Christmas Events for Kids in Beaver Dam (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 Beaver Dam for 2026. Santa’s Hometown Holiday Adventure and the lighted Holiday Parade fill downtown on Saturday, December 5, and the Rotary Lights glow nightly at Swan Park from November 27 into January. We check every date on the host’s own website or the official visitor calendar and link straight there. For the rest of the state, see our Wisconsin Christmas events for kids guide.

What Rally found in Beaver Dam

  • 2 Christmas events for kids in Beaver Dam
  • Holiday Parade: Saturday, December 5, 5 pm, downtown, free
  • Santa’s Hometown Holiday Adventure runs the same day
  • Rotary Lights: Swan Park nightly, Nov 27 to Jan 2, free
  • Santa at the lights Saturday, December 12, 6 to 8 pm

Free Christmas events for kids in Beaver Dam

Rock’n the Holidays paradeFree

Beaver Dam Holiday Parade and Santa’s Hometown Holiday Adventure

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The Beaver Dam Area Chamber turns the first Saturday of December into Santa’s Hometown, a day of family stops that includes Santa’s Magical Workshop and visits from Santa, Rudolph and the Grinch.

At 5 pm the lighted Rock’n the Holidays parade winds through downtown with floats, the Beaver Dam High School marching band, and Santa and Mrs. Claus arriving by horse-drawn carriage.

Parent tip: Claim a curb along Front Street or South Spring Street before 5 pm, then walk to Swan Park afterward for free cocoa at the Rotary Lights from 6 to 8 pm.

Host
Beaver Dam Area Chamber of Commerce (opens in a new tab)
Address
Downtown Beaver Dam (Front Street and South Spring Street), Beaver Dam, WI 53916 (opens in maps)
Confirmed
On the host’s page, checked
See dates and detailsfrom Beaver Dam Area Chamber of Commerce (opens in a new tab)

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Walk-through light parkFree

Rotary Lights at Swan Park

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The Beaver Dam Rotary’s 10th season of lights fills Swan Park with thousands of bulbs and whimsical displays along paved paths, so families stroll through instead of sitting in a car line.

Free cocoa is poured on several Friday and Saturday nights in December, golf cart rides run Sundays for anyone who needs help, and Santa drops by on December 12 while the high school carolers sing.

Parent tip: Plan on December 12 if you want Santa and carolers in one trip, and dress warm since the whole display is on foot.

Host
Beaver Dam Rotary (opens in a new tab)
Address
Swan Park, 316 E South St, Beaver Dam, WI 53916 (opens in maps)
Confirmed
On the host’s page, checked
See dates and detailsfrom Beaver Dam Rotary (opens in a new tab)

New Beaver Dam events every week

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

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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 Wisconsin Christmas train rides page.

See every event on a December calendar

Plan your December

When each Beaver Dam Christmas event for kids happens

December 5 is the big day: Santa’s Hometown stops in the afternoon, the parade at 5 pm and cocoa at the Rotary Lights afterward. Come back December 12 to see Santa in the park.

Looking further afield? Our Wisconsin Christmas events for kids guide lists every confirmed event in the state, and we have city guides for Hartland, Delafield, Waunakee and Madison. 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 Beaver Dam

Beaver Dam's walk-through Rotary Lights began as a class project in 2017, and the county sheriff now spends some 200 hours a year getting the displays ready. In 2026 the lights in Swan Park reach their 10th season, and downtown's Holiday Parade is still where Santa makes his first appearance of the year.

A 2017 Leadership Beaver Dam project that became the Rotary Lights in Swan Park

The Rotary Lights started in 2017, when the Leadership Beaver Dam class took on decorating Swan Park for the holidays. The project then moved to the Beaver Dam Rotary, and Dodge County Sheriff Dale Schmidt, a Rotarian who chairs the Rotary Lights Committee, has led it since. He told the Daily Dodge he works on the displays from summer into fall, a good 200 hours or more, and that the lights have grown bigger and better every year.

By the third straight year of the park display, the lighting ceremony was a Friday at 5 pm, Beaver Dam High School students sang carols, hot chocolate was poured, and Santa came to Swan Park on December 14 from 6 to 8 pm. Visitors were invited to bring food for the Beaver Dam Food Pantry, and the year before that, donations had topped 200 pounds.

"Rock'n the Holidays" on December 6, 2025, and Santa with the carolers on December 13

The 2025 season began on Friday, November 28, when the Rotary Lights were switched on at 5 pm, with cocoa from 4:30 to 7 pm. Local nonprofits served hot cocoa every Saturday through December 27, and the lights stayed on nightly until January 3, 2026.

On Saturday, December 6, 2025, kids spent the day at Santa's Hometown Holiday Adventure, then lined downtown for the Holiday Parade, Rock'n the Holidays, at 5 pm. Downtown Beaver Dam, Inc. skipped a formal theme that year and went all out on music instead. The parade started on the 100 block of Front Street, turned onto South Spring Street and Mill Street, and ended at South Center Street, with Santa and Mrs. Claus's ride sponsored by Generac. A week later, on December 13, Santa visited Swan Park from 6 to 8 pm with the Beaver Dam High School Carolers, while downtown held a Cocoa Walk and the first Jingle and Mingle Holiday Crawl.

Juried lighted floats, a Monarch float with its original medallion, and a stolen Snoopy in 2024

The Holiday Parade has long been a downtown Beaver Dam tradition. A Travel Wisconsin listing with photos from 2016, when a lack of snow did not slow anyone down, shows the Monarch float, a staple of local parades for years that still carries the medallion from the original float, and notes that the mayor lit the tree at the Chamber of Commerce to start the celebrations. In 2023 the parade stepped off at 5:30 pm on December 2 with juried and judged floats showing off holiday lights, and storefronts competed in a window contest themed Home for the Holidays.

Not every Christmas story is merry. A week before the 2024 lighting, a wooden Snoopy and a wooden Linus, two to three feet tall and painted by young people from Beaver Dam's Life Academy, went missing from a Rotary Lights display. Sheriff Schmidt posted a plea for their return and reminded everyone that Swan Park has video cameras. The Rotary Lights at Swan Park open again on November 27, 2026.

Santa Express weekends at North Freedom and an old steam whistle heard on December 5, 2025

For a real Christmas train, Beaver Dam families head west to the Mid-Continent Railway Museum in North Freedom, on the Baraboo River. Its Santa Express trains run on weekends in late November and early December, from November 28 to December 6 in 2026, outside the museum's regular summer and fall season. On December 5, 2025, the whistle of locomotive No. 1385 sounded over North Freedom for the first time in nearly 30 years.

At home, the closest thing to a holiday train is the Holiday Parade itself, a long line of lighted floats winding through downtown on December 5, 2026 and Santa riding along.

  • Mid-Continent Railway Museum: A steam-era railroad museum in North Freedom whose Santa Express trains run on late November and early December weekends.

Traditions today

  • Rotary Lights at Swan Park: A free walk-through light display since 2017, open nightly from the day after Thanksgiving into early January, with a 5 pm lighting ceremony.
  • Holiday Parade downtown: An early December evening parade along Front and South Spring Streets where Santa makes his first appearance of the year.
  • Santa's Hometown Holiday Adventure: A day of free kids' activities on parade day, with Santa's Magical Workshop and visits from Santa, Rudolph and the Grinch.
  • Santa and the carolers in Swan Park: One December Saturday evening when Santa visits the Rotary Lights and the Beaver Dam High School Carolers sing.
  • Cocoa in the park: Free hot cocoa served by local nonprofits on lights nights, plus golf cart rides on Sundays for guests who need help getting around.

A fact for kids

In Beaver Dam, the sheriff is also one of Santa's busiest helpers: he spends about 200 hours every year getting the Christmas lights in Swan Park ready.

Questions about Christmas in Beaver Dam

When did the Rotary Lights in Beaver Dam start?

The Rotary Lights at Swan Park began in 2017. Dodge County Sheriff Dale Schmidt told the Daily Dodge that the Leadership Beaver Dam class started the project that year, and it then moved to the Beaver Dam Rotary. Visit Beaver Dam says the 2026 to 2027 season is the display's 10th.

Who puts up the Rotary Lights in Swan Park?

The Beaver Dam Rotary Lights Committee, chaired by Dodge County Sheriff Dale Schmidt, runs the display. Schmidt said he works on it from summer into fall, about 200 hours or more, to get everything set up. Donations at a box on the trailer, or by QR code, help offset costs.

When is the Rotary Lights lighting ceremony in 2026?

The lighting ceremony is Friday, November 27, 2026, at 5 pm in Swan Park, with free hot cocoa from 4:30 to 7 pm. The lights stay on nightly through Saturday, January 2, 2027. Admission is free, and the walkways are fully paved and cleared after snow.

When does Santa visit the Rotary Lights in 2026?

Santa visits Swan Park on Saturday, December 12, 2026, from 6 to 8 pm, joined by the Beaver Dam High School Carolers. In 2025 his visit was Saturday, December 13, and in an earlier season he came on December 14, so it is a mid-December tradition at the lights.

Are there golf cart rides at the Beaver Dam Rotary Lights?

Yes. Free golf cart rides run every Sunday through Christmas from 5 to 7 pm, especially for older guests and anyone with mobility challenges. Swan Park's walkways are paved, and sidewalks are plowed and salted after snow or ice, so families with strollers can walk the lights too.

What happened to Snoopy and Linus at the Rotary Lights?

A week before the 2024 lighting, a wooden Snoopy and a wooden Linus, each two to three feet tall, were found missing from a Rotary Lights display in Swan Park. Sheriff Dale Schmidt said the figures had been made by youths from Beaver Dam's Life Academy, asked for their return and noted there are video cameras in the park.

Can you donate food at the Beaver Dam Rotary Lights?

In earlier seasons, the Rotary Lights Committee invited visitors to bring donations for the Beaver Dam Food Pantry, and one year's donations topped 200 pounds of items. The display is free, and today a donation box and a QR code help cover the cost of the lights.

What was the 2025 Beaver Dam Holiday Parade theme?

The 2025 parade on Saturday, December 6, at 5 pm was called Rock'n the Holidays. Downtown Beaver Dam, Inc. said there was no formal theme that year, but it went all out with music, magic and memories. JB Mechanical and Moraine Park Technical College sponsored it, and Generac sponsored Santa and Mrs. Claus's ride.

What is the Beaver Dam Holiday Parade route?

In 2025 the parade began on the 100 block of Front Street, turned right onto the 100 to 300 blocks of South Spring Street, turned right on Mill Street and ended at South Center Street. In 2023 it ran from the 200 and 100 blocks of Front Street to the 100 and 200 blocks of Spring Street.

When is the Beaver Dam Holiday Parade in 2026?

The parade is Saturday, December 5, 2026, at 5 pm downtown, as the finale of Santa's Hometown Holiday Adventure. Recent parades fell on December 2, 2023, December 7, 2024, and December 6, 2025, all on the first Saturday of December. Afterward, families can walk to Swan Park for cocoa at the lights.

Does Santa make his first appearance at the Beaver Dam parade?

Yes. Downtown Beaver Dam, Inc. describes the Holiday Parade as the place where Santa makes his first appearance of the year to spread the spirit of the season. In 2025, Santa and Mrs. Claus rode together in the parade on December 6, before Santa's evening visits to the Rotary Lights.

What is the Monarch float in the Beaver Dam parade?

The Monarch float has been a staple of Beaver Dam parades for years. A Travel Wisconsin listing with photos from the 2016 Holiday Parade notes that the medallion on its side comes from the original float. That year a lack of snow did not stop the celebration on Front and Center Streets.

What is Santa's Hometown Holiday Adventure in Beaver Dam?

Santa's Hometown Holiday Adventure is a day of free family activities on parade day, hosted by the Beaver Dam Area Chamber of Commerce. It includes a visit to Santa's Magical Workshop and appearances by Santa, Rudolph and the Grinch, with ice skating and art making among past activities, and it wraps up with the evening Holiday Parade.

Are the Beaver Dam parade floats judged?

Yes. Downtown Beaver Dam, Inc.'s 2023 listing described juried and judged parade floats and entries displaying a festival of holiday lights. Downtown shops also compete in a holiday window decorating contest before the parade, themed Home for the Holidays in 2023 and Rock'n the Holidays in 2025.

What is the Jingle and Mingle Holiday Crawl in Beaver Dam?

The Jingle and Mingle Holiday Crawl was new in 2025, held Saturday, December 13, from noon to 5 pm downtown, with no ticket required and a trolley and shuttle provided. The same day, downtown shops held the Cocoa Walk and Shop event, and Santa visited the Rotary Lights that evening.

Is there holiday music in Beaver Dam in December?

Yes. In 2025 the Beaver Dam Area Orchestra gave free concerts at the high school auditorium, the Salvation Army's Red Kettle Concert was December 7, and Wayland held its free Festival of Lessons and Carols on December 14 in Kimberly Chapel. The Beaver Dam High School Carolers sing at the Rotary Lights when Santa visits.

Where can kids shop for holiday gifts in Beaver Dam?

The Dodge County Center for the Arts runs a Holiday Art Market, and the chamber's Holiday Gift Gallery features local artisans with free gift wrap and hot cocoa. In 2026 the gift gallery runs November 4 to January 9, 2027. Small Business Saturday brings chamber elves who catch shoppers and hand out prizes.

Is there a Santa train near Beaver Dam, Wisconsin?

Yes. The Mid-Continent Railway Museum in North Freedom runs Santa Express trains on weekends from November 28 to December 6, 2026, outside its regular May to October season. On December 5, 2025, the whistle of its locomotive No. 1385 sounded over North Freedom for the first time in nearly 30 years.

Who lights the Christmas tree in Beaver Dam?

A 2016 Travel Wisconsin listing for the Holiday Parade noted that the mayor lit the tree at the Chamber of Commerce to start the holiday celebrations. Today, the season's big lighting moment is the Rotary Lights ceremony in Swan Park on the Friday after Thanksgiving at 5 pm.

What is the best way to spend a Christmas day in Beaver Dam with kids?

On December 5, 2026, start with Santa's Hometown Holiday Adventure during the day, claim a curb on Front Street before the 5 pm parade, and finish at the Rotary Lights, where cocoa is served after the parade. Come back December 12 to see Santa in the park.

Sources

  1. Rotary Holiday Lights, Beaver Dam, Wisconsin, Visit Beaver Dam
  2. Rotary Lights Now On Display At Beaver Dam's Swan Park, Daily Dodge
  3. Rotary To Light Up Beaver Dam's Swan Park Friday Night, Daily Dodge
  4. Rotary Lights Returns to Swan Park, Daily Dodge
  5. Snoopy, Linus figures taken from Rotary Lights display at Swan Park in Beaver Dam, Beaver Dam Daily Citizen, WiscNews
  6. Holiday Parade: Rock'n the Holidays, Downtown Beaver Dam, Inc.
  7. Beaver Dam Holiday Parade, Travel Wisconsin
  8. Beaver Dam holiday season guide, Wisconsin State Journal, Beaver Dam Area Chamber of Commerce
  9. Holiday Events, Beaver Dam Area Chamber of Commerce

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 Wisconsin city.

Beaver Dam Christmas events for kids: questions parents ask

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

Rally Takes the Train has confirmed 2 Christmas events for kids in Beaver Dam for 2026: the Holiday Parade with Santa’s Hometown Holiday Adventure, and the Rotary Lights at Swan Park.

When is the Beaver Dam Holiday Parade in 2026?

Saturday, December 5, 2026, at 5 pm in downtown Beaver Dam along Front Street and South Spring Street. Santa and Mrs. Claus arrive by horse-drawn carriage.

What is Santa’s Hometown Holiday Adventure?

A Beaver Dam Chamber day of family activities on December 5, 2026, with Santa’s Magical Workshop and visits from Santa, Rudolph and the Grinch. The chamber says the full schedule is coming soon.

When are the Rotary Lights open?

Nightly at Swan Park, 316 E South St, from Friday, November 27, 2026, with a 5 pm lighting ceremony, through Saturday, January 2, 2027. Admission is free and Santa visits December 12 from 6 to 8 pm.

Who do I contact about Beaver Dam holiday events?

The Beaver Dam Area Chamber of Commerce at info@beaverdamchamber.com.

Are there Christmas train rides for kids in Wisconsin?

Yes. Santa trains and holiday train rides have their own guide: Rally Takes the Train’s Wisconsin 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 Beaver Dam 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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