Rally the corgi has sniffed out the Christmas events for kids in Ellicott City for 2026. Model trains fill the B&O Ellicott City Station Museum for the free Holiday Train Garden from November 27 to January 3, and Santa takes to the climbing wall at the Roger Carter Community Center on December 18. We check every date on the host’s own website and link straight there. For the rest of the state, see our Maryland Christmas events for kids guide.
What Rally found in Ellicott City
- 2 Christmas events for kids in Ellicott City
- Holiday Train Garden: November 27 to January 3, free
- Train Garden hours: Wednesday to Sunday, closed Mondays and Tuesdays
- Climbing with Santa: Friday, December 18, ages 5 to 10, $7
- Every date checked on the Howard County Recreation and Parks calendar on Nov 11
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Free Christmas events for kids in Ellicott City
Holiday train gardenFree
Holiday Train Garden at the B&O Ellicott City Station Museum
- When: November 27, 2026 to January 3, 2027, during museum hours: Wednesday and Thursday 10 am to 3 pm, Friday to Sunday 10 am to 5 pm
- Where: B&O Ellicott City Station Museum, 3711 Maryland Avenue, Ellicott City, MD 21043 (opens in maps)
- Cost: Free
- Ages: All ages
Expand to see the parent tip
For the holidays, Howard County Recreation and Parks sets up model trains all through the B&O Ellicott City Station Museum, the oldest surviving railroad station in the United States.
The seasonal layouts join the year-round HO-scale model in the Freight House that traces the first 13 miles of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad from Baltimore to Ellicott City, and kids can also see the restored 1927 caboose.
Parent tip: The museum is closed Mondays, Tuesdays and Christmas Day, so plan a Wednesday to Sunday visit, and pair it with a walk down historic Main Street.
- Host
- Howard County Recreation and Parks (opens in a new tab)
- Address
- B&O Ellicott City Station Museum, 3711 Maryland Avenue, Ellicott City, MD 21043 (opens in maps)
- Confirmed
- On the host’s page, checked
New Ellicott City events every week
Rally researches Christmas events in Ellicott City daily and updates this page with new events. Enter your email to get a weekly update with new events in Ellicott City.
Free. Unsubscribe anytime. Privacy policy (opens in a new tab)
Rally’s Christmas research
Rally the corgi has 1 more Ellicott City 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 Ellicott City.
- Exclusive access to free events Find the free Christmas events in Ellicott City 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.
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Enter your email to get new Christmas events in Ellicott City every week.
Ticketed and paid Christmas events for kids in Ellicott City
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
Santa on the climbing wall
Climbing with Santa
- When: Friday, December 18, 2026, timed entries from 5 pm to 7:40 pm
- Where: Roger Carter Community Center, 3000 Milltowne Dr, Ellicott City, MD 21043 (opens in maps)
- Cost: $7 per child, paid at check-in; sign up for an entry time
- Ages: Ages 5 to 10
Expand to see the parent tip
Kids help Santa with his final workout before the chimney run, rotating through a craft, snacks and hot cocoa, photo stops with characters and games with Santa on the climbing wall.
Climbers stay under five feet while they traverse the wall, each timed slot takes about 30 minutes, and a parent or guardian stays with their child the whole time.
Parent tip: Arrive within 15 minutes of your entry time or you may lose the spot, and bring a camera for photos with the characters.
- Host
- Howard County Recreation and Parks (opens in a new tab)
- Address
- Roger Carter Community Center, 3000 Milltowne Dr, Ellicott City, MD 21043 (opens in maps)
- Confirmed
- On the host’s page, checked
New Ellicott City events every week
Rally researches Christmas events in Ellicott City daily and updates this page with new events. Enter your email to get a weekly update with new events in Ellicott City.
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 Maryland Christmas train rides page.
See every event on a December calendar
Plan your December
When each Ellicott City Christmas event for kids happens
Visit the free Holiday Train Garden any Wednesday to Sunday through early January, and book a Climbing with Santa entry time for December 18 before spots fill.
- Holiday Train Garden at the B&O Ellicott City Station MuseumEllicott City · Nov 27 to Jan 3
- Climbing with SantaEllicott City · Dec 18
Looking further afield? Our Maryland Christmas events for kids guide lists every confirmed event in the state, and we have city guides for Columbia, Brooklyn Park, Baltimore and Laurel. 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 Maryland city.
Ellicott City Christmas events for kids: questions parents ask
What are the best Christmas events for kids in Ellicott City this year?
Rally Takes the Train has confirmed 2 Christmas events for kids in Ellicott City for 2026: the Holiday Train Garden at the B&O Ellicott City Station Museum and Climbing with Santa at the Roger Carter Community Center.
When is the Ellicott City holiday train garden open in 2026?
November 27, 2026 to January 3, 2027, during museum hours: 10 am to 3 pm Wednesday and Thursday and 10 am to 5 pm Friday to Sunday. It is closed Mondays, Tuesdays, December 25 and January 1, and admission is free.
Where is the B&O Ellicott City Station Museum?
3711 Maryland Avenue in historic Ellicott City. It is the oldest surviving railroad station in the United States.
What is Climbing with Santa?
A Howard County Recreation and Parks program for kids 5 to 10 on Friday, December 18, 2026, with crafts, snacks, character photos and games with Santa on the climbing wall. It costs $7 per child and you sign up for an entry time.
Who do I contact about these Ellicott City events?
The B&O Ellicott City Station Museum at cconneally@howardcountymd.gov for the train garden, and Matt Medicus at mmedicus@howardcountymd.gov for Climbing with Santa.
Are there Christmas train rides for kids in Maryland?
Yes. Santa trains and holiday train rides have their own guide: Rally Takes the Train’s Maryland 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 Ellicott City 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.