Rally the corgi has sniffed out the Christmas events for kids in Garland for 2026. A Garland Christmas on the Square lights the tree at 6:30 pm on Friday, December 4, with Santa, a ball pit with slides and a tubing slide, and two family holiday plays run downtown through December 13: The Best Christmas Pageant Ever and A Christmas Carol. We check every date on the host’s own website and link straight there. For the rest of the state, see our Texas Christmas events for kids guide.
What Rally found in Garland
- 3 Christmas events for kids in Garland
- Christmas on the Square: Friday, December 4, 5 pm to 9 pm, tree lighting at 6:30 pm, free
- The Best Christmas Pageant Ever: December 4 to 13 at the Granville Arts Center
- A Christmas Carol: December 4 to 13 at the Plaza Theatre
- All dates checked on Visit Garland and the City of Garland calendar on Nov 11
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Rally’s Christmas research
Rally the corgi has 2 more Garland events researched for you.
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- 1 Santa
- 1 Lights
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Free Christmas events for kids in Garland
Tree lighting and SantaFree
A Garland Christmas on the Square
- When: Friday, December 4, 2026, 5 pm to 9 pm, tree lighting at 6:30 pm
- Where: Downtown Garland Square, Garland, TX 75040 (opens in maps)
- Cost: Free
- Ages: All ages
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Downtown Garland Square lights its Christmas tree at 6:30 pm, with music, holiday shopping and seasonal treats filling the square all evening and Santa there for visits.
Kids can dance on an LED dance floor with DJ Pree, play interactive projector games, dive into a mega ball pit with slides, and ride the North Pole Tubing Slide at La Grande’s Feliz Navidad.
Parent tip: Downtown Garland DART station is steps from the square, which beats circling for parking on the busiest night downtown.
- Host
- City of Garland, Visit Garland (opens in a new tab)
- Address
- Downtown Garland Square, Garland, TX 75040 (opens in maps)
- Confirmed
- On the host’s page, checked
New Garland events every week
Rally researches Christmas events in Garland daily and updates this page with new events. Enter your email to get a weekly update with new events in Garland.
Free. Unsubscribe anytime. Privacy policy (opens in a new tab)
Rally’s Christmas research
Rally the corgi has 2 more Garland 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 Garland.
- Exclusive access to free events Find the free Christmas events in Garland 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 Santa
- 1 Lights
- 1 Free
Enter your email to get new Christmas events in Garland every week.
Ticketed and paid Christmas events for kids in Garland
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
Holiday play
The Best Christmas Pageant Ever by Garland Civic Theatre
- When: December 4 to 13, 2026. Fridays and December 5 at 7:30 pm; December 6, 12 and 13 at 2:30 pm
- Where: Granville Arts Center, 300 N Fifth Street, Garland, TX 75040 (opens in maps)
- Cost: Tickets through Garland Cultural Arts
- Ages: Family friendly
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Garland Civic Theatre stages Barbara Robinson’s The Best Christmas Pageant Ever, where the rowdy Herdman siblings, the worst kids in town, grab every lead role in the church Christmas pageant.
Their chaotic, very honest take on the story ends up showing the whole town the holiday in a new light, and it is a great first play for school-age kids.
Parent tip: The weekend matinees at 2:30 pm are the easiest pick for younger kids.
- Host
- Garland Cultural Arts, City of Garland (opens in a new tab)
- Address
- Granville Arts Center, 300 N Fifth Street, Garland, TX 75040 (opens in maps)
- Confirmed
- On the host’s page, checked
New Garland events every week
Rally researches Christmas events in Garland daily and updates this page with new events. Enter your email to get a weekly update with new events in Garland.
Free. Unsubscribe anytime. Privacy policy (opens in a new tab)
Holiday play
A Christmas Carol by Company of Rowlett Performers
- When: December 4 to 13, 2026. Fridays and Saturdays at 7:30 pm, Sundays at 2 pm
- Where: Plaza Theatre, 521 W State Street, Garland, TX 75040 (opens in maps)
- Cost: Tickets through Garland Cultural Arts
- Ages: Family friendly
Expand to see the parent tip
Company of Rowlett Performers brings Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol to the historic Plaza Theatre on the downtown square.
Ebenezer Scrooge meets the ghost of Jacob Marley and three spirits on Christmas Eve, and kids get to watch the old miser turn generous by the final scene.
Parent tip: Pair the opening Friday show with Christmas on the Square, since the Plaza Theatre sits right on the square.
- Host
- Garland Cultural Arts, City of Garland (opens in a new tab)
- Address
- Plaza Theatre, 521 W State Street, Garland, TX 75040 (opens in maps)
- Confirmed
- On the host’s page, checked
New Garland events every week
Rally researches Christmas events in Garland daily and updates this page with new events. Enter your email to get a weekly update with new events in Garland.
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 Texas Christmas train rides page.
See every event on a December calendar
Plan your December
When each Garland Christmas event for kids happens
Downtown Garland is the place on Friday, December 4: the tree lighting and Santa on the square, with both holiday plays opening the same night a block away.
- A Garland Christmas on the SquareGarland · Dec 4
- The Best Christmas Pageant Ever by Garland Civic TheatreGarland · Dec 4 to Dec 13
- A Christmas Carol by Company of Rowlett PerformersGarland · Dec 4 to Dec 13
Looking further afield? Our Texas Christmas events for kids guide lists every confirmed event in the state, and we have city guides for Rowlett, Richardson, Plano and Mesquite. 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 Texas city.
Garland Christmas events for kids: questions parents ask
What are the best Christmas events for kids in Garland this year?
Rally Takes the Train has confirmed 3 for 2026: A Garland Christmas on the Square on December 4, The Best Christmas Pageant Ever at the Granville Arts Center and A Christmas Carol at the Plaza Theatre, both running December 4 to 13.
When is the Garland tree lighting in 2026?
Friday, December 4, 2026, at 6:30 pm on Downtown Garland Square, during A Garland Christmas on the Square (5 pm to 9 pm).
Is Christmas on the Square free?
Yes. Entry is free, with Santa, a ball pit with slides, an LED dance floor and the North Pole Tubing Slide.
Where are the Garland holiday plays?
The Best Christmas Pageant Ever is at the Granville Arts Center, 300 N Fifth Street, and A Christmas Carol is at the Plaza Theatre, 521 W State Street.
Who do I contact about Garland holiday events?
City of Garland Special Events at SpecialEvents@GarlandTX.gov or 972-205-2726 for Christmas on the Square, and Garland Cultural Arts at arts@garlandtx.gov for the plays.
Are there Christmas train rides for kids in Texas?
Yes. Santa trains and holiday train rides have their own guide: Rally Takes the Train’s Texas 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 Garland 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.