Rally the corgi has sniffed out the best Christmas events for kids in El Dorado Hills for 2026, and here is what he found: 2 family events. They are Nutcracker Performance (November 20) and Crafts & Cocoa with Santa (December 3). We check every date on the host’s own website, and each listing links straight there. For the rest of the state, see our California Christmas events for kids guide.
What Rally found in El Dorado Hills
- 2 Christmas events for kids in El Dorado Hills
- Meet Santa: Crafts & Cocoa with Santa (December 3)
- Season: November 20 (Nutcracker Performance) to December 3 (Crafts & Cocoa with Santa)
- Every date checked on the host’s own site on Nov 10
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Ticketed and paid Christmas events for kids in El Dorado Hills
Admission, tickets or a fee apply. Where a host has not posted a price yet, the listing says so.
Holiday show
Nutcracker Performance
- When: Friday, November 20, 2026, 3 pm
- Where: El Dorado Hills Library, 7455 Silva Valley Pkwy, El Dorado Hills, CA 95762 (opens in maps)
- Cost: No tickets required; no price listed on the organizer's page
- Ages: Ages 6 and up with a caregiver
Expand to see the parent tip
Dancers from the El Dorado Dance Academy bring excerpts from The Nutcracker ballet to the El Dorado Hills Library. Once the performance ends, children can talk with the costumed characters, the Sugar Plum Fairy and her friends among them, and pose for photos.
The performance is Friday, November 20, 2026, at 3:00 PM. No tickets are required, and the library recommends it for ages 6 and up with a caregiver. The page gives no end time or price.
Parent tip: With no tickets to hold a seat and a 3:00 PM Friday start, head over straight from school pickup. Have a phone or camera ready, because the character photos happen right after the dancing ends.
- Host
- El Dorado County Library (opens in a new tab)
- Address
- El Dorado Hills Library, 7455 Silva Valley Pkwy, El Dorado Hills, CA 95762 (opens in maps)
- Confirmed
- On the host’s page, checked
New El Dorado Hills events every week
Rally researches Christmas events in El Dorado Hills daily and updates this page with new events. Enter your email to get a weekly update with new events in El Dorado Hills.
Free. Unsubscribe anytime. Privacy policy (opens in a new tab)
Rally’s Christmas research
Rally the corgi has 1 more El Dorado Hills 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 El Dorado Hills.
- Exclusive access to free events Find the free Christmas events in El Dorado Hills 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 Breakfast and treats
Enter your email to get new Christmas events in El Dorado Hills every week.
Santa visit
Crafts & Cocoa with Santa
- When: Thursday, December 3, 2026, 3:30 to 4:30 pm
- Where: El Dorado Hills Library, 7455 Silva Valley Pkwy, El Dorado Hills, CA 95762 (opens in maps)
- Cost: No price listed on the organizer's page; drop-in
- Ages: All ages with a caregiver
Expand to see the parent tip
Santa spends an afternoon at the El Dorado Hills Library while kids make winter crafts and warm up with cocoa and other sweet treats. Three different crafts are set out at varying levels of difficulty, so toddlers and older children each have something that fits. The Friends of the Library sponsor the program.
It is Thursday, December 3, 2026, from 3:30 to 4:30 PM. The program is drop-in, so no sign-up is needed, and it is open to children of all ages with their caregivers. The page does not list a price.
Parent tip: The whole visit lasts one hour, so arrive near 3:30 if your child wants to finish a craft and still see Santa. Let each child pick the craft level that suits them instead of trying all three.
- Host
- El Dorado County Library (opens in a new tab)
- Address
- El Dorado Hills Library, 7455 Silva Valley Pkwy, El Dorado Hills, CA 95762 (opens in maps)
- Confirmed
- On the host’s page, checked
New El Dorado Hills events every week
Rally researches Christmas events in El Dorado Hills daily and updates this page with new events. Enter your email to get a weekly update with new events in El Dorado Hills.
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 El Dorado Hills Christmas event for kids happens
The first is Nutcracker Performance in El Dorado Hills on November 20; the last runs to December 3. Each bar spans an event’s dates, not every hour in them, so check the host’s page for times.
- Nutcracker PerformanceEl Dorado Hills · Nov 20
- Crafts & Cocoa with SantaEl Dorado Hills · Dec 3
Looking further afield? Our California Christmas events for kids guide lists every event we have found in the state, and we have city guides for Sacramento, Stockton, Vacaville and Napa. 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 El Dorado Hills
Parts of two Pony Express routes from 1860 and 1861 survive as everyday roads in El Dorado Hills, a community whose name borrows the Spanish for the golden. In this unincorporated town on the western edge of El Dorado County, the library's holiday season opens with Nutcracker dancers in November and a visit from Santa in early December.
How El Dorado Hills celebrates
The Christmas events listed for El Dorado Hills in 2026 are both at the El Dorado Hills Library, a branch of the El Dorado County Library. On Friday, November 20, the El Dorado Dance Academy performs excerpts from The Nutcracker ballet there, and the Nutcracker characters stay afterward to talk and pose for photos. On Thursday, December 3, Santa visits for Crafts & Cocoa with Santa, a drop-in hour of winter crafts, cocoa and sweet treats sponsored by the Friends of the Library. Neither program requires tickets, which makes them easy stops for families after school.
Fun facts about Christmas in El Dorado Hills
During the California Gold Rush, gold washed down the South Fork of the American River into the area that became El Dorado Hills. The modern community dates to the early 1960s, when developer Allan Lindsey began a master-planned community of residential villages laid out by architect Victor Gruen. It first appeared as a census-designated place in 1980 and had 50,547 residents in 2020, up from 42,108 in 2010.
Traditions today
- Nutcracker at the library: The El Dorado Dance Academy performs excerpts from The Nutcracker ballet at the El Dorado Hills Library on November 20, 2026.
- Photos with the Sugar Plum Fairy: After the performance, the audience is invited to talk to and take photos with the Nutcracker characters.
- Crafts & Cocoa with Santa: Santa visits the library on December 3 for an hour of winter crafts, cocoa and sweet treats.
- Three crafts for every age: The Santa afternoon sets out three different crafts at varying levels of difficulty so each child has a fitting activity.
- El Dorado Hills Town Center: The mixed-use Town Center just south of US 50 is described as the center of town and of the region.
A fact for kids
Riders for the Pony Express once galloped through what is now El Dorado Hills, and parts of their two routes from 1860 and 1861 are still roads people drive on today.
Questions about Christmas in El Dorado Hills
How did El Dorado Hills get started?
Its modern history dates to the early 1960s, when developer Allan Lindsey began a master-planned community there. Architect Victor Gruen prepared the plan, which organized the area into residential villages with schools, parks, a golf course, a business park and open space between neighborhoods.
What does the name El Dorado mean?
El Dorado is Spanish for the golden. The name suits the area's past: during the California Gold Rush, gold was washed down the South Fork of the American River into the lands that later became El Dorado Hills and neighboring Folsom.
Is El Dorado Hills a city?
No. It is an unincorporated town and census-designated place in El Dorado County, so its local government is the county's. Several services come from local agencies such as the El Dorado Hills Community Services District and the El Dorado Hills County Water District, which is the fire department.
How many people live in El Dorado Hills?
The 2020 census counted 50,547 residents, up from 42,108 in 2010 and 18,016 in 2000. El Dorado Hills first appeared as a census-designated place in the 1980 census, and its census boundaries have more than doubled in land area since 2000.
Did the Pony Express pass through El Dorado Hills?
Yes. According to the community's Wikipedia article, portions of two Pony Express routes used in this area from 1860 to 1861 remain today as modern El Dorado Hills roads. Farming and ranching later took the place of gold mining and panning.
Was there ever a railroad in El Dorado Hills?
West of Latrobe Road, the southern edge of the community follows railroad tracks that were formerly used by the Southern Pacific between the cities of Folsom and Placerville. The census-designated place uses that line as part of its boundary.
What happens at Christmas in El Dorado Hills?
The El Dorado Hills Library hosts two listed events in 2026. The El Dorado Dance Academy performs Nutcracker excerpts on Friday, November 20 at 3:00 PM, and Santa visits for Crafts & Cocoa with Santa on Thursday, December 3 from 3:30 to 4:30 PM.
Who organizes the library's holiday events?
Both are programs of the El Dorado County Library at its El Dorado Hills branch. The Nutcracker excerpts are performed by the El Dorado Dance Academy, known as EDDA, and Crafts & Cocoa with Santa is sponsored by the Friends of the Library.
Do families need tickets for the Nutcracker at the library?
No tickets are required for the Nutcracker Performance on November 20, 2026. The library recommends it for ages 6 and up with a caregiver. After the show, children can meet and take photos with the characters, including the Sugar Plum Fairy and her friends.
What are the villages of El Dorado Hills?
The community was planned as a group of residential villages, and each neighborhood built from the late 1960s on was given a name. The original villages include Ridgeview, Park, Saint Andrews, Crown and Governors, with later ones such as Fairchild, Bridlewood and Serrano.
Sources
- El Dorado Hills, California, Wikipedia
- EDH - Nutcracker Performance (ages 6+), El Dorado County Library
- EDH - Crafts & Cocoa with Santa, El Dorado County 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 California city.
El Dorado Hills Christmas events for kids: questions parents ask
What Christmas events for kids are happening in El Dorado Hills in 2026?
The El Dorado Hills Library lists two. A Nutcracker Performance by the El Dorado Dance Academy is on Friday, November 20, 2026, at 3:00 PM. Crafts & Cocoa with Santa follows on Thursday, December 3, from 3:30 to 4:30 PM, with winter crafts, cocoa and sweet treats.
Where can kids meet Santa in El Dorado Hills?
Santa visits the El Dorado Hills Library for Crafts & Cocoa with Santa on Thursday, December 3, 2026, from 3:30 to 4:30 PM. Children of all ages and their caregivers can drop in for winter crafts, cocoa and other sweet treats while he is there.
Do El Dorado Hills library Christmas events need tickets or sign-up?
No. The library's page for the Nutcracker Performance on November 20, 2026, says no tickets are required. Crafts & Cocoa with Santa on December 3 is run on a drop-in basis, so families can simply arrive during the 3:30 to 4:30 PM hour.
Are there free Christmas events for kids in El Dorado Hills?
Neither library page lists a price. The Nutcracker Performance on November 20 requires no tickets, and Crafts & Cocoa with Santa on December 3 is drop-in and sponsored by the Friends of the Library. The pages do not use the word free, so ask the library if you want to be certain.
Is there a Nutcracker show for kids in El Dorado Hills?
Yes. On Friday, November 20, 2026, at 3:00 PM, the El Dorado Dance Academy performs excerpts from The Nutcracker ballet at the El Dorado Hills Library. Afterward the audience can talk to and take photos with the characters, including the Sugar Plum Fairy.
What ages are the El Dorado Hills library holiday events for?
The Nutcracker Performance on November 20, 2026, is recommended for ages 6 and up with a caregiver. Crafts & Cocoa with Santa on December 3 is for children of all ages and their caregivers, with three crafts at different levels of difficulty.
Are there Christmas train rides for kids near El Dorado Hills?
Santa trains and holiday train rides have their own guide: Rally Takes the Train’s California Christmas train rides guide. This El Dorado Hills 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.