Rally the corgi has sniffed out the Christmas events for kids in DeKalb for 2026. Santa rolls into downtown for Lights on Lincoln and the Egyptian Theatre tree lighting on Thursday, December 3, then greets kids at his Van Buer Plaza house on three December Saturdays, and the 1879 Ellwood House mansion opens for holiday tours from November 27 to December 20. We check every date on the host’s own website and link straight there. For the rest of the state, see our Illinois Christmas events for kids guide.
What Rally found in DeKalb
- 3 Christmas events for kids in DeKalb
- Lights on Lincoln and Santa Comes to Town: Thursday, December 3, from 6 pm, free
- Visits with Santa: Saturdays December 5, 12 and 19, 11 am to 1 pm, free
- Ellwood House Holiday Tours: November 27 to December 20, Open House December 12 and 13
- Every date checked on dekalb.org and ellwoodhouse.org on Nov 11
What are you looking for?
All 3 events
Nothing matches yet. Try another kind of event, or .
Rally’s Christmas research
Rally the corgi has 2 more DeKalb 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 DeKalb.
- Exclusive access to free events Find the free Christmas events in DeKalb before they fill up.
- Start your magical Christmas season now Every event appears the moment you enter your email.
- 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.
Waiting inside
- 2 Santa
- 2 Lights
- 1 Parades
- 1 Shows
- 2 Free
Enter your email and all will appear instantly.
The Christmas magic awaits
Enter your email to get Christmas event notifications all season long and unlock the details on 2 Christmas events in DeKalb.
- New events in DeKalb every week
- Exclusive access to free events
- Your magical Christmas season starts now
- Christmas Eve Express and free advent calendar
- One-tap add to calendar
Free Christmas events for kids in DeKalb
Santa arrival and tree lightingFree
Lights on Lincoln and Santa Comes to Town
- When: Thursday, December 3, 2026. Santa’s route starts at 6 pm, with window dancers performing from 5 to 7 pm.
- Where: Downtown DeKalb and the Egyptian Theatre, 135 N. 2nd St., DeKalb, IL 60115 (opens in maps)
- Cost: Free
- Ages: All ages
Expand to see the parent tip
Santa rides a short, light-lined loop through downtown DeKalb, east on Lincoln Highway and back around to the Egyptian Theatre, where he and Elfie head inside for the tree lighting.
After the lighting, kids line up for visits with Santa on the theatre’s second floor with free hot chocolate, while Dimensions Dance Academy dancers perform in storefront windows along the street.
Parent tip: Get downtown by 5:30 to watch the window dancers, then stake out a curb spot near 2nd and Locust, since Santa’s whole route only takes about five minutes.
- Host
- DeKalb Chamber of Commerce (opens in a new tab)
- Address
- Downtown DeKalb and the Egyptian Theatre, 135 N. 2nd St., DeKalb, IL 60115 (opens in maps)
- Confirmed
- On the host’s page, checked
New DeKalb events every week
Rally researches Christmas events in DeKalb daily and updates this page with new events. Enter your email to get a weekly update with new events in DeKalb.
Free. Unsubscribe anytime. Privacy policy (opens in a new tab)
Rally’s Christmas research
Rally the corgi has 2 more DeKalb 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 DeKalb.
- Exclusive access to free events Find the free Christmas events in DeKalb 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 Santa
- 2 Lights
- 1 Parades
- 1 Shows
- 2 Free
Enter your email to get new Christmas events in DeKalb every week.
Free Santa visitsFree
Visits with Santa at Santa’s House
- When: Saturdays, December 5, 12 and 19, 2026, 11 am to 1 pm
- Where: Santa’s House, Van Buer Plaza (corner of 2nd and Locust), DeKalb, IL 60115 (opens in maps)
- Cost: Free; bring your own phone or camera for photos
- Ages: All ages
Expand to see the parent tip
Santa sets up in a little Christmas house on Van Buer Plaza for three Saturday mornings, where kids can share wishes and hand him their letters in person.
Every visitor leaves with a candy cane, and parents snap the photos on their own phones, so there is no photo package to buy.
Parent tip: Pair a Santa visit with a walk past the decorated downtown windows. Come near 11 am for the shortest wait.
- Host
- DeKalb Chamber of Commerce (opens in a new tab)
- Address
- Santa’s House, Van Buer Plaza (corner of 2nd and Locust), DeKalb, IL 60115 (opens in maps)
- Confirmed
- On the host’s page, checked
New DeKalb events every week
Rally researches Christmas events in DeKalb daily and updates this page with new events. Enter your email to get a weekly update with new events in DeKalb.
Free. Unsubscribe anytime. Privacy policy (opens in a new tab)
Ticketed and paid Christmas events for kids in DeKalb
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
Decorated Victorian mansion
Holiday Tours and Holiday Open House at Ellwood House
- When: Guided holiday tours November 27 to December 20, 2026, Wednesday to Sunday at 1 and 3 pm; public Open House Saturday, December 12, 4 to 7 pm, and Sunday, December 13, 1 to 4 pm
- Where: Ellwood House Museum, 420 Linden Place, DeKalb, IL 60115 (opens in maps)
- Cost: Open House: adults $15, youth 6 to 17 $8, children 5 and under free
- Ages: All ages
Expand to see the parent tip
DeKalb’s 1879 Ellwood mansion dresses all four floors in trees and twinkling lights for the season, shown on guided tours from late November until December 20.
On Open House weekend families wander the mansion and Ellcourt at their own pace with live holiday music, then warm up with hot chocolate and treats in the Visitor Center.
Parent tip: Kids 5 and under get in free to the Open House, so it is the best-value visit for little ones. Book guided tour times ahead, since groups are small.
- Host
- Ellwood House Museum (opens in a new tab)
- Address
- Ellwood House Museum, 420 Linden Place, DeKalb, IL 60115 (opens in maps)
- Confirmed
- On the host’s page, checked
New DeKalb events every week
Rally researches Christmas events in DeKalb daily and updates this page with new events. Enter your email to get a weekly update with new events in DeKalb.
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 Illinois Christmas train rides page.
See every event on a December calendar
Plan your December
When each DeKalb Christmas event for kids happens
Start with Lights on Lincoln on December 3 for the tree lighting and Santa, then visit Santa’s House on a Saturday morning if the line was long. The Ellwood House Open House on Sunday, December 13, is free for kids 5 and under.
- Holiday Tours and Holiday Open House at Ellwood HouseDeKalb · Nov 27 to Dec 13
- Lights on Lincoln and Santa Comes to TownDeKalb · Dec 3
- Visits with Santa at Santa’s HouseDeKalb · Dec 5 to Dec 19
Looking further afield? Our Illinois Christmas events for kids guide lists every confirmed event in the state, and we have city guides for St. Charles, Elgin, West Dundee and Aurora. 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 Illinois city.
DeKalb Christmas events for kids: questions parents ask
What are the best Christmas events for kids in DeKalb this year?
Rally Takes the Train has confirmed 3 Christmas events for kids in DeKalb for 2026: Lights on Lincoln and Santa Comes to Town on December 3, Saturday visits at Santa’s House, and the Ellwood House Holiday Tours and Open House.
When is Lights on Lincoln in DeKalb in 2026?
Thursday, December 3, 2026. Santa’s route through downtown starts at 6 pm and ends at the Egyptian Theatre, 135 N. 2nd St., for the tree lighting and free visits with Santa.
When can kids visit Santa’s House in downtown DeKalb?
Saturdays, December 5, 12 and 19, 2026, from 11 am to 1 pm on Van Buer Plaza at 2nd and Locust. It is free, and you take photos on your own phone.
When are the Ellwood House holiday tours in 2026?
November 27 to December 20, 2026, Wednesday through Sunday at 1 and 3 pm, at 420 Linden Place. The public Open House is Saturday, December 12, 4 to 7 pm, and Sunday, December 13, 1 to 4 pm.
Who do I contact about DeKalb holiday events?
The DeKalb Chamber of Commerce at chamber@dekalb.org for the downtown events, and the Ellwood House Museum at info@ellwoodhouse.org.
Are there Christmas train rides for kids in Illinois?
Yes. Santa trains and holiday train rides have their own guide: Rally Takes the Train’s Illinois 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 DeKalb 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.