Christmas Events for Kids in Forest (2026)

Christmas Events for Kids
Written by Kelsey Cecil

Updated 4 min read

Rally the corgi has sniffed out the best Christmas events for kids in Forest for 2026, and here is what he found: 2 family events, 1 of them free. They are Christmas Concert with Riddle on the Harp (December 9) and Saturday with Santa (December 19). 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 Forest

  • 2 Christmas events for kids in Forest
  • 1 free event, including Christmas Concert with Riddle on the Harp
  • Meet Santa: Saturday with Santa (December 19)
  • Season: December 9 (Christmas Concert with Riddle on the Harp) to December 19 (Saturday with Santa)
  • Every date checked on the host’s own site on Nov 10

Free Christmas events for kids in Forest

Holiday showFree

Christmas Concert with Riddle on the Harp

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Riddle on the Harp, a Celtic and traditional music band made up of three Bedford County women (Patti Black, Barbara Compter and Jean Wibbens), plays a holiday concert in the Community Room at the Forest Library. The Friends of the Forest Library sponsor the afternoon.

The concert is Wednesday, December 9, 2026, from 1:30 to 2:30 PM at 15583 Forest Road. Registration is required and opens on November 11. The listing is aimed at families of all ages and adults, and the event data on the page shows a price of zero.

Parent tip: A one-hour acoustic concert at 1:30 on a Wednesday afternoon fits preschoolers and homeschool families better than children who are in class. Register once sign-up opens on November 11 so you are not turned away at the door.

Host
Forest Library (Bedford Public Library System) (opens in a new tab)
Address
Forest Library, Community Room, 15583 Forest Road, Forest, VA 24551 (opens in maps)
Confirmed
On the host’s page, checked
See dates and detailsfrom Forest Library (Bedford Public Library System) (opens in a new tab)

New Forest events every week

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Rally’s Christmas research

Rally the corgi has 1 more Forest event researched for you.

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Coming up on this page

  • 1 Santa
  • 1 Shows
  • 1 Free

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Ticketed and paid Christmas events for kids in Forest

Admission, tickets or a fee apply. Where a host has not posted a price yet, the listing says so.

Santa visit

Saturday with Santa

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Santa makes the trip from the North Pole to the Community Room at the Forest Library, where children and families can stop in, say hello and snap a selfie with him. The visit is sponsored by the Friends of the Forest Library.

Santa is at the library on Saturday, December 19, 2026, from 10:00 AM to 12:00 PM at 15583 Forest Road. No registration is required. The page does not list a price.

Parent tip: Photos here are selfies, so bring a charged phone and decide who is holding it before your turn comes. With a two-hour window and no sign-up, you can pick your moment around naps and breakfast.

Host
Forest Library (Bedford Public Library System) (opens in a new tab)
Address
Forest Library, Community Room, 15583 Forest Road, Forest, VA 24551 (opens in maps)
Confirmed
On the host’s page, checked
See dates and detailsfrom Forest Library (Bedford Public Library System) (opens in a new tab)

New Forest events every week

Rally researches Christmas events in Forest daily and updates this page with new events. Enter your email to get a weekly update with new events in Forest.

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 Virginia Christmas train rides page.

See every event on a December calendar

Plan your December

When each Forest Christmas event for kids happens

The first is Christmas Concert with Riddle on the Harp in Forest on December 9; the last runs to December 19. Each bar spans an event’s dates, not every hour in them, so check the host’s page for times.

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 Lynchburg, Bedford, VA, Appomattox and Vinton. 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.

Rally Takes the Train book cover: a watercolor corgi peeking from a red train

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 Amazon (opens in a new tab)

2026 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 Forest

Forest has no real town center, because the original one was torn down, so the stretch of Forest Road between the post office and the Forest Library is generally treated as the middle of the community. That same library is where Christmas happens for kids here, with a harp concert in early December and a Saturday visit from Santa.

How Forest celebrates

Both Christmas events we could confirm in Forest take place in the Community Room of the Forest Library, a branch of the Bedford Public Library System, and both are sponsored by the Friends of the Forest Library. On Wednesday, December 9, 2026, the Bedford County trio Riddle on the Harp plays a holiday concert of Celtic and traditional music, with registration required. On Saturday, December 19, Santa visits from 10:00 AM to noon so children and families can stop in for a selfie, with no registration needed. The library stands on Forest Road, the route the Wikipedia article identifies as the central part of the community.

Fun facts about Christmas in Forest

Forest is home to Poplar Forest, the summer home of Thomas Jefferson, which is open to the public and is the subject of ongoing archaeological studies. The community has grown from 8,006 residents in 2000 to 11,709 in the 2020 census, with growth picking up after Forest Road, U.S. Route 221, was widened to four lanes in 2009. A former Norfolk & Western rail station once stood near the library and was torn down in the late 2010s.

Traditions today

  • Saturday with Santa: Santa visits the Forest Library on December 19 so children and families can stop in and take a selfie with him.
  • Christmas Concert with Riddle on the Harp: A trio of Bedford County musicians plays a holiday concert of Celtic and traditional music in the library's Community Room on December 9.
  • The Friends of the Forest Library: The library's Friends group sponsors both the concert and the Santa visit.
  • Forest Road: The library stands on Forest Road, in the area the Wikipedia article says is generally regarded as the central part of Forest.

A fact for kids

Thomas Jefferson had a summer home in Forest called Poplar Forest. You can visit it today, and archaeologists are still studying the grounds to learn more about the past.

Questions about Christmas in Forest

Is Forest, Virginia a town?

Forest is a census-designated place in eastern Bedford County, not an incorporated town. The 2020 census counted 11,709 residents, and the community is part of the Lynchburg metropolitan area, about 10 miles southwest of downtown Lynchburg.

What is Poplar Forest?

Poplar Forest is the summer home of Thomas Jefferson and a popular attraction in Forest. It is open to the public for visits, is used for events, and is the subject of ongoing archaeological studies, according to the Wikipedia article on the community.

Where is the center of Forest?

Forest has no real town center, since the original one was torn down without a trace. The area along Forest Road from the post office to the Forest Library is generally regarded as the central part of the community, which extends along the road from the middle school to Graves Mill Shopping Center.

Did Forest have a train station?

Yes. A Norfolk & Western rail station stood near a loop of older homes and two churches behind the library, and it was torn down in the late 2010s. Today the closest passenger trains stop at Kemper Street station in Lynchburg, served by Amtrak's Crescent and Northeast Regional.

What happens at Christmas for kids in Forest?

The Forest Library hosts a Christmas Concert with Riddle on the Harp on Wednesday, December 9, 2026, and Saturday with Santa on December 19, when children and families can visit Santa and take a selfie between 10:00 AM and noon.

Where are the Christmas events in Forest held?

Both are in the Community Room at the Forest Library, 15583 Forest Road. Forest Road is also U.S. Route 221, which was widened to four lanes in 2009 and runs through the part of the community most people think of as its center.

Who organizes Christmas events in Forest?

The Forest Library, part of the Bedford Public Library System, runs both programs, and the Friends of the Forest Library sponsor them. The concert is performed by Riddle on the Harp, a band of three women from Bedford County.

What is free at Christmas in Forest?

The library's event data for the December 9 concert shows a price of zero, with registration required from November 11. The Saturday with Santa page for December 19 lists no price and no registration, though it does not use the word free.

How fast has Forest grown?

The census counted 8,006 people in 2000, 9,106 in 2010 and 11,709 in 2020. The Wikipedia article describes rapid growth over the past 20 years, especially after U.S. Route 221 was widened in 2009, with homes carved from surrounding farms and woodlands.

What else is near Forest for families?

Besides Poplar Forest, the Wikipedia article lists nearby attractions including Point of Honor in Lynchburg, the National D-Day Memorial in Bedford and the Peaks of Otter in the Blue Ridge Mountains. The Ivy Hill community, built around a golf course, is the largest development in Forest.

Sources

  1. Forest, Virginia, Wikipedia
  2. Christmas Concert with Riddle on the Harp, Bedford Public Library System
  3. Saturday with Santa, Bedford Public Library System

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.

Forest Christmas events for kids: questions parents ask

What Christmas events for kids are happening in Forest in 2026?

The Forest Library has two. A Christmas Concert with Riddle on the Harp is Wednesday, December 9, from 1:30 to 2:30 PM, and Saturday with Santa is December 19 from 10:00 AM to noon. Both take place in the library's Community Room at 15583 Forest Road.

Where can kids meet Santa in Forest?

Santa visits the Forest Library on Saturday, December 19, 2026, from 10:00 AM to 12:00 PM. Children and families can stop into the Community Room to see him and take a selfie. No registration is required, so you can arrive at any point during the two hours.

Are there free Christmas events for kids in Forest?

The event data on the library's page for the December 9 Christmas concert shows a price of zero, with registration required. The page for Saturday with Santa on December 19 does not list a price or say it is free, but it does say no registration is needed.

Is there a Christmas concert for families in Forest?

Yes. Riddle on the Harp, a Celtic and traditional music band of three women from Bedford County, plays a holiday concert at the Forest Library on Wednesday, December 9, 2026, from 1:30 to 2:30 PM. The listing is open to families of all ages as well as adults.

Which Forest Christmas events need registration?

The Christmas Concert with Riddle on the Harp on December 9 requires registration, which opens on November 11, 2026, through the Bedford Public Library System calendar. Saturday with Santa on December 19 is the opposite, with the page stating that no registration is required.

Who sponsors the Christmas events at the Forest Library?

Both the December 9 concert and the December 19 Santa visit are sponsored by the Friends of the Forest Library. The library sits on Forest Road, along the stretch the Wikipedia article says is generally regarded as the central part of a community with no real town center.

Are there Christmas train rides for kids near Forest?

Santa trains and holiday train rides have their own guide: Rally Takes the Train’s Virginia Christmas train rides guide. This Forest 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.

Kelsey Cecil
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