Christmas Events for Kids in Marietta, GA (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 Marietta, GA for 2026, and here is what he found: 6 family events. The magic runs from November 13 (World of Illumination: Rockin' Christmas) through January 3, with Photos with Santa (from November 21) and A Morning in Bethlehem: Family Advent Gathering (November 29) along the way. We check every date on the host’s own website, and each listing links straight there. For the rest of the state, see our Georgia Christmas events for kids guide.

What Rally found in Marietta

  • 6 Christmas events for kids in Marietta
  • Meet Santa: 4 chances, including A Special Holiday Tea and Storytime (November 18) and Photos with Santa (from November 21)
  • Parades and tree lightings: Christmas Tree Lighting and Santa on the Square (December 3)
  • Also on the list: 1 Christmas show, 1 Christmas light display, 2 story times and 2 craft workshops
  • Season: November 13 (World of Illumination: Rockin' Christmas) to January 3 (World of Illumination: Rockin' Christmas)
  • Every date checked on the host’s own site on Nov 10

Ticketed and paid Christmas events for kids in Marietta

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

Holiday lights

World of Illumination: Rockin' Christmas

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This drive-through light show takes over the Six Flags White Water lot with a music theme for 2026. A host character called MC Mic leads your car along a mile of animated displays timed to holiday songs, including a tunnel shaped like giant headphones, a swirl of jingle bells, stacks of oversized speakers, guitars built like Christmas trees and a Santa working a turntable. The touring company builds a different show every season, so it will not match what you saw last year.

The show runs November 13, 2026 through January 3, 2027, from 6:00 to 10:00 PM. Pricing is by the vehicle rather than by the person and starts at $39.99, with tickets sold online only and tied to the date and location you pick at checkout. It stays open in rain or clear weather.

Parent tip: The drive itself takes about 20 to 30 minutes depending on traffic, and the organizer says weeknights move faster than weekends, so a weeknight slot suits little ones with an early bedtime. Pack snacks for the line and arrive at your ticketed time.

Host
World of Illumination (opens in a new tab)
Address
Six Flags White Water, 250 Cobb Pkwy N, Marietta, GA 30062 (opens in maps)
Confirmed
On the host’s page, checked
See dates and detailsfrom World of Illumination (opens in a new tab)

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Rally’s Christmas research

Rally the corgi has 5 more Marietta events researched for you.

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Coming up on this page

  • 4 Santa
  • 3 Breakfast and treats
  • 2 Lights
  • 2 Crafts

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Holiday story time

A Special Holiday Tea and Storytime

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Local authors Rosalind and Maggie Bunn lead a holiday storytime at Sewell Mill Library, hosted with the Cobb Library Foundation. Children also get snacks, craft time and a visit with Santa, and every family goes home with one signed copy of the Bunns' book The Naughty List.

It takes place Wednesday, November 18, 2026, from 3:00 to 5:00 PM. Tickets cost $20 for the first child and $5 for each additional child, with a limit of four children per group, and must be bought ahead. The afternoon doubles as a fundraiser for Cobb's libraries.

Parent tip: Organizers ask that only children four and older take part, so arrange other plans for a toddler sibling. The signed book is one per family no matter how many children or relatives are on your ticket, which is worth explaining to siblings beforehand.

Host
Cobb County Public Library and Cobb Library Foundation (opens in a new tab)
Address
Sewell Mill Library, 2051 Lower Roswell Rd, Marietta, GA 30068 (opens in maps)
Confirmed
On the host’s page, checked
See dates and detailsfrom Cobb County Public Library and Cobb Library Foundation (opens in a new tab)

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Santa visit

Photos with Santa

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Santa sits for professional photos in the Family Lounge beside Panera Bread at the Avenue East Cobb shopping center. Families pick from four packages, starting with five digital images and moving up to bundles that add prints, wallet photos or printed Christmas cards in a choice of three designs.

Sessions run from November 21 through December 24, 2026, with hours that differ by day. Packages cost $35 to $45. Booking an appointment is the only way to guarantee a turn, since walk-ups are taken only when the schedule has room, and cancellations inside 48 hours are not refunded.

Parent tip: Leave the dog at home, because pets are not allowed in these photos. If your child is unsure about Santa, book a slot you can cancel more than 48 hours ahead without a fee rather than a last-minute one.

Host
Avenue East Cobb (opens in a new tab)
Address
The Family Lounge at Avenue East Cobb (next to Panera Bread), 4475 Roswell Rd, Marietta, GA 30062 (opens in maps)
Confirmed
On the host’s page, checked
See dates and detailsfrom Avenue East Cobb (opens in a new tab)

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Holiday event

A Morning in Bethlehem: Family Advent Gathering

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St. Ann parish invites families to step into daily life in Bethlehem at the time Jesus was a child. The gathering is built around hands-on activities meant to help children understand the Christmas story and get ready for Advent, and the Knights of Columbus supply a sandwich lunch.

It is held Sunday, November 29, 2026, from 11:30 AM to 3:00 PM at the Catholic Church of St. Ann. Families sign up through the registration form linked on the church's event page. The page does not list a price.

Parent tip: This runs three and a half hours across the middle of the day, so plan naps around it for the youngest children. Lunch is covered, which means you only need to bring water and anything a picky eater requires.

Host
Catholic Church of St. Ann (opens in a new tab)
Address
Catholic Church of St. Ann, 4905 Roswell Rd, Marietta, GA 30062 (opens in maps)
Confirmed
On the host’s page, checked
See dates and detailsfrom Catholic Church of St. Ann (opens in a new tab)

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Story time with Santa

Story Time with Santa

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Santa reads holiday books to small groups of children inside the Barnes & Noble at Avenue East Cobb. Kids also write out their wish lists, get a sweet treat and have a moment with Santa, and each ticket comes with a hot chocolate from the Smallcakes shop in the center.

Readings are set for Wednesdays, December 2, 9 and 16, 2026, at 3:00, 4:00 and 5:00 PM, each lasting 45 minutes. Tickets are $15, one per child, and all proceeds go to Habitat for Humanity NW Metro Atlanta. The organizer's page currently shows the event as sold out.

Parent tip: Since every session is marked sold out, contact Avenue East Cobb before building an afternoon around it. Ticket holders should bring a camera, as families take their own pictures here, and leave time to pick up the included hot chocolate at Smallcakes.

Host
Avenue East Cobb (opens in a new tab)
Address
Barnes & Noble at Avenue East Cobb, 4475 Roswell Rd, Marietta, GA 30062 (opens in maps)
Confirmed
On the host’s page, checked
See dates and detailsfrom Avenue East Cobb (opens in a new tab)

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Tree lighting

Christmas Tree Lighting and Santa on the Square

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The city's season opener fills Glover Park with school and church choirs, winter games with prizes, craft tables and stations where children write to Santa. An Ugly Holiday Sweater Parade circles the Square with Santa, who then joins the mayor to light Marietta's Great Christmas Tree.

It is set for Thursday, December 3, 2026, from 4:00 to 8:00 PM. Performances start at 4:00 PM, the parade at about 5:00 PM, Santa arrives at about 5:15 PM and the tree is lit at 6:00 PM. The city's page lists no admission charge, and groups who want to walk in the parade register through the city's form.

Parent tip: The two moments kids care about, Santa's arrival and the lighting, fall 45 minutes apart, so use that gap for the Santa letter stations rather than standing in place. It is a school night in December, so dress warmly and plan to leave after the 6:00 PM lighting if bedtimes are early.

Host
City of Marietta Parks, Recreation and Facilities (opens in a new tab)
Address
Glover Park, Historic Marietta Square, 50 N Park Square, Marietta, GA 30060 (opens in maps)
Confirmed
On the host’s page, checked
See dates and detailsfrom City of Marietta Parks, Recreation and Facilities (opens in a new tab)

New Marietta events every week

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

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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 Georgia Christmas train rides page.

See every event on a December calendar

Plan your December

When each Marietta Christmas event for kids happens

The first is World of Illumination: Rockin' Christmas in Marietta on November 13; the last runs to January 3. Each bar spans an event’s dates, not every hour in them, so check the host’s page for times.

Looking further afield? Our Georgia Christmas events for kids guide lists every event we have found in the state, and we have city guides for Dunwoody, Roswell, Atlanta and Hiram. 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 Marietta

In Marietta, Santa skips the sleigh and rolls into the historic Square on a City of Marietta fire truck, close behind a walking parade of families in their ugliest holiday sweaters. A little later he joins the mayor in Glover Park to switch on what the city calls Marietta's Great Christmas Tree.

How Marietta celebrates

Christmas in Marietta centers on Glover Park, the green in the middle of the Historic Marietta Square. Each year the city opens the season there with its Christmas Tree Lighting and Santa on the Square, an evening of school and church choirs, winter games, craft stations and tables where children write letters to Santa. An Ugly Holiday Sweater Walking Parade circles the Square before Santa arrives, and in 2023 the city announced the parade was coming back after a first year it called a hit. The city's sources describe the tree lighting as an annual tradition but do not give a founding year. The Square also hosts a Merry Market of Christmas vendors beside the Marietta History Center.

Christmas last year in Marietta

In 2025 the tree lighting took place on Thursday, December 4. School choruses began singing at 4:00 PM, the Ugly Holiday Sweater Walking Parade set off at 5:00 PM, Santa pulled in on a city fire truck at about 5:15 PM and the Great Christmas Tree was lit at 6:00 PM. That same weekend the third annual Marietta Square Merry Market filled Atherton Square on Saturday, December 6, with vendors, treats and live music, while the Cobb Holiday Artisan Market ran December 5 to 7 at the Cobb Civic Center with free entry and parking. A stage production of A Christmas Carol played at The Art Place on the same three days.

Fun facts about Christmas in Marietta

The Ugly Holiday Sweater Walking Parade covered just 0.4 miles in 2023, starting at the City Hall parking deck, heading down Lawrence Street, looping the Square and ending at Glover Park. In 2016 the Square gained a Santa village of three life-size buildings, including a Post Office and a Santa house, created by a prop designer who had worked with Disney and Universal Studios. The city keeps a Christmas Tree Fund that residents and businesses can give to each year.

Traditions today

  • Christmas Tree Lighting and Santa on the Square: The city lights Marietta's Great Christmas Tree in Glover Park at 6:00 PM after an afternoon of choir performances, games and crafts.
  • Santa's fire truck arrival: Santa reaches the Square at about 5:15 PM riding a City of Marietta fire truck, then helps the mayor light the tree.
  • Ugly Holiday Sweater Walking Parade: Families and community groups walk a short loop around the Square in their most outrageous holiday sweaters before the tree is lit.
  • Santa letter stations: Children sit down at writing stations in the park during the tree lighting evening to put their wishes in a letter to Santa.
  • Marietta Square Merry Market: Christmas vendors, holiday treats and live music fill Atherton Square next to the Marietta History Center for a full day in early December.
  • Winter Wonderland Festival of Trees: Local schools and organizations decorate trees that go on display around the Square during the season.

A fact for kids

Santa does not land a sleigh in Marietta. He rides into town on a real city fire truck, and kids can hand in letters for him at special writing stations in the park.

Questions about Christmas in Marietta

How does Marietta, Georgia start the Christmas season?

The season opens with the city's Christmas Tree Lighting and Santa on the Square in Glover Park. Choirs sing from 4:00 PM, families join an Ugly Holiday Sweater Walking Parade, Santa arrives, and the Great Christmas Tree is switched on at 6:00 PM. The evening wraps up at 8:00 PM.

When is the Marietta Square tree lighting in 2026?

The City of Marietta lists the 2026 Christmas Tree Lighting and Santa on the Square for Thursday, December 3, from 4:00 to 8:00 PM in Glover Park. The parade is set for about 5:00 PM, Santa's arrival for about 5:15 PM and the tree lighting itself for 6:00 PM.

How does Santa arrive in Marietta?

City announcements for both 2024 and 2025 say Santa comes to the Marietta Square aboard a City of Marietta fire truck at about 5:15 PM. He follows the Ugly Holiday Sweater Walking Parade into Glover Park and then joins the mayor to light the tree.

What is Marietta's Great Christmas Tree?

That is the name the city gives to the large tree it lights in Glover Park on the Historic Marietta Square each year. Santa and the mayor light it together at 6:00 PM during the tree lighting evening. City sources do not list its height or type.

How long is the Ugly Holiday Sweater Parade route?

A 2023 city notice put the route at 0.4 miles. Walkers started at the Marietta City Hall upper parking deck, went down Lawrence Street, circled the Square and finished at Glover Park by way of East Park Square, a distance most young children can manage.

When did the Ugly Holiday Sweater Parade begin?

The city has not published a founding date in the sources reviewed here. A September 2023 city notice said the parade was returning that November after an inaugural year it described as a hit, and it has been part of the tree lighting evening each year since.

Can children write to Santa on the Marietta Square?

Yes. Santa letter stations are set up during the Christmas Tree Lighting and Santa on the Square, and they stay open through the evening. Children write their letters at the tables in the park, and a local guide notes that elves pass them along to Santa.

What is the Marietta Square Merry Market?

It is a one-day Christmas market in Atherton Square, next to the Marietta History Center, with holiday vendors, treats and live music. The Marietta Square Branding Project organizes it, and the 2025 edition on Saturday, December 6, was billed as the third annual market.

What happened on the Marietta Square at Christmas in 2025?

The tree lighting was held Thursday, December 4, 2025, with choruses at 4:00 PM, the sweater parade at 5:00 PM, Santa at about 5:15 PM and the lighting at 6:00 PM. Two days later the Merry Market brought vendors and music to nearby Atherton Square.

Has the Marietta Square always been a Christmas gathering place?

A 2016 local feature quoted a longtime resident who remembered families traveling to the Square for the holidays when she was a child, and it described the newer events as a revival of that habit. That year a Santa village with a Post Office and Santa house opened there.

Sources

  1. Christmas Tree Lighting & Santa on the Square, City of Marietta, Georgia
  2. City's Annual Christmas Tree Lighting with Santa's Arrival Event December 4th, City of Marietta, Georgia
  3. City's Annual Christmas Tree Lighting and Santa's Arrival on the Marietta Square, City of Marietta, Georgia
  4. Marietta's Ugly Sweater Parade is Back During Christmas Tree Lighting on Nov 30th, City of Marietta, Georgia
  5. Things to do this weekend in Cobb County: Fri Dec 5 to Sun Dec 7, Cobb County Courier
  6. Marietta Christmas tree lighting, Santa and ugly sweater parade this Thursday, Dec 5, Cobb County Courier
  7. Marietta's Christmas Tree Lighting, Travel Cobb
  8. Marietta Square Makes Winter Magical, Marietta.com
  9. Marietta Square Christmas Tree Lighting and Santa's Arrival, Marietta.com

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 Georgia city.

Marietta Christmas events for kids: questions parents ask

Which Christmas events for kids in Marietta are good to start with?

Two cover most ages. The city's Christmas Tree Lighting and Santa on the Square fills Glover Park on Thursday, December 3, 2026, from 4:00 to 8:00 PM with choirs, games and Santa's arrival. World of Illumination: Rockin' Christmas at Six Flags White Water lets everyone stay in the car from November 13 through January 3.

Are there low-cost Christmas events for kids in Marietta?

Most events on this list are ticketed. The city's Christmas Tree Lighting and Santa on the Square on December 3 takes place in Glover Park, a public park, and the city's page lists no admission charge. A Morning in Bethlehem at St. Ann on November 29 also shows no price, though families must register first.

Where can kids meet Santa in Marietta?

Santa poses for photos by appointment at Avenue East Cobb from November 21 to December 24. He visits the Holiday Tea and Storytime at Sewell Mill Library on November 18, and he arrives on the Marietta Square at about 5:15 PM on December 3 before helping light the city tree at 6:00 PM.

Where can families see Christmas lights in Marietta?

World of Illumination: Rockin' Christmas is a mile-long drive-through show at Six Flags White Water, open 6:00 to 10:00 PM from November 13, 2026 through January 3, 2027. For a walk-up option, the city switches on its Great Christmas Tree in Glover Park at 6:00 PM on Thursday, December 3.

Which Marietta Christmas events need tickets or sign-up?

World of Illumination sells tickets online only, by vehicle and date. The Holiday Tea and Storytime on November 18 needs advance tickets. Photos with Santa at Avenue East Cobb works by appointment, and A Morning in Bethlehem on November 29 asks families to register. Story Time with Santa on December 2, 9 and 16 is listed as sold out.

What is the Ugly Holiday Sweater Parade in Marietta?

It is a short walking parade that is part of the city's tree lighting evening on the Marietta Square. Families and groups dress in their silliest holiday sweaters and walk with Santa toward Glover Park. In 2026 it steps off at about 5:00 PM on Thursday, December 3, and groups sign up through the city's form.

Are there Christmas train rides for kids near Marietta?

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