Christmas Events for Kids in Grosse Pointe (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 Grosse Pointe for 2026, and here is what he found: 3 family events. They are Photos with Santa (from November 29), The Nutcracker Tea (December 12) and Brunch with Santa (December 20). We check every date on the host’s own website, and each listing links straight there. For the rest of the state, see our Michigan Christmas events for kids guide.

What Rally found in Grosse Pointe

  • 3 Christmas events for kids in Grosse Pointe
  • Meet Santa: Photos with Santa (from November 29) and Brunch with Santa (December 20)
  • Season: November 29 (Photos with Santa) to December 20 (Brunch with Santa)
  • Every date checked on the host’s own site on Nov 10

Ticketed and paid Christmas events for kids in Grosse Pointe

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

Santa visit

Photos with Santa

  • When: Sun November 29 (9 am to 5 pm), Wed December 2 (2 to 8 pm), Sun December 6 (9 am to 5 pm), Wed December 9 (2 to 8 pm), Sun December 13 (9 am to 5 pm) and Wed December 16 (2 to 8 pm), 2026 (Sundays 9:00 am to 5:00 pm and Wednesdays 2:00 to 8:00 pm, by reserved time slot. The first hour of each date is a sensory-friendly session; traditional visits begin 90 minutes after opening.)
  • Where: Ford House, St. Clair Room, 1100 Lake Shore Rd, Grosse Pointe, MI 48236 (opens in maps)
  • Cost: $35 per child; $25 per child for Friends of Ford House
  • Ages: All ages
Expand to see the parent tip

Each family books a time slot for a short private visit with Santa in Ford House's lakeside St. Clair Room, where children meet him by the fireplace. Every child gets a freshly baked cookie, and families take pictures on their own phone or camera, with staff happy to snap one if asked. Every date opens with a sensory-friendly session.

Visits run on three Sundays (November 29, December 6 and December 13, 2026) from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm and three Wednesdays (December 2, 9 and 16) from 2:00 to 8:00 pm. The first hour of each date is the sensory-friendly session, and the traditional visits start 90 minutes after opening. Tickets are $35 per child for the public and $25 for Friends of Ford House, and advance reservations are required.

Parent tip: Bring a charged phone or camera, because there is no staff photographer and visits are kept brief to hold the schedule. Ford House asks guests to arrive early for check-in and says this event sells out each season, so book a slot you are sure you can make.

Host
Ford House (opens in a new tab)
Address
Ford House, St. Clair Room, 1100 Lake Shore Rd, Grosse Pointe, MI 48236 (opens in maps)
Confirmed
On the host’s page, checked
See dates and detailsfrom Ford House (opens in a new tab)

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Rally’s Christmas research

Rally the corgi has 2 more Grosse Pointe 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 Grosse Pointe.
  • Exclusive access to free events Find the free Christmas events in Grosse Pointe before they fill up.
  • Unlock the filters Find Santa visits, free events and weekend plans in one tap.
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Coming up on this page

  • 2 Santa
  • 2 Breakfast and treats
  • 1 Zoos and museums

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Holiday event

The Nutcracker Tea

Expand to see the parent tip

Ford House is reviving its Nutcracker Tea after more than ten years away, a return the estate credits to the fond memories past guests kept sharing. Families and friends sit down to a holiday tea at the Ford family estate, and a child's tea set is on view in an exhibition case at The Cove.

The tea is Saturday, December 12, 2026, with seatings from 10:00 to 11:30 am and from 1:00 to 2:30 pm in the Lake Shore Room at the Visitors Center. Seating is sold by the table, not the person: public tables cost $96 for two, $144 for three, $192 for four and $288 for six, with lower prices for Friends of Ford House. Questions go to the Admissions Desk at 313-884-4222.

Parent tip: Count heads before you buy, since table layouts are fixed, tables cannot be combined and two tables bought together may not sit side by side. If you choose the 10:00 seating, the noon Guided Holiday Tour is an easy add-on while everyone is still dressed up.

Host
Ford House (opens in a new tab)
Address
Ford House, Lake Shore Room (Visitors Center), 1100 Lake Shore Rd, Grosse Pointe, MI 48236 (opens in maps)
Confirmed
On the host’s page, checked
See dates and detailsfrom Ford House (opens in a new tab)

New Grosse Pointe events every week

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

Free. Unsubscribe anytime. Privacy policy (opens in a new tab)

Breakfast with Santa

Brunch with Santa

Expand to see the parent tip

Families share a brunch buffet in the Lake Shore Room, and instead of a line, staff walk one table at a time over to meet Santa. Children tell him their Christmas wishes while parents and grandparents take photos. It is set up for big family groups, with tables sized from four up to twelve.

Brunch is Sunday, December 20, 2026, with seatings from 9:00 to 10:30 am and from noon to 1:30 pm. Tickets go on sale to Friends of Ford House on November 17 at 10:00 am and to the public on November 20 at 10:00 am. Public tables cost $280 for four, $430 for six, $570 for eight, $780 for ten and $860 for twelve.

Parent tip: Set a reminder for the 10:00 am on-sale time, since Ford House warns that this one sells out fast. Settle the guest list first, because table sizes and seating are planned ahead and cannot be changed after you book.

Host
Ford House (opens in a new tab)
Address
Ford House, Lake Shore Room (Visitors Center), 1100 Lake Shore Rd, Grosse Pointe, MI 48236 (opens in maps)
Confirmed
On the host’s page, checked
See dates and detailsfrom Ford House (opens in a new tab)

New Grosse Pointe events every week

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

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 Michigan Christmas train rides page.

See every event on a December calendar

Plan your December

When each Grosse Pointe Christmas event for kids happens

The first is Photos with Santa in Grosse Pointe on November 29; the last runs to December 20. Each bar spans an event’s dates, not every hour in them, so check the host’s page for times.

Looking further afield? Our Michigan Christmas events for kids guide lists every event we have found in the state, and we have city guides for Grosse Pointe Farms, Detroit, Rochester Hills and Rochester, MI. 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 Grosse Pointe

Locals call downtown Grosse Pointe "The Village," a stretch of Kercheval Avenue from Neff to Cadieux that many residents treat as the shared downtown for all five Grosse Pointes. At Christmas, the family events on this year's calendar are at Ford House, the Ford family estate on Lake Shore Road, with Santa visits, a holiday tea and a Santa brunch.

How Grosse Pointe celebrates

The family Christmas events gathered here all take place at Ford House, the Ford family estate at 1100 Lake Shore Road, which decorates the house for the season and lists Home for the Holidays at Ford House on November 27, 2026. Santa makes what the estate calls his annual stop for Photos with Santa, held by the fireplace in the lakeside St. Clair Room on Sundays and Wednesdays from November 29 to December 16. The Nutcracker Tea comes back on December 12 after more than ten years away, and Brunch with Santa fills the Lake Shore Room on December 20. Ford House runs all three and sells tickets in advance.

Fun facts about Christmas in Grosse Pointe

Grosse Pointe was incorporated as a village in 1880 and as a city in 1934. It is one of five Grosse Pointes, along with Grosse Pointe Park, Farms, Woods and Shores, and sits on Lake St. Clair roughly 9 miles east of downtown Detroit. The city filled in between 1910 and 1930 as one of Detroit's first commuter suburbs. Of its 2.25 square miles, 1.19 are water, part of Lake St. Clair. The 2020 census counted 5,678 residents.

Traditions today

  • Photos with Santa at Ford House: Santa makes what Ford House calls his annual stop, meeting children by the fireplace in the lakeside St. Clair Room on six dates from November 29 to December 16.
  • Sensory-friendly Santa sessions: Each Photos with Santa date opens with a sensory-friendly first hour before the traditional visits begin.
  • The Nutcracker Tea: Ford House describes this family tea as a holiday tradition loved for generations, and it is back on December 12 after more than ten years away.
  • Brunch with Santa: On December 20, families eat brunch in the Lake Shore Room while staff walk each table over to meet Santa one at a time.
  • Holiday tours of the house: Guests at the tea can add a guided or self-paced holiday tour to see the house decorated in what the estate calls Eleanor's holiday style.
  • Skating at Neff Park: Neff Park, a restricted-access city park on Lake St. Clair at the foot of University Place, has ice-skating in the winter.

A fact for kids

John Hughes, the filmmaker behind Home Alone, grew up in Grosse Pointe. And more than half of the city's area is water, because its borders reach out into Lake St. Clair.

Questions about Christmas in Grosse Pointe

When was Grosse Pointe founded?

Grosse Pointe was first incorporated as a village in 1880 and then as a city in 1934. In the century before it filled with houses, the area held cottages, resorts, farms and widely spaced lakefront mansions along Lake St. Clair.

What are the five Grosse Pointes?

They are Grosse Pointe Park, Grosse Pointe City, Grosse Pointe Farms, Grosse Pointe Woods and Grosse Pointe Shores. The city of Grosse Pointe, often just called the City, belongs with Park and Farms to the older, more densely populated southern Pointes.

Where is Grosse Pointe?

The city of Grosse Pointe is in Wayne County, Michigan, on the shore of Lake St. Clair. It borders Detroit and lies roughly 9 miles east of downtown. Its street grid sits inside the boundaries of Cadieux, Mack and Fisher Road.

What is The Village in Grosse Pointe?

The Village is the nickname for downtown Grosse Pointe, the retail district along Kercheval Avenue from Neff to Cadieux. Many locals consider it the central downtown for all five Grosse Pointes. The former Jacobson's department store building there has been redeveloped with new shops.

How did Grosse Pointe grow?

It became heavily populated between 1910 and 1930 as one of Detroit's first commuter suburbs. Most blocks hold single-family homes built between 1910 and 1950, in styles such as neo-Georgian, Tudor Revival and Dutch Colonial, with the largest houses near the lakefront.

How many people live in Grosse Pointe?

The 2020 census counted 5,678 residents in the city of Grosse Pointe, in 2,293 households. The city covers 2.25 square miles in total, but only 1.06 square miles of that is land. The remaining 1.19 square miles are part of Lake St. Clair.

What happens at Christmas for kids in Grosse Pointe?

The 2026 family events listed here are at Ford House: Photos with Santa on six dates from November 29 to December 16, The Nutcracker Tea on December 12 and Brunch with Santa on December 20. The estate also decorates the house and offers holiday tours.

Who organizes these Christmas events?

Ford House, the Ford family estate at 1100 Lake Shore Road, runs all three and sells tickets online in advance. Members, called Friends of Ford House, get lower prices and, for Brunch with Santa, access to tickets three days before the public.

Is anything free at Christmas at Ford House?

None of the three family events is free. Photos with Santa is $35 per child for the public. The Nutcracker Tea and Brunch with Santa are sold by the table, starting at $96 for two at the tea and $280 for four at the brunch.

Do Ford House Christmas events sell out?

Ford House says Photos with Santa sells out each season and that Brunch with Santa sells out fast. All ticket sales are non-refundable unless the estate closes or cancels an event, so it is worth confirming your date and group size before you buy.

Sources

  1. Grosse Pointe, Michigan, Wikipedia
  2. Photos with Santa at Ford House, Ford House
  3. Nutcracker Tea at Ford House, Ford House
  4. Brunch With Santa At Ford House, Ford House

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 Michigan city.

Grosse Pointe Christmas events for kids: questions parents ask

What Christmas events for kids are happening in Grosse Pointe in 2026?

Ford House on Lake Shore Road hosts three. Photos with Santa runs on Sundays and Wednesdays from November 29 to December 16. The Nutcracker Tea has two seatings on Saturday, December 12, and Brunch with Santa has two seatings on Sunday, December 20. All three need advance tickets.

Where can kids meet Santa in Grosse Pointe?

Santa is at Ford House twice. Photos with Santa offers short private visits by the fireplace in the St. Clair Room on six dates, starting Sunday, November 29, 2026. At Brunch with Santa on December 20, staff bring each table to him in turn, so there is no line.

Are there free Christmas events for kids at Ford House?

Not among these three. Photos with Santa costs $35 per child, or $25 for Friends of Ford House. The Nutcracker Tea is sold by the table, from $96 for two, and Brunch with Santa starts at $280 for a public table of four.

Is there a sensory-friendly Santa visit in Grosse Pointe?

Yes. Every Photos with Santa date at Ford House begins with a sensory-friendly session during the first hour. On Sundays that means 9:00 am, and on Wednesdays 2:00 pm. The traditional visits start an hour and a half after opening, and sensory-friendly tickets are sold separately.

When do tickets go on sale for Brunch with Santa?

For the December 20, 2026 brunch, Ford House lists the on-sale date as November 17 at 10:00 am for Friends of Ford House and November 20 at 10:00 am for the public. The estate says the event sells out fast and that table sizes cannot be changed afterward.

What is the Nutcracker Tea at Ford House?

It is a family holiday tea that Ford House is bringing back on Saturday, December 12, 2026, after more than ten years away. Seatings are at 10:00 am and 1:00 pm in the Lake Shore Room, tables seat two to six, and guests can add a holiday tour of the decorated house.

Are there Christmas train rides for kids near Grosse Pointe?

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