Rally the corgi has sniffed out the best Christmas events for kids in Glastonbury for 2026, and here is what he found: 2 family events. They are Jingle Babies (from December 3) and Climb Aboard the Polar Express (December 15). We check every date on the host’s own website, and each listing links straight there. For the rest of the state, see our Connecticut Christmas events for kids guide.
What Rally found in Glastonbury
- 2 Christmas events for kids in Glastonbury
- Season: December 3 (Jingle Babies) to December 15 (Climb Aboard the Polar Express)
- Every date checked on the host’s own site on Nov 10
What are you looking for?
All 2 events
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Ticketed and paid Christmas events for kids in Glastonbury
Admission, tickets or a fee apply. Where a host has not posted a price yet, the listing says so.
Holiday story time
Jingle Babies
- When: Thu December 3 (10:30 to 11 am) and Mon December 14, 2026 (Two sessions, December 3 and December 14. The page shows 10:30 to 11:00 am for December 3; confirm the December 14 time on the library calendar.)
- Where: Welles-Turner Memorial Library, Friends Room, 2407 Main St, Glastonbury, CT 06033 (opens in maps)
- Cost: No price listed on the organizer's page; no registration required
- Ages: Birth to 15 months, with a caregiver
Expand to see the parent tip
Jingle Babies is a holiday edition of the library's Mother Goose program for its very youngest visitors. Caregivers and babies share rhymes, songs and lap bounces picked to give little ones an early taste of language.
The page lists Thursday, December 3, 2026, from 10:30 to 11:00 am in the Friends Room, and shows a second session on Monday, December 14. It is for babies from birth to 15 months with a caregiver who stays and joins in, since drop-offs are not allowed. No registration is required and no price is listed.
Parent tip: At 30 minutes with no sign-up, it is easy to try even when nap schedules are unpredictable. The age range tops out at 15 months and the library expects you to take part alongside your baby, so plan to sing and bounce too.
- Host
- Welles-Turner Memorial Library (opens in a new tab)
- Address
- Welles-Turner Memorial Library, Friends Room, 2407 Main St, Glastonbury, CT 06033 (opens in maps)
- Confirmed
- On the host’s page, checked
New Glastonbury events every week
Rally researches Christmas events in Glastonbury daily and updates this page with new events. Enter your email to get a weekly update with new events in Glastonbury.
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Rally’s Christmas research
Rally the corgi has 1 more Glastonbury 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 Glastonbury.
- Exclusive access to free events Find the free Christmas events in Glastonbury 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 Story time
- 1 Crafts
- 1 Trains
Enter your email to get new Christmas events in Glastonbury every week.
Holiday story time
Climb Aboard the Polar Express
- When: Tuesday, December 15, 2026, 6:30 to 7:30 pm
- Where: Welles-Turner Memorial Library, Friends Room, 2407 Main St, Glastonbury, CT 06033 (opens in maps)
- Cost: No price listed on the organizer's page; registration required
- Ages: Ages 4 to 10
Expand to see the parent tip
Children take a pretend train ride to the North Pole, built around a reading of the classic Polar Express story with activities and a cup of cocoa. Pajamas are encouraged, and each registered child collects a paper Train Ticket from the Children's Department before the night of the trip.
It runs on Tuesday, December 15, 2026, from 6:30 to 7:30 pm in the Friends Room, for registered children ages 4 to 10. The description says sign-up begins December 1 for Glastonbury residents and that non-residents may register on Monday, December 14, if space remains, while the calendar's own registration line shows an opening of November 17 at 6:30 pm. No price is listed.
Parent tip: Pick up the Train Ticket before 9:00 pm on December 14, or the seat is offered to the waitlist. Each child may bring one adult and siblings outside the 4 to 10 range cannot come along, so line up care for them, and note that the library cannot guarantee the food is free of tree nuts, soy or other allergens.
- Host
- Welles-Turner Memorial Library (opens in a new tab)
- Address
- Welles-Turner Memorial Library, Friends Room, 2407 Main St, Glastonbury, CT 06033 (opens in maps)
- Confirmed
- On the host’s page, checked
New Glastonbury events every week
Rally researches Christmas events in Glastonbury daily and updates this page with new events. Enter your email to get a weekly update with new events in Glastonbury.
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 Connecticut Christmas train rides page.
See every event on a December calendar
Plan your December
When each Glastonbury Christmas event for kids happens
The first is Jingle Babies in Glastonbury on December 3; the last runs to December 15. Each bar spans an event’s dates, not every hour in them, so check the host’s page for times.
- Jingle BabiesGlastonbury · Dec 3 to Dec 14
- Climb Aboard the Polar ExpressGlastonbury · Dec 15
Looking further afield? Our Connecticut Christmas events for kids guide lists every event we have found in the state, and we have city guides for Hartford, West Hartford, Windsor, CT and Ellington, CT. 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 Glastonbury
The oldest continuously operating ferry in the United States still crosses the Connecticut River between South Glastonbury and Rocky Hill, as it did as far back as 1655. In December, the town's Christmas programs for children gather at the Welles-Turner Memorial Library on Main Street, including a pretend train ride to the North Pole.
How Glastonbury celebrates
Glastonbury was built along a main road instead of around a large green, and Main Street is where the Welles-Turner Memorial Library holds its holiday programs for children. Jingle Babies, a holiday version of the library's Mother Goose program, offers rhymes, songs and bounces for babies up to 15 months on December 3 and December 14, 2026, with no registration. On Tuesday, December 15, Climb Aboard the Polar Express invites registered children ages 4 to 10 to an evening of story, activities and cocoa in pajamas, with a Train Ticket to collect beforehand. That page credits the Linda Cohan Memorial Fund as sponsor. Both programs meet in the Friends Room.
Fun facts about Christmas in Glastonbury
Thirty families first settled the area in 1636, when it was a tract called Pyaug that belonged to Wethersfield, and the separate town was created in 1693. It is named after Glastonbury in Somerset, England, and the spelling was changed to match in 1870. Wikipedia says 154 houses built before 1800 still stand here, the second-highest count of any town in the country. The 2020 census recorded 35,159 residents.
Traditions today
- Climb Aboard the Polar Express: Children ages 4 to 10 come in pajamas for a reading of the classic story, activities and cocoa on an imaginary trip to the North Pole.
- Jingle Babies: Babies up to 15 months and their caregivers share holiday rhymes, songs and bounces in a half-hour session.
- Train Tickets at the Children's Department: Registered Polar Express riders pick up a Train Ticket at the library's Children's Department before the event.
- The Friends Room on Main Street: Both holiday programs meet in the Friends Room at the Welles-Turner Memorial Library, 2407 Main Street.
A fact for kids
A ferry has carried people across the Connecticut River between Glastonbury and Rocky Hill since 1655, and the ride takes about four minutes. One part of town is nicknamed Rattlesnake Mountain because a small group of timber rattlesnakes lives there.
Questions about Christmas in Glastonbury
When was Glastonbury, Connecticut founded?
Glastonbury was first settled in 1636, when 30 families moved to Pyaug, a tract on the east bank of the Connecticut River that belonged to Wethersfield. The separate town, then spelled Glassenbury, was created in 1693, the year Wikipedia gives as its official founding.
How did Glastonbury get its name?
The town is named after Glastonbury in Somerset, England. It was created as Glassenbury in 1693, residents changed the spelling to Glastenbury in 1785, and in 1870 the name became Glastonbury to match the English town.
What is special about the Glastonbury ferry?
The Rocky Hill-Glastonbury ferry is described as the oldest continuously operating ferry in the United States, dating to 1655. It runs between South Glastonbury and Rocky Hill from May 1 to October 31, and the trip across the Connecticut River takes about four minutes.
What happens at Christmas for kids in Glastonbury?
The Welles-Turner Memorial Library runs two holiday programs in December 2026. Jingle Babies offers rhymes and songs for babies up to 15 months on December 3 and December 14, and Climb Aboard the Polar Express is a story night for ages 4 to 10 on Tuesday, December 15.
Where are the Christmas programs held?
Both are in the Friends Room at the Welles-Turner Memorial Library, 2407 Main Street, Glastonbury, CT 06033. Wikipedia notes that Glastonbury grew up along a main road instead of around a large town green, which is why so much of town life sits on Main Street.
Who organizes them?
The library's Children's Department organizes both programs and is listed as the contact, at (860) 652-7718. The Polar Express page adds that the event is sponsored by the Linda Cohan Memorial Fund. Registration for that event runs through the library's online calendar.
Are the library's Christmas programs free?
Neither page lists a price or uses the word free. Jingle Babies requires no registration. Climb Aboard the Polar Express requires registration, with Glastonbury residents able to sign up before non-residents, and each child needs a Train Ticket collected from the Children's Department.
Does Glastonbury have a long library history?
According to Wikipedia, the town organized its first library in 1803. The same article notes that by the end of the Revolution the town already had ten schools, and that Noah Webster studied and later taught in Glastonbury.
What was Glastonbury known for making?
In the 18th and early 19th centuries Glastonbury was a shipbuilding town. Later the J.B. Williams company made shaving soap there, in what is believed to be the world's first commercial soap manufacturing business, and J.H. Hale, known as the Peach King, started his orchards in 1866.
Sources
- Glastonbury, Connecticut, Wikipedia
- Jingle Babies, Welles-Turner Memorial Library
- Climb Aboard the Polar Express, Welles-Turner Memorial 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 Connecticut city.
Glastonbury Christmas events for kids: questions parents ask
What are the best Christmas events for kids in Glastonbury to start with?
For children ages 4 to 10, Climb Aboard the Polar Express at Welles-Turner Memorial Library on Tuesday, December 15, 2026, is the standout, with a story, activities and cocoa. For babies up to 15 months, Jingle Babies on December 3 and December 14 is a short, no-registration introduction to holiday rhymes and songs.
Are there free Christmas events for kids in Glastonbury?
Neither Welles-Turner Memorial Library page lists a price. Jingle Babies on December 3 and December 14, 2026, needs no registration at all. Climb Aboard the Polar Express on December 15 requires registration and a Train Ticket picked up in the Children's Department, but the page shows no fee.
Where can kids meet Santa in Glastonbury?
The two library programs in this guide do not mention a Santa visit. Climb Aboard the Polar Express on Tuesday, December 15, 2026, is an imaginary trip to the North Pole with a story reading, activities and cocoa, so it carries the theme without promising Santa in person.
Is there a Polar Express event in Glastonbury?
Yes. Welles-Turner Memorial Library hosts Climb Aboard the Polar Express on Tuesday, December 15, 2026, from 6:30 to 7:30 pm in the Friends Room. Registered children ages 4 to 10 hear the classic story, do activities and have cocoa, and pajamas are encouraged. Each child may bring one adult.
Which Glastonbury Christmas events need tickets or sign-up?
Climb Aboard the Polar Express on December 15, 2026, requires registration. The page says sign-up begins December 1 for Glastonbury residents and December 14 for non-residents if space remains, and tickets not collected by 9:00 pm on December 14 go to the waitlist. Jingle Babies needs no registration.
Is there a Christmas program for babies in Glastonbury?
Jingle Babies at Welles-Turner Memorial Library is made for babies from birth to 15 months with a caregiver. It is a holiday version of Mother Goose with rhymes, songs and bounces, listed for Thursday, December 3, 2026, from 10:30 to 11:00 am, and again on December 14.
Are there Christmas train rides for kids near Glastonbury?
Santa trains and holiday train rides have their own guide: Rally Takes the Train’s Connecticut Christmas train rides guide. This Glastonbury 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.