ave, Amherst, MA 01002 (opens in maps)
- Confirmed
- On the host’s page, checked
New Amherst events every week
Rally researches Christmas events in Amherst daily and updates this page with new events. Enter your email to get a weekly update with new events in Amherst.
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Rally’s Christmas research
Rally the corgi has 1 more Amherst event researched for you.
- New events every week We research new events daily and send you one email a week with the new ones we find in Amherst.
- Exclusive access to free events Find the free Christmas events in Amherst before they fill up.
- Unlock the filters Find Santa visits, free events and weekend plans in one tap.
- Rally’s Christmas Eve Express and a free advent calendar Get early access to Rally the corgi’s Christmas Eve tracker, plus a free digital advent calendar to count down to Christmas.
- One-tap add to calendar Save any event to your Google, Apple or Outlook calendar so you never miss it.
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Ticketed and paid Christmas events for kids in Amherst
Admission, tickets or a fee apply. Where a host has not posted a price yet, the listing says so.
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Evening at The Carle
The Carle After Dark: Spinning Stories with Twinkle-Light Storytimes
- When: Thursday, December 3, 2026, 4 to 7 pm (storytimes at 4:30, 5:30 and 6:30 pm)
- Where: The Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art, 125 West Bay Road, Amherst, MA 01002 (opens in maps)
- Cost: Pay as you wish
- Ages: Families
Expand to see the parent tip
The Eric Carle Museum stays open late on the evening of December 3 for a family night of storytelling games around the galleries, artmaking in the Art Studio, live music and light refreshments.
Local author Amanda Davis reads her new picture book Chasing the Light under twinkle lights in the Reading Library at 4:30, 5:30 and 6:30 pm, and the museum invites kids to come in their coziest clothes with a favorite blanket or stuffy.
Parent tip: The museum suggests comfy clothes and cozy knits for the storytimes, so bring a blanket or stuffy and pick the 4:30 pm reading if your kids go to bed early.
- Host
- The Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art (opens in a new tab)
- Address
- The Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art, 125 West Bay Road, Amherst, MA 01002 (opens in maps)
- Confirmed
- On the host’s page, checked
New Amherst events every week
Rally researches Christmas events in Amherst daily and updates this page with new events. Enter your email to get a weekly update with new events in Amherst.
Free. Unsubscribe anytime. Privacy policy (opens in a new tab)
We check every event above on the host’s own page for the date, time and cost, plus the things parents ask about, like sign-ups and ages. Looking for a Santa train instead? Those are on our Massachusetts Christmas train rides page.
See every event on a December calendar
Plan your December
When each Amherst Christmas event for kids happens
These two land back to back, so make it an Amherst double: a cozy storytime at The Carle on Thursday evening, then the Merry Maple on the North Common on Friday afternoon.
- The Carle After Dark: Spinning Stories with Twinkle-Light StorytimesAmherst · Dec 3
- Lighting of the Merry MapleAmherst · Dec 4
Looking further afield? Our Massachusetts Christmas events for kids guide lists every confirmed event in the state, and we have city guides for Springfield, Auburn, Worcester and Millbury. The national search sorts every event by distance from your town.
A story for the drive home
A morning with Santa or an evening of holiday stories tends to end the same way: tired kids, a long drive and one more book before bed. Our picture book follows Rally the corgi on his first train ride to see his grand-paw-rents, and every page is painted by hand. If your family is spending December missing someone, it was written for that too. For the car, print our free corgi and train coloring pages.
A bedtime story after seeing SantaRally Takes the Train is a five-minute rhyming picture book about a corgi’s first ride on a California train, hand-painted in watercolor. $16.99 on Amazon, ages 0 to 8.
Buy on AmazonKeep the Christmas magic going: track Rally the corgi on Christmas Eve, print free Christmas coloring pages, learn how to say Merry Christmas in 100+ languages, find train museums to visit with kids, or browse Christmas events in every Massachusetts city.
Amherst Christmas events for kids: questions parents ask
What are the best Christmas events for kids in Amherst this year?
Rally Takes the Train has confirmed 2 holiday season events for kids in Amherst for 2026: The Carle After Dark storytime night on December 3 and the Lighting of the Merry Maple on December 4.
When is the Merry Maple lighting in 2026?
Friday, December 4, 2026. Free festivities run from 3 to 6 pm downtown and the tree on the North Common lights at 5 pm.
Is the Merry Maple lighting free?
Yes. The Amherst Area Chamber of Commerce lists it as a free event open to all.
What is The Carle After Dark on December 3?
A late-opening family evening at the Eric Carle Museum from 4 to 7 pm with storytelling activities, artmaking, live music and three twinkle-light storytimes with author Amanda Davis. Admission is pay as you wish.
Who do I contact about these Amherst events?
For the Merry Maple, the Amherst Area Chamber of Commerce at polina@amherstarea.com (the town lists rec@amherstma.gov too). For The Carle After Dark, the museum at info@carlemuseum.org.
Are there Christmas train rides for kids in Massachusetts?
Yes. Santa trains and holiday train rides have their own guide: Rally Takes the Train’s Massachusetts Christmas train rides page.
How do you confirm these events?
We list an event only after we find this season’s date on the host’s own website or an official city or tourism calendar. We last checked Amherst on November 11, 2026. Rally is also contacting each organizer to confirm details like parking, restrooms and bad-weather plans.
Event names belong to their hosts. Rally Takes the Train is a family picture book and is not affiliated with, sponsored by or endorsed by any host listed here. Confirm dates, times and prices on each host’s own site before you go.