Rally the corgi has sniffed out the best Christmas events for kids in Bristol, RI for 2026, and here is what he found: 2 family events. They are Sing-Along with Santa (from November 30) and Family Craft Night (December 2). We check every date on the host’s own website, and each listing links straight there. For the rest of the state, see our Rhode Island Christmas events for kids guide.
What Rally found in Bristol
- 2 Christmas events for kids in Bristol
- Meet Santa: Sing-Along with Santa (from November 30)
- Season: November 30 (Sing-Along with Santa) to December 14 (Sing-Along with Santa)
- Every date checked on the host’s own site on Nov 10
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All 2 events
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- 1 Shows
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- 1 Story time
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Ticketed and paid Christmas events for kids in Bristol
Admission, tickets or a fee apply. Where a host has not posted a price yet, the listing says so.
Story time with Santa
Sing-Along with Santa
- When: Mon November 30 and Mon December 14, 2026, 5 to 7 pm (Two Mondays. The organizer's page marks the event sold out and offers a waitlist.)
- Where: Blithewold Mansion, Gardens & Arboretum, Living Room and Dining Room, 101 Ferry Rd, Bristol, RI 02809 (opens in maps)
- Cost: $30 adults, $18 children ages 3 to 12; members $25 and $15; ages 2 and under free on a lap. Sold out, waitlist open
- Ages: All ages; child tickets are for ages 3 to 12
Expand to see the parent tip
Families gather in the Living Room and Dining Room at Blithewold for old-fashioned caroling. When the singing winds down, Santa Claus comes in to visit and read The Night Before Christmas, and the evening ends with cookies, hot cocoa and a chance for photos with him.
It is held on two Mondays, November 30 and December 14, 2026, from 5:00 to 7:00 pm. Nonmember tickets are $30 for adults and $18 for children ages 3 to 12, members pay $25 and $15, and children 2 and under who sit on a lap are free. Preregistration is required because seating is limited, and the page currently shows the event as sold out with a waitlist.
Parent tip: Both dates are marked sold out, so add your name to the waitlist on Blithewold's page and wait to hear back before you make the trip. If seats open up, a child aged 2 or under can sit on your lap at no charge.
- Host
- Blithewold Mansion, Gardens & Arboretum (opens in a new tab)
- Address
- Blithewold Mansion, Gardens & Arboretum, Living Room and Dining Room, 101 Ferry Rd, Bristol, RI 02809 (opens in maps)
- Confirmed
- On the host’s page, checked
New Bristol events every week
Rally researches Christmas events in Bristol daily and updates this page with new events. Enter your email to get a weekly update with new events in Bristol.
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Rally’s Christmas research
Rally the corgi has 1 more Bristol 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 Bristol.
- Exclusive access to free events Find the free Christmas events in Bristol 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
- 1 Santa
- 1 Shows
- 1 Crafts
- 1 Story time
Enter your email to get new Christmas events in Bristol every week.
Holiday crafts
Family Craft Night
- When: Wednesday, December 2, 2026, 6:30 to 7:30 pm (select dates, see the organizer for the schedule)
- Where: Rogers Free Library, Herreshoff Community Room, 525 Hope St, Bristol, RI 02809 (opens in maps)
- Cost: No price listed on the organizer's page; registration required
- Ages: Ages 5 and up, with family
Expand to see the parent tip
Families build and decorate a cardboard gingerbread house in the Herreshoff Community Room at Rogers Free Library. Stickers, paper, pom-poms and other odds and ends are set out for decorating, and the library supplies all of the materials.
Craft night is on Wednesday, December 2, 2026, from 6:30 to 7:30 pm, for ages 5 and up. Registration is required, and the form asks you to cancel 48 hours ahead if you cannot come. The page lists no price, and 13 seats were open when the listing was checked.
Parent tip: You register by the number of people attending, up to five on one form, so count everyone in your family who will sit at the table. Seats were down to 13 when the listing was checked, so sign up early, and cancel 48 hours ahead if plans change so another family can have the spot.
- Host
- Rogers Free Library (opens in a new tab)
- Address
- Rogers Free Library, Herreshoff Community Room, 525 Hope St, Bristol, RI 02809 (opens in maps)
- Confirmed
- On the host’s page, checked
New Bristol events every week
Rally researches Christmas events in Bristol daily and updates this page with new events. Enter your email to get a weekly update with new events in Bristol.
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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 Rhode Island Christmas train rides page.
See every event on a December calendar
Plan your December
When each Bristol Christmas event for kids happens
The first is Sing-Along with Santa in Bristol on November 30; the last runs to December 14. Each bar spans an event’s dates, not every hour in them, so check the host’s page for times.
- Sing-Along with SantaBristol · Nov 30 to Dec 14
- Family Craft NightBristol · Dec 2
Looking further afield? Our Rhode Island Christmas events for kids guide lists every event we have found in the state, and we have city guides for Providence, South Kingstown and Westerly. 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 Amazon2026 Christmas events are coming in late November
More Christmas events arrive in late November. We add them here as soon as we confirm them.
The story of Christmas in Bristol
Bristol holds the oldest continuously celebrated Independence Day festivities in the United States, a tradition behind its nickname, America's most patriotic town. In December the harbor town turns to smaller gatherings, with caroling and a visit from Santa at Blithewold and a gingerbread house craft night at Rogers Free Library.
How Bristol celebrates
Two organizers carry the confirmed Christmas listings for families in Bristol. Blithewold Mansion, Gardens & Arboretum hosts Sing-Along with Santa in its Living Room and Dining Room on Mondays, November 30 and December 14, 2026, with caroling, Santa reading The Night Before Christmas, cookies and hot cocoa. Rogers Free Library holds a Family Craft Night on Wednesday, December 2, where families decorate cardboard gingerbread houses in its Herreshoff Community Room, a name the town also knows from the Herreshoff boat company that built America's Cup defenders here. Neither page describes its event as annual.
Fun facts about Christmas in Bristol
Bristol is named after Bristol, England, and is a deep water seaport on a peninsula between Narragansett Bay and Mount Hope Bay. It was a town of Massachusetts until the Crown transferred it to the Rhode Island Colony in 1747, and until 1854 it was one of Rhode Island's five state capitals. The Bristol-based Herreshoff boat company built five consecutive America's Cup defenders between 1893 and 1920. The town had 22,493 residents at the 2020 census.
Traditions today
- Sing-Along with Santa at Blithewold: Families sing carols in Blithewold's Living Room and Dining Room on two Monday evenings, November 30 and December 14, 2026.
- The Night Before Christmas: Once the carols are done at Blithewold, Santa reads The Night Before Christmas aloud and stays for photos, cookies and hot cocoa.
- Family Craft Night at Rogers Free Library: Families decorate cardboard gingerbread houses in the library's Herreshoff Community Room on December 2, 2026.
- Bristol Harbor and Independence Park: Independence Park on Bristol Harbor is the southern end of the East Bay Bike Path, which mostly follows an abandoned railroad right of way north to Providence.
A fact for kids
Bristol's Fourth of July parade is the oldest annual parade in the United States, and the town's harbor has more than 800 boat moorings.
Questions about Christmas in Bristol
How did Bristol, Rhode Island begin?
After King Philip's War ended, four Boston merchants, Stephen Burton, Nathaniel Byfield, Nathaniel Oliver and John Walley, bought the tract known as Mount Hope Neck and Poppasquash Neck as part of Plymouth Colony. Wikipedia files the town under 1680 establishments in Rhode Island.
How did Bristol get its name?
Bristol is named after Bristol, England. Like its namesake it is a seaport, described in the Wikipedia article as a deep water port whose major industries include boat building and related marine trades, manufacturing and tourism.
When did Bristol become part of Rhode Island?
Bristol was a town of Massachusetts until the Crown transferred it to the Rhode Island Colony in 1747. It later served as one of the five state capitals of Rhode Island, a role it held until 1854, and it is the county seat of Bristol County.
Why is Bristol called America's most patriotic town?
The nickname comes from its Fourth of July celebrations, the oldest continuously celebrated Independence Day festivities in the country. The official Patriotic Exercises were established in 1785 by Rev. Henry Wight, and the Military, Civic and Firemen's Parade on July 4 draws over 200,000 people.
Did a railroad run to Bristol?
The East Bay Bike Path, which starts at Independence Park on Bristol Harbor and continues north to India Point Park in Providence, was mostly built along an abandoned railroad right of way. That is the trace of the railroad the Wikipedia article describes.
What happens at Christmas for kids in Bristol?
Confirmed for 2026 are Sing-Along with Santa at Blithewold on Mondays, November 30 and December 14, from 5:00 to 7:00 pm, and Family Craft Night at Rogers Free Library on Wednesday, December 2, from 6:30 to 7:30 pm, a cardboard gingerbread house craft.
Where do Bristol's Christmas events take place?
Sing-Along with Santa is held in the Living Room and Dining Room at Blithewold Mansion, Gardens & Arboretum. Family Craft Night takes place in the Herreshoff Community Room at Rogers Free Library. Both are indoor events with limited seating, which is why each asks families to register.
Who organizes Christmas events for families in Bristol?
Blithewold Mansion, Gardens & Arboretum runs Sing-Along with Santa, and Rogers Free Library runs Family Craft Night, with Jessie McKinney, the library's Coordinator of Children's Services, listed as the contact. Each organizer posts the details and registration on its own event page.
Is anything free at Christmas in Bristol?
Neither page describes its event as free. Blithewold charges $15 to $30 a ticket depending on age and membership, with lap children ages 2 and under free. The Rogers Free Library craft night lists no price, provides all materials and requires registration.
What is the Herreshoff name in Bristol?
The Bristol-based Herreshoff boat company built five consecutive America's Cup defenders between 1893 and 1920, and Nathanael Herreshoff, the naval architect behind several undefeated Cup winners, was born in Bristol. The community room at Rogers Free Library carries the same name.
Sources
- Bristol, Rhode Island, Wikipedia
- Sold Out: Sing-Along With Santa, Blithewold Mansion, Gardens & Arboretum
- Family Craft Night, Rogers Free Library
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 Rhode Island city.
Bristol Christmas events for kids: questions parents ask
What are the best Christmas events for kids in Bristol to start with?
Two stand out. Family Craft Night at Rogers Free Library on Wednesday, December 2, 2026, has families decorating cardboard gingerbread houses, and Sing-Along with Santa at Blithewold on Mondays, November 30 and December 14, pairs caroling with a reading of The Night Before Christmas. The Blithewold evenings are marked sold out, with a waitlist.
Where can kids meet Santa in Bristol?
Santa appears at Blithewold's Sing-Along with Santa on Monday, November 30 and Monday, December 14, 2026, from 5:00 to 7:00 pm. He reads The Night Before Christmas after the caroling and poses for photos once the show is over. Blithewold's page lists the event as sold out and offers a waitlist.
Which Bristol Christmas events need tickets or sign-up?
Both do. Sing-Along with Santa at Blithewold requires preregistration because seating in the Living Room is limited, and it is currently sold out with a waitlist. Family Craft Night at Rogers Free Library on December 2, 2026, requires registration through the library's online form, which had 13 seats open when the listing was checked.
How much does Sing-Along with Santa at Blithewold cost?
Blithewold lists $30 for nonmember adults and $18 for nonmember children ages 3 to 12, with member prices of $25 and $15. Children ages 2 and under who sit in a parent's or guardian's lap are free. The 2026 dates are November 30 and December 14, and both are shown as sold out.
Is there a Christmas craft for kids in Bristol?
Yes. At Family Craft Night on Wednesday, December 2, 2026, from 6:30 to 7:30 pm, families decorate a cardboard gingerbread house with stickers, paper and pom-poms in the Herreshoff Community Room at Rogers Free Library. It is for ages 5 and up, all materials are provided, and registration is required.
What ages are Bristol's Christmas events suited to?
Family Craft Night at Rogers Free Library on December 2, 2026, is for ages 5 and up. Sing-Along with Santa at Blithewold welcomes the whole family, with child tickets covering ages 3 to 12 and lap seating for ages 2 and under, so it works for younger children if waitlist seats open.
Are there Christmas train rides for kids near Bristol?
Santa trains and holiday train rides have their own guide: Rally Takes the Train’s Rhode Island Christmas train rides guide. This Bristol guide covers Santa visits, story times, light shows and other events off the rails.
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 every listing on November 10, 2026. Hosts change details, so always confirm on the host’s page before you go.
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.