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Christmas with kids in Merced
In Merced, Christmas fills an 1875 courthouse with decorated trees. Community groups have trimmed its rooms for more than 30 years, and the downtown parade ends with Santa on a 1919 fire engine.
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The story of Christmas in Merced
How Merced celebrates
Merced's Christmas begins with the Courthouse Museum's Christmas Open House, which held its 41st annual event in 2025, so it dates back to around 1985. Community groups decorate trees throughout the 1875 Italianate courthouse, and a local magazine called the decorating a community tradition of more than 30 years. Downtown, the Merced Christmas Parade rolls along West Main Street with bands, floats and lowrider cars. The Merced Civic Ballet also performs The Nutcracker each December, and it reached its 40th season in 2025.
Christmas last year in Merced
In 2025 the downtown Merced Christmas Parade took place on Saturday, December 6 with the theme Holiday Hit Parade. Thousands lined West Main Street between H and O Streets to see lowrider cars, vintage Volkswagen Beetles, floats and six school bands. Santa rode on the Merced Fire Department's 1919 fire engine near Bob Hart Square. The next day the Courthouse Museum open house showed about 95 decorated Christmas trees, with cookies, eggnog and live choirs. Merced also marked the courthouse's 150th anniversary.
Fun facts about Christmas in Merced
The Courthouse Museum has hosted a children's treasure hunt at its open house, and a past article reported more than 700 visitors the year before. The courthouse's decorated trees, which come from dozens of community groups, stay on view through December 30. One year the university's tree marked UC Merced's 10th anniversary. The parade's lowrider cars bounce to old-school music, and a downtown Holiday Mercado sells gifts and treats during the parade. Little ones can also watch for the 1919 fire engine.
Trains and Christmas near Merced
The nearest places to explore rail history from Merced are in the Sierra foothills. The Sierra Railroad began in Oakdale in 1897 and climbed into the foothills, and Railtown 1897 State Historic Park in Jamestown keeps its shops and roundhouse open daily. Farther up the hill, the Yosemite Mountain Sugar Pine Railroad in Fish Camp offers a narrated ride behind a Shay steam locomotive on an old logging grade. Check each site's schedule before you plan a winter trip.
- Sierra Railroad: The 1897 short line that began in Oakdale and climbed into the Sierra foothills, with its history told at Railtown in Jamestown.
- Railtown 1897 State Historic Park: The Sierra Railway's historic shops and roundhouse in Gold Country, open daily for families to explore.
- Yosemite Mountain Sugar Pine Railroad: A narrated ride behind a Shay steam locomotive on an old logging grade near Yosemite's south gate.
Traditions today
- Christmas Open House at the Courthouse Museum: An annual open house with decorated trees, live music, cookies and eggnog in the 1875 courthouse, now in its 41st year.
- Downtown Merced Christmas Parade: Bands, floats, lowrider cars and Santa on a 1919 fire engine along West Main Street.
- Holiday Mercado: A downtown market with gifts, food and treats that runs during the parade.
- The Nutcracker by Merced Civic Ballet: A holiday ballet that reached its 40th season in 2025.
- La Posada en Merced: A community posada with cafecito, champurrado, gifts for kids and information about local resources.
- Courthouse tree exhibit: Dozens of community groups decorate themed trees that stay on display through the end of December.
A fact for kids
In Merced, Santa rides in a fire engine built in 1919 at the Christmas parade. That is more than 100 years old.
Questions about Christmas in Merced
What is the oldest Christmas tradition in Merced?
The Christmas Open House at the Merced County Courthouse Museum is one of the oldest we could verify. It held its 41st annual event in 2025, so it began around 1985. Community groups decorate trees throughout the 1875 courthouse, and a local magazine called the decorating a tradition of more than 30 years.
What is the Merced Courthouse Museum like at Christmas?
The 1875 Italianate courthouse at 21st and N Streets is decorated with themed trees by dozens of community groups. In 2025 it displayed about 95 trees, and the tree exhibit ran through December 30. The open house has live music, cookies and eggnog, and the open house is free.
Who decorates the Courthouse Museum trees?
Community groups do, including local service clubs, school and hospital volunteers, and university representatives. Each group chooses its own look for a tree, so no two are alike. A past article counted at least 50 groups and several hundred people, and in 2025 the open house listed more than 90 groups.
How many people visit the Courthouse Museum open house?
A past article reported that the open house drew more than 700 visitors in the previous year. The museum also offered a children's treasure hunt, live entertainment, cookies and eggnog. The 2025 open house was Sunday, December 7 from 1 to 4 PM and was free.
When is the Merced Christmas Parade?
The downtown Merced Christmas Parade is held on a Saturday in early December. In 2025 it was Saturday, December 6 at 2 PM on West Main Street. Dates change each year, so see our Merced Christmas events guide on this page for this year's date and details.
What was the 2025 Merced Christmas Parade theme?
The theme was Holiday Hit Parade. Thousands lined West Main Street to see lowrider cars bouncing to old-school music, vintage Volkswagen Beetles, floats, and school bands, with many spectators dressed in Christmas costumes and ugly sweaters. The parade was sponsored by Dignity Health.
Which bands march in the Merced Christmas Parade?
In 2025 bands included El Capitan High School, Merced High's Marching 100, Hoover Middle School, Rivera Middle School, Weaver Middle School and Merced Middle School's Marching 100. With so many school bands marching, the parade is a nice place for kids who love music.
How does Santa arrive at the Merced parade?
In 2025 Santa rode on the Merced Fire Department's 1919 fire engine near Bob Hart Square. Kids who like fire trucks tend to love this moment. If you want a close look, stand near the downtown stretch of West Main Street early, since thousands of people attend.
Where is the best place to watch the Merced Christmas Parade with kids?
Crowds line both sides of West Main Street between H and O Streets, and Santa's fire engine passed near Bob Hart Square in 2025. Arrive early, bring a blanket or folding chairs, and keep little ones back from the curb when cars go by. See our Merced Christmas events guide on this page for details.
What is the Holiday Mercado in Merced?
The Merced Holiday Mercado is a downtown market that runs during the Christmas Parade, with gifts, food and treats for sale. In 2025 it ran alongside the parade on December 6, and local groups such as the Merced FOCUS had tables with prizes and candy canes.
What is La Posada en Merced?
La Posada en Merced is a community gathering with cafecito, champurrado, food, raffles and gifts for kids, plus information about local resources. In 2025 it took place on Friday, December 5 in the Radio Lobo parking lot. Posadas are a Mexican tradition.
How do I explain a posada to a young child?
Tell your child that a posada remembers Mary and Joseph looking for a place to stay before Jesus was born. Families walk, sing and share food and treats such as champurrado. La Posada en Merced offered cafecito, champurrado and gifts for kids in 2025.
Is The Nutcracker performed in Merced?
Yes. The Merced Civic Ballet, with the Merced Academy of Dance, performed The Nutcracker in its 40th season in 2025, with three shows on December 5 and 6 at the Buhach Colony High School Theater in Atwater. A Nutcracker Sweet Shop sold crafts, ornaments and baked goods.
What other towns near Merced have Christmas parades?
Several nearby towns hold their own. In 2025 Atwater held its Candyland Christmas Parade on December 5, Dos Palos held its parade on December 4, Los Banos held a Parade of Lights on December 6, and Livingston held its parade on December 12. See our Merced Christmas events guide on this page for this year.
Where can kids see a giant Christmas tree in Merced?
The best place to see many Christmas trees is the Merced County Courthouse Museum, where dozens of decorated trees fill the rooms and stay on display through December 30. For lightings and other tree events this year, see our Merced Christmas events guide on this page.
Is there a Christmas market in Merced?
The Merced Holiday Mercado runs downtown during the Christmas Parade, with gifts, food and treats. The Nutcracker performances also have a Sweet Shop with handmade crafts and baked goods. Whether these return this year is best checked in our Merced Christmas events guide on this page.
How old is the Merced courthouse?
The Italianate courthouse was built in 1875, and in 2025 the community marked its 150th anniversary with an exhibit called Old Courthouse: 150 Years, 150 Stories. It is now the Merced County Courthouse Museum, decorated for the Christmas Open House each December.
What does the Merced Firefighters' Not So Silent Night involve?
It is a fundraiser held downtown on parade day, in 2025 at a taproom on N Street, with food trucks, vendors, live music and Santa Claus. Proceeds supported the Merced Firefighters' Scholars Foundation and a Random Acts of Kindness program. Check the host for details about what is available for kids.
Is there a railroad museum near Merced to visit at Christmas?
The nearest ones in our guide are in the Sierra foothills. Railtown 1897 State Historic Park in Jamestown keeps the Sierra Railway's old shops and roundhouse open daily, and the Sierra Railroad began in Oakdale in 1897. Call ahead for winter hours and any holiday programs before you drive.
Where can we see a steam locomotive near Merced?
The Yosemite Mountain Sugar Pine Railroad in Fish Camp offers a one-hour narrated ride behind a Shay steam locomotive on an old logging grade, ten minutes from Yosemite's south gate. It runs daily in season, so check winter operations first. Railtown 1897 in Jamestown is another option to explore.
Sources
- Merced County fills 2025 Christmas calendar with holiday events for everyone, The Merced FOCUS
- Sights from the 2025 downtown Merced Christmas Parade, The Merced FOCUS
- Courthouse decorating a Merced community tradition, 209 Magazine
- Christmas Open House at the Merced Courthouse Museum, KVPR Valley Public Radio community calendar
- Rally Takes the Train museum pages: Sierra Railroad, Railtown 1897, Yosemite Mountain Sugar Pine Railroad, Rally Takes the Train