Rally the corgi has sniffed out the best Christmas events for kids in Chantilly for 2026, and here is what he found: 3 family events, 1 of them free. They are Christmas Craft Market (December 12), Saturday Cinema: The Polar Express (December 12) and Community Christmas Celebration (December 20). We check every date on the host’s own website, and each listing links straight there. For the rest of the state, see our Virginia Christmas events for kids guide.
What Rally found in Chantilly
- 3 Christmas events for kids in Chantilly
- 1 free event, including Community Christmas Celebration
- Also on the list: 2 Christmas shows and 1 Christmas market
- Season: December 12 (Christmas Craft Market) to December 20 (Community Christmas Celebration)
- Every date checked on the host’s own site on Nov 10
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All 3 events
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- 2 Shows
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- 1 Breakfast and treats
- 1 Free
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Free Christmas events for kids in Chantilly
Holiday eventFree
Community Christmas Celebration
- When: Sunday, December 20, 2026, 5 to 7 pm
- Where: Community Baptist Church, 43100 Center St, Chantilly, VA 20152 (opens in maps)
- Cost: Free
Expand to see the parent tip
This is the church's 5th annual community evening, built around a walk-through presentation that tells the Nativity story from the point of view of its main characters. Around it there is hot chocolate, Christmas carols and live animals that children can feed.
It takes place Sunday, December 20, 2026, from 5 to 7 p.m. at Community Baptist Church, 43100 Center St., South Riding. The church says the whole event is free. The event page has a sign-up button, though it does not say whether signing up is required.
Parent tip: A 5 p.m. start in late December means it will be dark, and the page does not say how much is outdoors, so dress kids warmly in case the walk-through and the animals are outside. Let younger children feed the animals first while their attention is fresh.
- Host
- Community Baptist Church (opens in a new tab)
- Address
- Community Baptist Church, 43100 Center St, Chantilly, VA 20152 (opens in maps)
- Confirmed
- On the host’s page, checked
New Chantilly events every week
Rally researches Christmas events in Chantilly daily and updates this page with new events. Enter your email to get a weekly update with new events in Chantilly.
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Rally’s Christmas research
Rally the corgi has 2 more Chantilly 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 Chantilly.
- Exclusive access to free events Find the free Christmas events in Chantilly 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 Markets
- 1 Breakfast and treats
- 1 Free
Enter your email to get new Christmas events in Chantilly every week.
Ticketed and paid Christmas events for kids in Chantilly
Admission, tickets or a fee apply. Where a host has not posted a price yet, the listing says so.
Holiday market
Christmas Craft Market
- When: Saturday, December 12, 2026, 9 am to noon
- Where: Community Baptist Church, 43100 Center St, Chantilly, VA 20152 (opens in maps)
- Cost: No price listed on the organizer's page
Expand to see the parent tip
The church's Community Ladies group sets up a morning market of handmade goods, with one-of-a-kind gifts, knitwear, candles and jewelry among the things the page promises. It is a single-morning sale, and shoppers are encouraged to arrive with a gift list and a friend or two.
The market runs Saturday, December 12, 2026, from 9 a.m. to noon at Community Baptist Church, which gives its address as 43100 Center St. in South Riding. The page lists no admission charge and no sign-up for shoppers. The only registration it mentions is for vendors.
Parent tip: With just three hours on a Saturday morning, go close to 9 a.m. if you want first pick of the handmade items. The page mentions nothing set up for children, so keep it a quick stop; the Polar Express screening at Chantilly Regional Library starts at 2 p.m. the same day.
- Host
- Community Baptist Church (opens in a new tab)
- Address
- Community Baptist Church, 43100 Center St, Chantilly, VA 20152 (opens in maps)
- Confirmed
- On the host’s page, checked
New Chantilly events every week
Rally researches Christmas events in Chantilly daily and updates this page with new events. Enter your email to get a weekly update with new events in Chantilly.
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Holiday show
Saturday Cinema: The Polar Express
- When: Saturday, December 12, 2026, 2 to 4 pm
- Where: Chantilly Regional Library, 4000 Stringfellow Rd, Chantilly, VA 20151 (opens in maps)
- Cost: No price listed on the organizer's page
- Ages: All ages
Expand to see the parent tip
The library screens The Polar Express, the G-rated film adapted from Chris Van Allsburg's picture book about a doubtful boy who boards a train bound for the North Pole. The showing is billed under the branch's Saturday Cinema name and takes place in the Chantilly Meeting Room.
The movie is shown Saturday, December 12, 2026, from 2 to 4 p.m. at Chantilly Regional Library, and the listing is marked for all ages. The page does not mention a fee or registration. It does carry a capacity notice, so the branch is the place to ask about seating.
Parent tip: The two-hour slot is a long sit for toddlers, so choose seats near the door in case you need a break. Since the film is shown in a meeting room rather than a theater and the page carries a capacity notice, arrive a little before 2 p.m.
- Host
- Fairfax County Public Library (opens in a new tab)
- Address
- Chantilly Regional Library, 4000 Stringfellow Rd, Chantilly, VA 20151 (opens in maps)
- Confirmed
- On the host’s page, checked
New Chantilly events every week
Rally researches Christmas events in Chantilly daily and updates this page with new events. Enter your email to get a weekly update with new events in Chantilly.
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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 Virginia Christmas train rides page.
See every event on a December calendar
Plan your December
When each Chantilly Christmas event for kids happens
The first is Christmas Craft Market in Chantilly on December 12; the last runs to December 20. Each bar spans an event’s dates, not every hour in them, so check the host’s page for times.
- Christmas Craft MarketChantilly · Dec 12
- Saturday Cinema: The Polar ExpressChantilly · Dec 12
- Community Christmas CelebrationChantilly · Dec 20
Looking further afield? Our Virginia Christmas events for kids guide lists every event we have found in the state, and we have city guides for Centreville, Fairfax, Manassas and McLean. 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 Chantilly
Chantilly takes its name from a plantation whose mansion was built around 1817 from red sandstone quarried on the property, a house named in turn for a Lee family estate that borrowed its name from the Château de Chantilly in France. Today the name covers a wider area that includes neighboring South Riding. Christmas for families here means a library movie afternoon and a church's community evening.
How Chantilly celebrates
Christmas events on this list come from two organizers. Fairfax County Public Library's Chantilly Regional Library, which sits inside the Chantilly census area, shows The Polar Express in its meeting room on December 12 under its Saturday Cinema name. Community Baptist Church in South Riding, part of the wider Chantilly mailing area, hosts a Christmas Craft Market that same morning through its Community Ladies group. On December 20 the church holds what it calls its 5th Annual Community Christmas Celebration, a free evening with a walk-through Nativity presentation, carols, hot chocolate and live animals for children to feed.
Fun facts about Christmas in Chantilly
Chantilly is a census-designated place in western Fairfax County, about 25 miles west of Washington, D.C., and the 2020 census counted 24,301 residents. It was home to several colonial plantations in the 1700s, including Sully Plantation, now the Sully Historic Site. The Battle of Chantilly, also called Ox Hill, was fought nearby on September 1, 1862, in the middle of a storm, and the small Ox Hill Battlefield Park preserves about five acres of the site. The village grew in the 19th century after the Little River Turnpike was built, and the area became a Washington suburb after 1980.
Traditions today
- Community Christmas Celebration: Community Baptist Church counts 2026 as the 5th annual edition of its free evening of carols, hot chocolate, live animals and a walk-through Nativity presentation.
- Christmas Craft Market: The church's Community Ladies group runs a Saturday morning market of handmade gifts, knits, candles and jewelry.
- Saturday Cinema at the library: Chantilly Regional Library marks the season by showing The Polar Express in its meeting room for all ages.
A fact for kids
Chantilly sits right next to Washington Dulles International Airport, and it is home to the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center, which is part of the National Air and Space Museum.
Questions about Christmas in Chantilly
How did Chantilly get its name?
The name comes from the Chantilly Plantation, set up in the early 19th century by Charles Calvert Stuart and Cornelia Lee Turberville Stuart. They named their mansion after an estate once owned by her grandfather, Richard Henry Lee, who had named his own property in 1763 after the Château de Chantilly in France.
How old is Chantilly?
Chantilly has no single founding date in its Wikipedia article. The area held colonial plantations in the 1700s, the Chantilly Plantation mansion was built around 1817, and the village grew during the 19th century after the Little River Turnpike was built. Suburban growth picked up after 1980.
Is Chantilly a city or a town?
Neither. Chantilly is a census-designated place in western Fairfax County, Virginia, about 25 miles west of Washington, D.C. The 2020 census counted 24,301 residents. Its present center is around the intersection of U.S. Route 50 and Virginia Route 28, just south of Washington Dulles International Airport.
What was the Battle of Chantilly?
It was a Civil War battle, also called Ox Hill, fought nearby on September 1, 1862, during a raging storm. Union generals Isaac Stevens and Philip Kearny were both killed. Most of the battlefield is now developed, but the small Ox Hill Battlefield Park preserves a five-acre piece of it.
What is left of the old Chantilly Plantation?
Federal troops burned the plantation's manor house during the Civil War. One building remains, a stone house across Route 50 from the Greenbriar Shopping Center. Historical evidence suggests it was probably an overseer's quarters before the war and a tavern or boarding house afterward.
Why does South Riding count as part of Chantilly?
The official Chantilly census area is in Fairfax County, and South Riding is a separate census area in neighboring Loudoun County. Both share the Chantilly mailing address and ZIP codes 20151 and 20152, and both sit along U.S. Route 50 and Virginia Route 28, so the broader Chantilly area often includes South Riding.
What happens at Christmas in Chantilly?
On Saturday, December 12, 2026, Community Baptist Church holds a Christmas Craft Market from 9 a.m. to noon, and Chantilly Regional Library shows The Polar Express from 2 to 4 p.m. On Sunday, December 20, the church hosts its Community Christmas Celebration from 5 to 7 p.m.
Who organizes the Community Christmas Celebration?
Community Baptist Church runs it at 43100 Center St. in South Riding and calls the 2026 evening its 5th annual. The church describes a walk-through presentation of the Nativity story, Christmas carols, hot chocolate and live animals that children can feed, on Sunday, December 20, from 5 to 7 p.m.
What is free at Christmas in Chantilly?
The Community Christmas Celebration on December 20, 2026, is described by Community Baptist Church as completely free. The pages for the library's Polar Express screening and the church's Christmas Craft Market, both on December 12, list no admission charge, although neither one states outright that entry is free.
Where is The Polar Express being shown?
In the Chantilly Meeting Room at Chantilly Regional Library, a Fairfax County Public Library branch located within the Chantilly census area. The G-rated film plays on Saturday, December 12, 2026, from 2 to 4 p.m., and the library lists the screening for all ages.
Sources
- Chantilly, Virginia, Wikipedia
- Christmas Craft Market, Community Baptist Church
- Community Christmas Celebration, Community Baptist Church
- Saturday Cinema: The Polar Express, Fairfax County Public 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 Virginia city.
Chantilly Christmas events for kids: questions parents ask
What are the best Christmas events for kids in Chantilly to start with?
Two are easy picks. Chantilly Regional Library shows The Polar Express on Saturday, December 12, 2026, from 2 to 4 p.m., and it is listed for all ages. On Sunday, December 20, from 5 to 7 p.m., Community Baptist Church holds its Community Christmas Celebration with a walk-through Nativity presentation, carols, hot chocolate and live animals to feed.
Are there free Christmas events for kids in Chantilly?
Yes. Community Baptist Church says its Community Christmas Celebration on December 20, 2026, is completely free, including the hot chocolate, carols and animal feeding it describes. The library's Polar Express screening and the church's Christmas Craft Market, both on December 12, list no admission charge on their pages, though neither page uses the word free.
Is there a Christmas movie or show for families in Chantilly?
Chantilly Regional Library screens The Polar Express, rated G, in its meeting room on Saturday, December 12, 2026, from 2 to 4 p.m. For something live, the Community Christmas Celebration on December 20 includes a walk-through presentation of the Nativity story told through its key characters, along with Christmas carols.
Do Chantilly Christmas events need tickets or sign-up?
None of the three pages says tickets are required. The Community Christmas Celebration page on December 20 has a sign-up button but does not say it is mandatory. The Christmas Craft Market on December 12 mentions sign-up for vendors only. The library's Polar Express listing mentions no registration, though it carries a capacity notice.
Where can kids see live animals at Christmas near Chantilly?
At the Community Christmas Celebration at Community Baptist Church, 43100 Center St. in South Riding, on Sunday, December 20, 2026, from 5 to 7 p.m. The church says children can feed live animals there, and the evening also has hot chocolate, carols and a walk-through Nativity presentation. The church calls it the 5th annual celebration.
Why are South Riding events listed with Chantilly?
The official Chantilly census area is in Fairfax County, while South Riding is next door in Loudoun County, and both share the Chantilly mailing address and ZIP codes 20151 and 20152. That is why Community Baptist Church, with a South Riding address, appears here beside Chantilly Regional Library. Both can be done in one day on December 12.
Are there Christmas train rides for kids near Chantilly?
Santa trains and holiday train rides have their own guide: Rally Takes the Train’s Virginia Christmas train rides guide. This Chantilly 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.