Rally the corgi has sniffed out the Christmas events for kids in Hanover, Pennsylvania for 2026. The Christmas in Hanover Festival brings the Santa Parade, Mrs. Claus and the Center Square tree lighting on Saturday, November 28, and Santa’s Cabin, now 90 years old, welcomes kids for free on Center Square through December 23. We check every date on the host’s own website and link straight there. For the rest of the state, see our Pennsylvania Christmas events for kids guide.
What Rally found in Hanover
- 2 Christmas events for kids in Hanover
- Christmas in Hanover Festival: Saturday, November 28, 11 am to 6 pm, free
- Santa Parade at 11 am, tree lighting countdown at 6 pm
- Santa’s Cabin: November 27 to December 23, Center Square, free
- Every date checked on Main Street Hanover’s site on Nov 11
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Free Christmas events for kids in Hanover
Santa parade and tree lightingFree
Christmas in Hanover Festival
- When: Saturday, November 28, 2026, 11 am to 6 pm: Santa Parade 11 am to noon, Center Square tree lighting countdown at 6 pm
- Where: Center Square, downtown Hanover, Hanover, PA 17331 (opens in maps)
- Cost: Free; reindeer rides and movie tickets extra
- Ages: All ages
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Main Street Hanover and the Borough of Hanover fill downtown with a full day of Christmas, starting with the Santa Parade at 11 am and ending with the countdown to light the Center Square tree at 6 pm.
In between, kids can mail wishes at the Letters to Santa Post Office, jump in a bounce house, ride Birch the mechanical reindeer ($5, 48 inches and up), take photos with Mrs. Claus and catch The Muppet Christmas Carol at the Eichelberger Performing Arts Center ($7), with carolers and live music around the square.
Parent tip: Grab a spot along the parade route before 11 am, then come back to Center Square around 4 pm for the tree lighting performances before the 6 pm countdown.
- Host
- Main Street Hanover and the Borough of Hanover (opens in a new tab)
- Address
- Center Square, downtown Hanover, Hanover, PA 17331 (opens in maps)
- Confirmed
- On the host’s page, checked
New Hanover events every week
Rally researches Christmas events in Hanover daily and updates this page with new events. Enter your email to get a weekly update with new events in Hanover.
Free. Unsubscribe anytime. Privacy policy (opens in a new tab)
Rally’s Christmas research
Rally the corgi has 1 more Hanover 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 Hanover.
- Exclusive access to free events Find the free Christmas events in Hanover 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 Santa
- 1 Lights
- 1 Parades
- 1 Shows
- 2 Free
Enter your email to get new Christmas events in Hanover every week.
Free Santa visitsFree
Santa’s Cabin in Center Square
- When: Friday, November 27 to Wednesday, December 23, 2026: most weeknights 6 to 8 pm, Saturdays in December 10 am to 1 pm and 2 to 6 pm
- Where: Santa’s Cabin, Center Square, Hanover, PA 17331 (opens in maps)
- Cost: Free
- Ages: Kids
Expand to see the parent tip
Santa’s Cabin turns 90 in 2026, and Hanover families have been lining up at the little cabin on Center Square for generations to give Santa their wish lists for free.
After opening the day after Thanksgiving, the cabin keeps evening hours most weeknights and longer Saturday hours right up to December 23, so there are plenty of chances to fit in a visit.
Parent tip: Weeknight evenings from 6 to 8 pm are usually calmer than festival day, and Santa’s Cabin posts any schedule changes on its Facebook page.
- Host
- Main Street Hanover and the Christmas in Hanover Committee (opens in a new tab)
- Address
- Santa’s Cabin, Center Square, Hanover, PA 17331 (opens in maps)
- Confirmed
- On the host’s page, checked
New Hanover events every week
Rally researches Christmas events in Hanover daily and updates this page with new events. Enter your email to get a weekly update with new events in Hanover.
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 Pennsylvania Christmas train rides page.
See every event on a December calendar
Plan your December
When each Hanover Christmas event for kids happens
Spend November 28 downtown for the parade and tree lighting, then come back on a quieter weeknight evening in December for a longer chat at Santa’s Cabin.
- Christmas in Hanover FestivalHanover · Nov 28
- Santa’s Cabin in Center SquareHanover · Nov 28 to Dec 23
Looking further afield? Our Pennsylvania Christmas events for kids guide lists every confirmed event in the state, and we have city guides for York, Brogue, Mechanicsburg and New Cumberland. 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 Pennsylvania city.
Hanover Christmas events for kids: questions parents ask
What are the best Christmas events for kids in Hanover this year?
Rally Takes the Train has confirmed 2 Christmas events for kids in Hanover, Pennsylvania for 2026: the Christmas in Hanover Festival on November 28 and Santa’s Cabin on Center Square from November 27 to December 23.
When is the Hanover tree lighting in 2026?
The Center Square Tree Lighting countdown is at 6 pm on Saturday, November 28, 2026, at the end of the Christmas in Hanover Festival.
What time is the Hanover Santa Parade?
Saturday, November 28, 2026, from 11 am to noon through downtown Hanover.
When is Santa’s Cabin open?
From Friday, November 27 through Wednesday, December 23, 2026. Most weeknights run 6 to 8 pm, and Saturdays in December run 10 am to 1 pm and 2 to 6 pm. Visits are free.
Who do I contact about Christmas in Hanover?
Main Street Hanover at mtyler@mainstreethanover.org.
Are there Christmas train rides for kids in Pennsylvania?
Yes. Santa trains and holiday train rides have their own guide: Rally Takes the Train’s Pennsylvania 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 Hanover 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.