Rally the corgi has sniffed out the Christmas events for kids in Brookings for 2026. The Festival of Lights parade lights up Downtown Brookings on Friday, December 4, with Santa’s reindeer at the Children’s Museum before it starts, then the museum hosts Breakfast With Santa on Saturday, December 12, and a free Santa visit on Tuesday, December 15. We check every date on the host’s own website and link straight there. For the rest of the state, see our South Dakota Christmas events for kids guide.
What Rally found in Brookings
- 3 Christmas events for kids in Brookings
- Festival of Lights: Friday, December 4, parade at 7 pm, free
- Santa's reindeer at the Children's Museum 5 to 7 pm
- Breakfast With Santa: Saturday, December 12, reservations required
- Santa Visits the Museum: Tuesday, December 15, 5 to 6:30 pm, free
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Rally the corgi has 2 more Brookings events researched for you.
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Free Christmas events for kids in Brookings
Lighted parade and reindeerFree
Downtown Brookings Festival of Lights
- When: Friday, December 4, 2026, pre-parade activities from 4 pm, parade at 7 pm
- Where: Downtown Brookings, Brookings, SD 57006 (opens in maps)
- Cost: Free
- Ages: All ages
Expand to see the parent tip
Downtown Brookings lights up for the 31st annual Festival of Lights, with activities starting around 4 pm and the lighted parade kicking off at 7 pm.
Before the parade, two of Santa's reindeer visit the lawn outside the Children's Museum of South Dakota from 5 to 7 pm, where the museum opens for a free evening of play and letters to the North Pole.
Parent tip: Write a letter to Santa at the museum before the parade, and tune the car radio to KCountry 102.3 for Christmas music from 6:30 to 8 pm.
- Host
- Downtown Brookings (opens in a new tab)
- Address
- Downtown Brookings, Brookings, SD 57006 (opens in maps)
- Confirmed
- On the host’s page, checked
New Brookings events every week
Rally researches Christmas events in Brookings daily and updates this page with new events. Enter your email to get a weekly update with new events in Brookings.
Free. Unsubscribe anytime. Privacy policy (opens in a new tab)
Rally’s Christmas research
Rally the corgi has 2 more Brookings events 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 Brookings.
- Exclusive access to free events Find the free Christmas events in Brookings 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
- 3 Santa
- 1 Lights
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- 1 Free
Enter your email to get new Christmas events in Brookings every week.
Free Santa visitFree
Santa Visits the Museum
- When: Tuesday, December 15, 2026, 5 to 6:30 pm (plus Sensory Friendly Play with Santa on Friday, December 11, 4 to 7 pm)
- Where: Children's Museum of South Dakota, Café Coteau, 521 4th Street, Brookings, SD 57006 (opens in maps)
- Cost: Santa visit free; admission or membership needed for the exhibits
- Ages: All ages
Expand to see the parent tip
Santa sits down in Café Coteau on a Tuesday evening, and the visit itself costs nothing, while the café serves a $5 community meal and the museum stays open for play until 7 pm.
For kids who do better with less noise, the museum's Sensory Friendly Play on December 11 brings Santa into a calmer, less crowded museum from 5 pm, with quiet rooms and adaptive tools.
Parent tip: Make it dinner and a Santa photo in one stop with the $5 community meal, and bring your camera.
- Host
- Children's Museum of South Dakota (opens in a new tab)
- Address
- Children's Museum of South Dakota, Café Coteau, 521 4th Street, Brookings, SD 57006 (opens in maps)
- Confirmed
- On the host’s page, checked
New Brookings events every week
Rally researches Christmas events in Brookings daily and updates this page with new events. Enter your email to get a weekly update with new events in Brookings.
Free. Unsubscribe anytime. Privacy policy (opens in a new tab)
Ticketed and paid Christmas events for kids in Brookings
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
Breakfast with Santa
Breakfast With Santa at the Children's Museum
- When: Saturday, December 12, 2026, two sessions: 8:30 to 9:30 am and 10 to 11 am
- Where: Children's Museum of South Dakota, 521 4th Street, Brookings, SD 57006 (opens in maps)
- Cost: Reservations required, tickets sold online
- Ages: All ages
Expand to see the parent tip
The Children's Museum of South Dakota serves breakfast from Café Coteau while Santa, Mrs. Claus and the elves Jingle and Jangle make the rounds.
Kids can share their Christmas wishes and pose for a photo with Santa, and the menu covers scrambled eggs, sausage, breakfast tacos, fruit and cinnamon rolls, with gluten-free options.
Parent tip: Tickets went on sale November 12 and sessions fill quickly, so book online and note any dietary needs when you buy.
- Host
- Children's Museum of South Dakota (opens in a new tab)
- Address
- Children's Museum of South Dakota, 521 4th Street, Brookings, SD 57006 (opens in maps)
- Confirmed
- On the host’s page, checked
New Brookings events every week
Rally researches Christmas events in Brookings daily and updates this page with new events. Enter your email to get a weekly update with new events in Brookings.
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 Dakota Christmas train rides page.
See every event on a December calendar
Plan your December
When each Brookings Christmas event for kids happens
Start at the Children's Museum lawn with the reindeer on December 4 and stay for the parade, then book Breakfast With Santa or drop in for the free visit on December 15.
- Downtown Brookings Festival of LightsBrookings · Dec 4
- Breakfast With Santa at the Children's MuseumBrookings · Dec 12
- Santa Visits the MuseumBrookings · Dec 15 to Dec 11
Looking further afield? Our South Dakota Christmas events for kids guide lists every confirmed event in the state, and we have city guides for Sioux Falls, Aberdeen, Pierre and Rapid City. 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 South Dakota city.
Brookings Christmas events for kids: questions parents ask
What are the best Christmas events for kids in Brookings this year?
Rally Takes the Train has confirmed 3 Christmas events for kids in Brookings for 2026: the Downtown Brookings Festival of Lights on December 4, Breakfast With Santa on December 12 and Santa Visits the Museum on December 15.
When is the Brookings Festival of Lights parade in 2026?
Friday, December 4, 2026. Pre-parade activities start as early as 4 pm and the parade kicks off at 7 pm in Downtown Brookings.
Where can kids see Santa's reindeer in Brookings?
Two of Santa's reindeer visit outside the Children's Museum of South Dakota, 521 4th Street, from 5 to 7 pm on December 4, before the Festival of Lights parade.
When is Breakfast With Santa at the Children's Museum of South Dakota?
Saturday, December 12, 2026, in two sessions, 8:30 to 9:30 am and 10 to 11 am. Reservations are required and tickets are sold on the museum website.
Who do I contact about Brookings holiday events?
For the Festival of Lights, Downtown Brookings at info@growthalliance.org. For the Santa events, the Children's Museum of South Dakota at bookit@prairieplay.org or 605-692-6700.
Are there more Christmas events near Brookings?
Yes. Our South Dakota Christmas events for kids guide lists every confirmed event in the state, and the national search sorts events by distance from your town.
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 Brookings 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.