Rally the corgi has sniffed out the Christmas events for kids in Brea for 2026, and both happen at the Civic and Cultural Center. The city tree lights up on Thursday, December 3, with a visit from Mr. and Mrs. Claus and free Santa selfies, and Movies Under the Stars screens A Christmas Carol on Friday, December 11. We check every date on the host’s own website and link straight there. For the rest of the state, see our California Christmas events for kids guide.
What Rally found in Brea
- 2 Christmas events for kids in Brea
- Tree Lighting Ceremony: Thursday, December 3, 6:30 pm, free
- Mr. and Mrs. Claus plus free Santa selfies in the Curtis Theatre
- Movies Under the Stars: A Christmas Carol, Friday, December 11, 7 pm
- Every date checked on the City of Brea’s site on Nov 11
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All 2 events
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Rally’s Christmas research
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Free Christmas events for kids in Brea
Tree lightingFree
Tree Lighting Ceremony
- When: Thursday, December 3, 2026, 6:30 pm to 9 pm
- Where: Brea Civic and Cultural Center, 1 Civic Center Circle, Brea, CA 92821 (opens in maps)
- Cost: Free admission and parking; free Santa selfies after the ceremony
- Ages: All ages
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Brea kicks off the holidays at the Civic and Cultural Center with live music and performances, a vendor village for a little shopping and the lighting of the city tree.
Mr. and Mrs. Claus drop in during the ceremony, and afterward kids can head inside the Curtis Theatre for free selfies with Santa. Seating for the program is limited, so families who want a seat should come early.
Parent tip: Arrive before 6:30 pm to claim one of the limited seats, then go straight to the Curtis Theatre after the lighting to beat the Santa selfie line.
- Host
- City of Brea Special Events (opens in a new tab)
- Address
- Brea Civic and Cultural Center, 1 Civic Center Circle, Brea, CA 92821 (opens in maps)
- Confirmed
- On the host’s page, checked
New Brea events every week
Rally researches Christmas events in Brea daily and updates this page with new events. Enter your email to get a weekly update with new events in Brea.
Free. Unsubscribe anytime. Privacy policy (opens in a new tab)
Rally’s Christmas research
Rally the corgi has 1 more Brea 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 Brea.
- Exclusive access to free events Find the free Christmas events in Brea 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.
Coming up on this page
- 2 Shows
- 1 Santa
- 1 Lights
- 1 Free
Enter your email to get new Christmas events in Brea every week.
Ticketed and paid Christmas events for kids in Brea
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
Holiday movie
Movies Under the Stars: A Christmas Carol
- When: Friday, December 11, 2026, 7 pm to 10 pm
- Where: Brea Civic and Cultural Center, 1 Civic Center Circle, Brea, CA 92821 (opens in maps)
- Cost: Check the city calendar listing for details
- Ages: Families
Expand to see the parent tip
Brea’s Movies Under the Stars series ends the year with A Christmas Carol, shown outdoors at the Civic and Cultural Center on a Friday night.
Dickens’ story of Scrooge and the three ghosts is a gentle introduction to a holiday classic for school-age kids, and the downtown restaurants are a short walk away for dinner first.
Parent tip: Bring low chairs or blankets and warm layers. December evenings at the Civic Center cool down fast once the sun sets.
- Host
- City of Brea (opens in a new tab)
- Address
- Brea Civic and Cultural Center, 1 Civic Center Circle, Brea, CA 92821 (opens in maps)
- Confirmed
- On the host’s page, checked
New Brea events every week
Rally researches Christmas events in Brea daily and updates this page with new events. Enter your email to get a weekly update with new events in Brea.
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 California Christmas train rides page.
See every event on a December calendar
Plan your December
When each Brea Christmas event for kids happens
Both Brea events sit at 1 Civic Center Circle a week apart: the tree lighting and Santa selfies on December 3, then blankets and A Christmas Carol on December 11.
- Tree Lighting CeremonyBrea · Dec 3
- Movies Under the Stars: A Christmas CarolBrea · Dec 11
Looking further afield? Our California Christmas events for kids guide lists every confirmed event in the state, and we have city guides for Anaheim, Chino Hills, Irvine and Ontario. 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 California city.
Brea Christmas events for kids: questions parents ask
What are the best Christmas events for kids in Brea this year?
Rally Takes the Train has confirmed 2 Christmas events for kids in Brea for 2026, both from the City of Brea: the Tree Lighting Ceremony on December 3 and Movies Under the Stars with A Christmas Carol on December 11.
When is the Brea tree lighting in 2026?
Thursday, December 3, 2026, at 6:30 pm at the Civic and Cultural Center, 1 Civic Center Circle. Admission and parking are free.
Can kids see Santa at the Brea tree lighting?
Yes. Mr. and Mrs. Claus visit during the ceremony, and free selfies with Santa are offered in the Curtis Theatre afterward.
What holiday movie is showing in Brea?
A Christmas Carol, on Friday, December 11, 2026, from 7 pm at the Civic and Cultural Center as part of Movies Under the Stars.
Who do I contact about Brea holiday events?
City of Brea Special Events at (714) 990-7771 or BreaSpecialEvents@cityofbrea.gov.
Are there Christmas train rides for kids in California?
Yes. Santa trains and holiday train rides have their own guide: Rally Takes the Train’s California 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 Brea 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.