Rally the corgi has sniffed out the best Christmas events for kids in Meriden for 2026, and here is what he found: 4 family events, 1 of them free. The magic runs from November 21 (Cool Yule Meriden) through December 1, with Pottery 101 Workshop for Home School Students Ages 12 to 17 (from November 24), Cupcake Liner Holiday Tree Craft (December 1) and The Ghosts of Christmas Past (December 1) 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 Connecticut Christmas events for kids guide.
What Rally found in Meriden
- 4 Christmas events for kids in Meriden
- 1 free event, including Cupcake Liner Holiday Tree Craft
- Meet Santa: Cool Yule Meriden (November 21)
- Also on the list: 1 Christmas market, 1 story time and 2 craft workshops
- Season: November 21 (Cool Yule Meriden) to December 1 (Cupcake Liner Holiday Tree Craft)
- Every date checked on the host’s own site on Nov 10
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- 2 Crafts
- 1 Santa
- 1 Markets
- 1 Story time
- 1 Free
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Free Christmas events for kids in Meriden
Holiday craftsFree
Cupcake Liner Holiday Tree Craft
- When: Tuesday, December 1, 2026, 10:30 to 11 am
- Where: Meriden Public Library, Children's Project Room, 105 Miller St, Meriden, CT 06450 (opens in maps)
- Cost: Free, registration required
- Ages: Ages 2 to 6
Expand to see the parent tip
Little ones build a colorful holiday tree out of cupcake liners, then dress it up with gems and stickers. The craft is kept simple for ages 2 to 6, and the finished tree can go home as a decoration or a handmade gift. It takes place in the library's Children's Project Room.
The program is Tuesday, December 1, 2026, from 10:30 to 11:00 am at Meriden Public Library, 105 Miller Street. Registration is required and opens November 17 at 9:30 am. The library's event listing shows a price of zero.
Parent tip: Spots are only held if you arrive within 15 minutes of the start, and the whole program lasts half an hour, so aim to be there a little early. Set a reminder for November 17 at 9:30 am, when sign-up opens.
- Host
- Meriden Public Library (opens in a new tab)
- Address
- Meriden Public Library, Children's Project Room, 105 Miller St, Meriden, CT 06450 (opens in maps)
- Confirmed
- On the host’s page, checked
New Meriden events every week
Rally researches Christmas events in Meriden daily and updates this page with new events. Enter your email to get a weekly update with new events in Meriden.
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Rally’s Christmas research
Rally the corgi has 3 more Meriden 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 Meriden.
- Exclusive access to free events Find the free Christmas events in Meriden 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 Crafts
- 1 Santa
- 1 Markets
- 1 Story time
- 1 Free
Enter your email to get new Christmas events in Meriden every week.
Ticketed and paid Christmas events for kids in Meriden
Admission, tickets or a fee apply. Where a host has not posted a price yet, the listing says so.
Holiday event
Cool Yule Meriden
- When: Saturday, November 21, 2026, 9 am to 4 pm (Santa Claus arrives by train at 12:57 pm)
- Where: Downtown Meriden (Gallery 53, First Church of Meriden and Meriden Historical Society), 53 Colony St, Meriden, CT 06451 (opens in maps)
- Cost: No price listed on the organizer's page; free garage parking
- Ages: All ages
Expand to see the parent tip
Three downtown neighbors, Gallery 53, the First Church of Meriden and the Meriden Historical Society, pool their holiday events into one Saturday. Santa Claus pulls into Meriden by train at 12:57 pm and poses for pictures at the church's Yuletide Fair, while kids can work through the Historical Society's scavenger hunt. Gallery 53 adds its Annual Holiday Artisan Fair and a Handmade for the Holidays vendor market.
Cool Yule Meriden runs Saturday, November 21, 2026, from 9:00 am to 4:00 pm. The organizer's page does not list an admission price. Parking is free in the Meriden Station Parking Garage at 24 Colony Street, across the street from Gallery 53, and festive treats, lunch and a bake sale are part of the day.
Parent tip: Santa's train is due at 12:57 pm, so plan to be downtown before then and leave the Santa pictures at the Yuletide Fair for afterward. Use the morning for the scavenger hunt while little legs are fresh.
New Meriden events every week
Rally researches Christmas events in Meriden daily and updates this page with new events. Enter your email to get a weekly update with new events in Meriden.
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Holiday crafts
Pottery 101 Workshop for Home School Students Ages 12 to 17
- When: Tue November 24 and Tue December 1, 2026, 3:30 to 5 pm (One class in two sessions; a single registration covers both Tuesdays)
- Where: Gallery 53, 53 Colony St, Meriden, CT 06451 (opens in maps)
- Cost: $30 per student, materials included
- Ages: Ages 12 to 17, home school students
Expand to see the parent tip
Teens shape their own Christmas ornaments out of clay in the first session, whether snowflakes, trees or any design they choose. The pieces are kiln-fired between meetings, and the group returns to glaze them in holiday colors. Cassius Segreto teaches the workshop, which Gallery 53 designed for homeschooled students.
The class meets two Tuesdays, November 24 and December 1, 2026, from 3:30 to 5:00 pm at Gallery 53. It costs $30 with materials included, and registration goes through the gallery's online store. The gallery asks families to read its cancellation policy first and to share any allergies or learning needs in advance.
Parent tip: Both sessions matter, since ornaments shaped the first week are glazed the second, so check that your teen can make both Tuesdays before you sign up. Confirm that spots are still open in the gallery's store before promising it to your teen.
- Host
- Gallery 53 (opens in a new tab)
- Address
- Gallery 53, 53 Colony St, Meriden, CT 06451 (opens in maps)
- Confirmed
- On the host’s page, checked
New Meriden events every week
Rally researches Christmas events in Meriden daily and updates this page with new events. Enter your email to get a weekly update with new events in Meriden.
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Holiday event
The Ghosts of Christmas Past
- When: Tuesday, December 1, 2026, 6 to 7:30 pm
- Where: Meriden Public Library, Meeting Rooms 1, 2 and 3, 105 Miller St, Meriden, CT 06450 (opens in maps)
- Cost: No price listed on the organizer's page; registration required
- Ages: Teens and adults
Expand to see the parent tip
Paranormal researcher Dustin Pari revives the Victorian custom of telling ghost stories at Christmas. He walks through the history of the practice, shares a few classic tales and adds some real-life accounts of holiday hauntings. Pari has appeared on Ghost Hunters, Ghost Hunters International and Destination Truth.
The talk is Tuesday, December 1, 2026, from 6:00 to 7:30 pm in Meeting Rooms 1, 2 and 3 at Meriden Public Library, 105 Miller Street. Registration is required and closes at 5:00 pm that day. The library lists the audience as teens, adults and community.
Parent tip: This is a 90-minute evening talk built around ghost stories and aimed at teens and adults, so it suits older kids who enjoy a spooky tale more than little ones. Register before 5:00 pm on December 1, when sign-up closes.
- Host
- Meriden Public Library (opens in a new tab)
- Address
- Meriden Public Library, Meeting Rooms 1, 2 and 3, 105 Miller St, Meriden, CT 06450 (opens in maps)
- Confirmed
- On the host’s page, checked
New Meriden events every week
Rally researches Christmas events in Meriden daily and updates this page with new events. Enter your email to get a weekly update with new events in Meriden.
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 Meriden Christmas event for kids happens
The first is Cool Yule Meriden in Meriden on November 21; the last runs to December 1. Each bar spans an event’s dates, not every hour in them, so check the host’s page for times.
- Cool Yule MeridenMeriden · Nov 21
- Pottery 101 Workshop for Home School Students Ages 12 to 17Meriden · Nov 24 to Dec 1
- Cupcake Liner Holiday Tree CraftMeriden · Dec 1
- The Ghosts of Christmas PastMeriden · Dec 1
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 New Haven, West Hartford, Glastonbury and Hartford. 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 Meriden
Meriden earned the nickname Silver City in the 1800s, when so many silver manufacturers set up shop that one of them, the Meriden Britannia Company, was considered the largest silverware company in the world by the end of the 1870s. This year's holiday calendar opens downtown, where Santa Claus arrives by train during Cool Yule Meriden on November 21, 2026.
How Meriden celebrates
Meriden's holiday listings lean on its downtown and its library. On Saturday, November 21, 2026, Gallery 53, the First Church of Meriden and the Meriden Historical Society join forces for Cool Yule Meriden, a one-day festival that folds together Gallery 53's Annual Holiday Artisan Fair, the church's Yuletide Fair with Santa pictures, a Handmade for the Holidays vendor market and a historical scavenger hunt. Santa Claus arrives by train at 12:57 pm, and visitors park free at the Meriden Station Parking Garage on Colony Street. Gallery 53 also teaches a clay ornament class for homeschooled teens, and Meriden Public Library on Miller Street hosts a holiday tree craft and a Victorian Christmas ghost story talk on December 1.
Fun facts about Christmas in Meriden
Meriden began as part of neighboring Wallingford, was granted its own meetinghouse in 1727, became a town in 1806 and was incorporated as a city in 1867. It takes its name from the village of Meriden in the West Midlands of England. Castle Craig, a city landmark among the Hanging Hills in Hubbard Park, was dedicated in 1900, and the 2020 census counted 60,850 residents.
Traditions today
- Cool Yule Meriden: Gallery 53, the First Church of Meriden and the Meriden Historical Society share one Saturday of holiday events in downtown Meriden, set for November 21 in 2026.
- Santa's arrival by train: Santa Claus rides into Meriden by train at 12:57 pm during Cool Yule, and pictures with him are offered at the Yuletide Fair.
- Holiday Artisan Fair at Gallery 53: Gallery 53, which says it has kept art alive in Meriden since 1907, fills its Colony Street space with artisan-crafted gifts for its Annual Holiday Artisan Fair.
- Yuletide Fair at the First Church of Meriden: The church's fair pairs pictures with Santa with a tag sale.
- Historical scavenger hunt: The Meriden Historical Society runs a scavenger hunt as its part of the Cool Yule festival.
- Holiday programs at Meriden Public Library: The library on Miller Street schedules holiday programs for different ages, from a cupcake liner tree craft for ages 2 to 6 to a Christmas ghost story talk for teens and adults.
A fact for kids
In 1939 the inventor of FM radio, Edwin Howard Armstrong, used Meriden's West Peak for one of the first FM radio broadcasts. His original 70-foot radio mast is still standing on the peak.
Questions about Christmas in Meriden
When was Meriden founded?
Meriden started out as part of the neighboring town of Wallingford and was granted a separate meetinghouse in 1727. It became a town of its own in 1806, when it had just over 1,000 residents, and was incorporated as a city in 1867 with just under 9,000.
How did Meriden get its name?
Meriden was named for the village of Meriden in the West Midlands of England, near Birmingham. The Connecticut city sits in New Haven County, about halfway between New Haven and Hartford, and was once proposed as the state capital.
Why is Meriden called the Silver City?
The nickname comes from the large number of silver manufacturers that worked in Meriden from the second half of the 1800s. The Meriden Britannia Company was a predecessor of the International Silver Company, which had its headquarters in the city and kept producing until the early 1980s.
What happens at Christmas in Meriden?
The biggest single day on this year's list is Cool Yule Meriden on Saturday, November 21, 2026, a downtown festival with Santa's arrival by train, an artisan fair, a vendor market and a scavenger hunt. Meriden Public Library follows with a holiday craft and a Christmas ghost story talk on December 1.
Who organizes Cool Yule Meriden?
Three downtown organizations host it together: Gallery 53, the First Church of Meriden and the Meriden Historical Society. Gallery 53 contributes its Annual Holiday Artisan Fair and a vendor market, the church holds its Yuletide Fair, and the Historical Society runs a scavenger hunt.
When does Santa arrive in Meriden?
According to the Cool Yule Meriden page, Santa Claus arrives by train at 12:57 pm on Saturday, November 21, 2026. Pictures with Santa are offered at the First Church of Meriden's Yuletide Fair, part of the same festival, which runs from 9:00 am to 4:00 pm.
Where do Meriden's holiday events take place?
Cool Yule Meriden is spread across downtown, centered on Gallery 53 at 53 Colony Street, with free parking in the Meriden Station Parking Garage at 24 Colony Street. The library programs are held at Meriden Public Library, 105 Miller Street.
What is free at Christmas in Meriden?
Parking for Cool Yule Meriden is free in the Meriden Station Parking Garage, and the library's Cupcake Liner Holiday Tree Craft on December 1 is listed at no charge with registration required. Gallery 53's Pottery 101 ornament class costs $30 with materials included.
What landmark is Meriden known for?
Castle Craig, dedicated in 1900, stands on a peak in Hubbard Park among the Hanging Hills and has been a city landmark for over a century. The park was financed by Walter Hubbard, who planned it in consultation with the Olmsted Brothers.
Did Abraham Lincoln visit Meriden?
Yes. On March 7, 1860, Abraham Lincoln spoke in Meriden while seeking the Republican presidential nomination. More than a century later, on April 27, 1976, Jimmy Carter campaigned at Meriden's city hall during his own run for the Democratic nomination.
Sources
- Meriden, Connecticut, Wikipedia
- Cool Yule Meriden, Gallery 53
- Pottery 101 - Home School Ages 12 - 17 - Fall 2026, Gallery 53
- Cupcake Liner Holiday Tree Craft, Meriden Public Library
- The Ghosts of Christmas Past, Meriden Public 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.
Meriden Christmas events for kids: questions parents ask
What is the best Christmas event for kids in Meriden to start with?
Cool Yule Meriden on Saturday, November 21, 2026, from 9:00 am to 4:00 pm packs the most into one stop. Gallery 53, the First Church of Meriden and the Meriden Historical Society share the day downtown, with Santa arriving by train at 12:57 pm, an artisan fair, a vendor market and a scavenger hunt.
Where can kids meet Santa in Meriden?
Santa Claus arrives in downtown Meriden by train at 12:57 pm on November 21 during Cool Yule Meriden. Pictures with Santa are part of the First Church of Meriden's Yuletide Fair that same day. The festival runs from 9:00 am to 4:00 pm, so there is time for photos after he arrives.
Are there free Christmas activities for kids in Meriden?
Meriden Public Library's Cupcake Liner Holiday Tree Craft on December 1 at 10:30 am is listed at no charge for ages 2 to 6, with registration required. Cool Yule Meriden on November 21 offers free parking in the Meriden Station Parking Garage at 24 Colony Street, and its page lists no admission price.
Which Meriden holiday events need registration?
Both library programs on December 1 require sign-up. Registration for the Cupcake Liner Holiday Tree Craft opens November 17 at 9:30 am, and registration for The Ghosts of Christmas Past closes at 5:00 pm on the day. Gallery 53's two-session Pottery 101 ornament class for homeschooled teens is booked through the gallery's online store.
Is there anything Christmas themed for teens in Meriden?
Yes. Gallery 53 runs a Pottery 101 workshop for home school students ages 12 to 17 on November 24 and December 1, where teens sculpt and glaze clay Christmas ornaments. The library's The Ghosts of Christmas Past on December 1 at 6:00 pm is a Victorian ghost story talk listed for teens and adults.
Where do you park for Cool Yule Meriden?
The organizer points visitors to the Meriden Station Parking Garage at 24 Colony Street, where parking is free and Gallery 53 is just across the street. The Cool Yule activities all take place in downtown Meriden on November 21, so you can park once for the day.
Are there Christmas train rides for kids near Meriden?
Santa trains and holiday train rides have their own guide: Rally Takes the Train’s Connecticut Christmas train rides guide. This Meriden 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.