Christmas Events for Kids in Anderson (2026)

Christmas Events for Kids
Written by Kelsey Cecil

Updated 3 min read

Rally the corgi has sniffed out the Christmas events for kids in Anderson for 2026. A real ice rink opens in Carolina Wren Park on November 30, the City of Anderson Christmas Parade rolls down Main Street on Sunday, December 6, and Santa, the Grinch and Buddy the Elf pose for free photos on Saturday, December 12. We check every date on the host’s own website and link straight there. For the rest of the state, see our South Carolina Christmas events for kids guide.

What Rally found in Anderson

  • 3 Christmas events for kids in Anderson
  • Ice in the Park: November 30 to January 3, $5, under 6 free
  • Christmas Parade: Sunday, December 6, 3 pm, Main Street
  • Santa Night in the Park: Saturday, December 12, 4 to 7 pm, free
  • All downtown, around Carolina Wren Park

Free 2Ticketed and paid 1

Free Christmas events for kids in Anderson

Main Street paradeFree

City of Anderson Christmas Parade

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Floats, marching bands, dancers and local organizations fill Main Street for the City of Anderson Christmas Parade, with Santa Claus riding along.

The 2026 lineup is already full at its 100-unit limit, so expect a long, packed parade on a Sunday afternoon.

Parent tip: Find a curb spot on Main Street early, then walk over to Carolina Wren Park afterward for a skate.

Host
City of Anderson (opens in a new tab)
Address
Main Street, Downtown Anderson, Anderson, SC (opens in maps)
Confirmed
On the host’s page, checked
See dates and detailsfrom City of Anderson (opens in a new tab)

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Rally’s Christmas research

Rally the corgi has 2 more Anderson events researched for you.

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Free Santa photosFree

Free Santa Night in the Park

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Santa Claus poses for free photos in Carolina Wren Park, and the Grinch, Cindy Lou Who and Buddy the Elf drop by from 4 to 5:30 pm.

Photos are first come, first served with no photographer on site, so families snap their own pictures.

Parent tip: Bring your own phone or camera, and come before 5:30 pm if your kids want to meet the Grinch and Buddy the Elf too.

Host
City of Anderson (opens in a new tab)
Address
Carolina Wren Park, 111 E. Whitner St., Anderson, SC 29624 (opens in maps)
Confirmed
On the host’s page, checked
See dates and detailsfrom City of Anderson (opens in a new tab)

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Rally researches Christmas events in Anderson daily and updates this page with new events. Enter your email to get a weekly update with new events in Anderson.

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Ticketed and paid Christmas events for kids in Anderson

Admission, tickets or a fee apply. Where a host has not posted a price yet, the listing says so.

Event hosts: free events are listed first. The #1 spot puts your event at the top of this page.Inquire about the #1 spotAdd your event for free

Real ice skating rink

Ice in the Park

  • When: November 30, 2026 to January 3, 2027; through December 20 open weekdays 5 to 9 pm, Saturdays 11 am to 9 pm, Sundays 2 to 6 pm, with longer weekday hours from December 21; closed Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and New Year’s Day
  • Where: Carolina Wren Park, 111 E. Whitner St., Anderson, SC 29624 (opens in maps)
  • Cost: $5 per person ages 6 and up, ages 5 and under free, skate rental and skate aid included
  • Ages: All ages
Expand to see the parent tip

A real ice skating rink sets up in Carolina Wren Park in the heart of Downtown Anderson for the holiday season, with skates and skate aids included in the ticket.

Weekday hours open up to afternoons once school lets out on December 21, and the rink sits steps from the 100,000 lights along Main Street.

Parent tip: Little ones 5 and under skate free, and the skate aids make it easier for first-timers. Go on a weekday evening in early December to avoid crowds.

Host
City of Anderson (opens in a new tab)
Address
Carolina Wren Park, 111 E. Whitner St., Anderson, SC 29624 (opens in maps)
Confirmed
On the host’s page, checked
See dates and detailsfrom City of Anderson (opens in a new tab)

New Anderson events every week

Rally researches Christmas events in Anderson daily and updates this page with new events. Enter your email to get a weekly update with new events in Anderson.

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 South Carolina Christmas train rides page.

See every event on a December calendar

Plan your December

When each Anderson Christmas event for kids happens

All three are within a few blocks downtown. Pair the parade or Santa Night with a skate at Carolina Wren Park, and walk Main Street’s lights afterward.

Looking further afield? Our South Carolina Christmas events for kids guide lists every confirmed event in the state, and we have city guides for Westminster, Greenville, Travelers Rest and Spartanburg. 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.

Rally Takes the Train book cover: a watercolor corgi peeking from a red train

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 Amazon (opens in a new tab)

The story of Christmas in Anderson

Anderson calls itself the Electric City, and every December it lives up to the name with more than 100,000 Christmas lights stretching down Main Street to Linley Park. Its electric story reaches back to 1895, the same year a U.S. president first lit a White House Christmas tree with electric bulbs.

Electric City lights: William Whitner's 1895 power line and Christmas bulbs that cost a fortune

The Anderson County Museum likes to tell the story of Christmas lights through its own town's history. In 1895, William Whitner used alternating current to send electricity from his experimental High Shoals plant, siding with Nikola Tesla in the famous fight with Thomas Edison over AC and DC power. That same year, Grover Cleveland became the first American president to light his family's White House tree with electric lights.

Edison had made the first strand of electric lights in 1880, and electric bulbs were seen on a Christmas tree in 1882, but most families stayed wary. The museum notes, from Library of Congress research, that before 1903 lighting a tree with electricity cost the equivalent of about $2,000 today. Lights only caught on after Calvin Coolidge lit the National Christmas Tree with 3,000 bulbs in 1923 and companies such as NOMA began selling affordable sets. Today the museum writes each December that the Electric City is ready for its official tree lighting.

A 58-foot tree on the square and a figure skater on real ice, December 4, 2025

The 2025 Anderson County Tree Lighting was on Thursday, December 4, 2025. The T.L. Hanna band played on the square at 6 pm, Santa posed for photos from 6 to 7, the Chamber of Commerce ran a Cookie Crawl with shortbread and gingerbread, and the tree was lit at 7 pm with music from The Combo Kings. At 7:30, professional figure skater Olivia Pellerin performed on the real ice of Ice in the Park in Carolina Wren Park.

Writing on Christmas Day 2025, the Anderson Observer described Main Street disappearing under more than a hundred thousand lights, a 58-foot Christmas tree on the square, a short prayer before the countdown, and the City of Anderson Christmas Parade a few days later, with Shriners, fire engines and children chasing tossed candy with grocery bags until Santa appeared at the end. In 2026 the tree is lit Friday, December 4, at 6 pm at the Courthouse Plaza, and the parade follows on Sunday, December 6.

A 1949 carol book from Ideal Laundry and a parade from Greenville Street to River Street

One of the Anderson County Museum's holiday treasures is a small booklet called "Christmas Carols," printed by Ideal Laundry and Cleaners in 1949 and handed out to customers that season. It held the sheet music for well-known carols plus a calendar for 1950, and the museum has shown it with other old seasonal greetings in its gallery at Christmastime.

The parade itself is held on the first Sunday in December and runs down Main Street from Greenville Street to River Street, with plenty of curb space for camping chairs. It has become so popular that the city now caps it at 100 units, and the 2026 parade filled up before applications closed. Downtown, carolers pop up every Thursday and Friday evening in December from 5 to 7 pm, shop windows compete in a holiday window contest judged with the Anderson Arts Center, and the Salvation Army's red kettles ring along the sidewalks.

A 2.5-mile drive-through of lights by the Civic Center and Christmas cards at the county museum

Just outside downtown, Anderson Christmas Lights fills a two-and-a-half-mile drive-through route across from the Civic Center near Rose Valley. The Observer counted illuminated arches, cartoon reindeer, synchronized trees and a lit Nativity, for $15 a vehicle in 2025, and partway through sits Santa's Village with volunteers in elf hats, a bakery and hot chocolate. Back downtown on December 12, 2026, Free Santa Night in the Park brings free photos with Santa, the Grinch, Cindy Lou Who and Buddy the Elf.

For a quieter December stop, the free Anderson County Museum at 202 East Greenville Street tells the story of the Electric City, with transportation among its main exhibit themes and holiday greetings from the past brought out for the season.

  • Anderson County Museum: A free county museum in downtown Anderson with more than 12,000 square feet of galleries on transportation, industry and the Electric City, plus old holiday greetings at Christmastime.

Traditions today

  • Anderson County Tree Lighting: A big tree is lit on the courthouse square in early December after carols, Santa photos and a Cookie Crawl. In 2026 it is Friday, December 4, at 6 pm.
  • City of Anderson Christmas Parade: Floats, bands, Shriners and fire engines roll down Main Street on the first Sunday of December, with Santa at the very end.
  • Ice in the Park: A real ice rink in Carolina Wren Park, open from November 30, 2026, to January 3, 2027, where kids 5 and under skate free.
  • Main Street lights to Linley Park: More than 100,000 lights now run from downtown all the way to Linley Park and Cater's Lake.
  • Anderson Christmas Lights: A 2.5-mile drive-through display across from the Civic Center, with a lit Nativity and Santa's Village partway through.
  • Downtown carolers: Carolers stroll Main Street every Thursday and Friday in December from 5 to 7 pm.

A fact for kids

Long ago, putting electric lights on a Christmas tree was so expensive that it cost about as much as $2,000 does today. Now Anderson, the Electric City, strings more than 100,000 lights down Main Street every December.

Questions about Christmas in Anderson

Why is Anderson SC called the Electric City at Christmas?

Anderson's electric history reaches back to 1895, when William Whitner sent electricity by alternating current from his experimental High Shoals plant. The Anderson County Museum ties that history to the season each year, noting that the Electric City holds its official tree lighting as homes and businesses glow with lights. Today more than 100,000 lights line Main Street.

When did Americans start putting electric lights on Christmas trees?

Edison made the first strand of electric lights in 1880, and electric lights were seen on a Christmas tree in 1882. The Anderson County Museum explains that most families waited, since before 1903 lighting a tree cost about $2,000 in today's money. Grover Cleveland lit a White House tree electrically in 1895, the same year Anderson's power line began.

How tall is the Anderson County Christmas tree on the square?

The Anderson Observer described a 58-foot Christmas tree on the square in December 2025, standing near the courthouse and the Carolina Wren Park sign under strands of overhead lights. It is lit each year at the Anderson County Tree Lighting at the Courthouse Plaza, 100 S. Main Street.

When is the Anderson County tree lighting in 2026?

The 2026 Anderson County Tree Lighting is Friday, December 4, at 6 pm at the Courthouse Plaza, 100 S. Main Street. Afterward, professional figure skater Olivia Pellerin performs at 7:30 pm on the rink in Carolina Wren Park, and the Downtown Anderson Holiday Market runs from 5 to 9 pm that evening.

What happened at the 2025 Anderson tree lighting?

On Thursday, December 4, 2025, the T.L. Hanna band played at 6 pm, Santa posed for photos from 6 to 7, and the Chamber's Cookie Crawl ran from 4:30 to 6:30. The tree was lit at 7 pm with The Combo Kings performing, followed by a figure skating show at 7:30 in Carolina Wren Park.

Who is the figure skater at Ice in the Park in Anderson?

Professional figure skater Olivia Pellerin performed on Anderson's real ice rink after the 2025 tree lighting, and she returns on December 4, 2026, at 7:30 pm. The Anderson Observer described her blades making neat marks on the ice while onlookers held cups of hot chocolate from Petrichor Coffee.

What is the route of the Anderson Christmas parade?

The City of Anderson Christmas Parade travels down Main Street from Greenville Street to River Street, with plenty of space along the way to set up chairs. It is held every year on the first Sunday in December. In 2026 it steps off on Sunday, December 6, at 3 pm.

How many floats are in the Anderson SC Christmas parade?

The city caps the parade at 100 participating units, including floats, marching bands, dancers and local groups, with Santa Claus at the end. The 2026 parade reached that maximum and closed applications early, which shows how many local groups want a place in it each December.

Do they throw candy at the Anderson Christmas parade?

Yes. In its Christmas Day 2025 story, the Anderson Observer described small children armed with plastic grocery bags chasing tossed candy along Main Street as floats, Shriners, dance teams and fire engines went by. Bring a bag for the kids and a camping chair for the curb.

How far do the downtown Anderson Christmas lights go?

More than 100,000 Christmas lights twinkle along Main Street, and the city says they now stretch all the way to Linley Park and Cater's Lake. Many visitors stop to photograph the courthouse, the tree and the overhead strands together. The city also sets up a Christmas photo spot in Carolina Wren Park.

What is the Anderson Christmas Lights drive-through?

Anderson Christmas Lights is a 2.5-mile drive-through display across from the Civic Center near Rose Valley. In 2025 it cost $15 per vehicle and included lit arches, reindeer, synchronized trees and a lit Nativity. Partway through is Santa's Village, with volunteers in elf hats, food, music, a bakery and hot chocolate. Tour buses are welcome.

What old Christmas items does the Anderson County Museum have?

One favorite is a 1949 booklet called "Christmas Carols," printed by Ideal Laundry and Cleaners and given to customers that Christmas. It held carol sheet music and a 1950 calendar. The museum has shown it among other old seasonal greetings in its gallery until Christmas.

Are there carolers in downtown Anderson at Christmas?

Yes. The city says carolers pop up around downtown every Thursday and Friday in December from 5 to 7 pm. It pairs well with an evening skate at Ice in the Park and a walk under the Main Street lights, all within a few blocks of Carolina Wren Park.

Is there a Christmas window contest in Anderson?

Yes. The Anderson Observer reported in December 2025 that downtown businesses compete in a holiday window contest judged in partnership with the Anderson Arts Center. Walk Main Street in December to see the decorated windows along with the lights and the tree on the square.

When did Ice in the Park open for the 2026 season?

Ice in the Park opens November 30, 2026, at Carolina Wren Park, 111 E. Whitner Street, and runs to January 3, 2027, closing on Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and New Year's Day. Skating costs $5 for ages 6 and up, including skates and a skate aid, and kids 5 and under skate free.

What is the Holly Jolly Holiday Fair in Anderson?

A Yahoo Lifestyle travel story describes the Holly Jolly Holiday Fair as an Anderson shopping tradition that gathers hundreds of vendors, so families can find gifts for everyone on their list, plus seasonal treats like candy apples and toffee. Check the fair's own schedule for this year's dates and location.

Can kids get free pictures with the Grinch in Anderson?

Yes. At Free Santa Night in the Park on Saturday, December 12, 2026, from 4 to 7 pm in Carolina Wren Park, kids can pose with Santa for free. The Grinch, Cindy Lou Who and Buddy the Elf from Mystical Events appear from 4 to 5:30 pm. Bring your own phone or camera.

Is there a Nativity scene to see in Anderson at Christmas?

Yes. The Anderson Christmas Lights drive-through includes a lit Nativity along its 2.5-mile route, according to the Anderson Observer. The newspaper also noted that the Christmas story is read each year from the steps of the Anderson County Courthouse, where the county tree stands.

Does the Salvation Army ring bells in Anderson at Christmas?

Yes. The Salvation Army's red kettles appear around Anderson each December, and the Anderson Observer called them an important holiday ritual that helps make sure no one is forgotten. Other local charities also ask for donations and volunteers during the season, when residents tend to be most generous.

Which president first lit a White House Christmas tree with electric lights?

Grover Cleveland, in 1895, according to the Anderson County Museum. That was the same year Anderson's William Whitner sent alternating current from his High Shoals plant. Calvin Coolidge later lit the National Christmas Tree with 3,000 lights in 1923.

What time should we get to the Anderson Christmas parade?

The 2026 parade starts at 3 pm on Sunday, December 6. The Observer noted that spectators line the sidewalks in camping chairs, so arrive early to claim a curb spot on Main Street between Greenville Street and River Street. Afterward, walk over to Carolina Wren Park for a skate.

Sources

  1. Merry and Bright: History Behind Christmas Lights, Anderson County Museum
  2. Artifact of the Week: 1949 Christmas Carols Book, Anderson County Museum
  3. Anderson Finds Christmas in Shared Holiday Spirit, Anderson Observer
  4. Christmas in Anderson, City of Anderson
  5. Anderson County Annual Tree Lighting, Anderson County
  6. Why You Should Plan a Trip to Anderson, South Carolina, This Christmas, Yahoo Lifestyle

Keep 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 South Carolina city.

Anderson Christmas events for kids: questions parents ask

What are the best Christmas events for kids in Anderson this year?

Rally Takes the Train has confirmed 3 Christmas events for kids in Anderson, South Carolina, for 2026: Ice in the Park, the City of Anderson Christmas Parade on December 6 and Free Santa Night in the Park on December 12.

When is the Anderson SC Christmas parade?

Sunday, December 6, 2026, at 3 pm on Main Street. It is free and Santa rides in the parade.

How much is ice skating at Carolina Wren Park?

$5 per person for ages 6 and up, with skate rental and skate aid included. Kids 5 and under skate free. The rink runs November 30, 2026, to January 3, 2027.

Where can kids get free photos with Santa in Anderson?

At Free Santa Night in the Park, Saturday, December 12, 2026, from 4 to 7 pm at Carolina Wren Park. Bring your own camera. The Grinch, Cindy Lou Who and Buddy the Elf appear from 4 to 5:30 pm.

Who do I contact about Christmas in Anderson events?

The City of Anderson events team at events@cityofandersonsc.com.

Are there Christmas train rides for kids in South Carolina?

Yes. Santa trains and holiday train rides have their own guide: Rally Takes the Train’s South Carolina 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 Anderson 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.

Kelsey Cecil
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