Rally the corgi has sniffed out the best Christmas events for kids in Minden for 2026, and here is what he found: 4 family events, 1 of them free. The magic runs from November 20 (Christmas in Minden Kickoff) through December 19, with Breakfast with Santa (November 28), Presents on Pearl (from November 28) and Christmas Live Nativity (December 19) 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 Louisiana Christmas events for kids guide.
What Rally found in Minden
- 4 Christmas events for kids in Minden
- 1 free event, including Christmas Live Nativity
- Meet Santa: Breakfast with Santa (November 28)
- Parades and tree lightings: Christmas in Minden Kickoff (November 20)
- Also on the list: 1 Christmas show and 1 Christmas market
- Season: November 20 (Christmas in Minden Kickoff) to December 19 (Christmas Live Nativity)
- Every date checked on the host’s own site on Nov 10
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- 3 Zoos and museums
- 2 Breakfast and treats
- 1 Santa
- 1 Lights
- 1 Free
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Free Christmas events for kids in Minden
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Christmas Live Nativity
- When: Saturday, December 19, 2026, 6 to 8 pm (Self-paced walking tour that takes about 30 to 45 minutes; start any time during the two hours.)
- Where: Minden Historic District (tour begins at 1111 Broadway Street), 1111 Broadway Street, Minden, LA 71055 (opens in maps)
- Cost: Free
Expand to see the parent tip
Several Minden churches join forces to turn the streets of the historic district into Bethlehem for one evening. Families walk a route past shepherds in their fields, nativity scenes with live animals and costumed neighbors playing figures from the Gospel accounts, with a community choir singing along the way. The walk begins at 1111 Broadway Street, passes St. John's Episcopal Church and Minden Presbyterian Church on Lewisville Road, and ends at First Methodist Church Minden.
The Live Nativity is on Saturday, December 19, 2026, from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. It is free and open to the public. The full walk takes roughly 30 to 45 minutes at your own pace, and you can begin at any point during the two hours. Churches on the route are open for a look inside and a rest.
Parent tip: This is an outdoor walk after dark that can take up to 45 minutes, so bring a stroller for little legs and dress everyone warmly. The open churches along the route make handy warm-up and rest stops if a child starts to flag.
- Host
- Minden churches (listed by Visit Webster Parish) (opens in a new tab)
- Address
- Minden Historic District (tour begins at 1111 Broadway Street), 1111 Broadway Street, Minden, LA 71055 (opens in maps)
- Confirmed
- On the host’s page, checked
New Minden events every week
Rally researches Christmas events in Minden daily and updates this page with new events. Enter your email to get a weekly update with new events in Minden.
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Rally’s Christmas research
Rally the corgi has 3 more Minden 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 Minden.
- Exclusive access to free events Find the free Christmas events in Minden 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
- 3 Zoos and museums
- 2 Breakfast and treats
- 1 Santa
- 1 Lights
- 1 Free
Enter your email to get new Christmas events in Minden every week.
Ticketed and paid Christmas events for kids in Minden
Admission, tickets or a fee apply. Where a host has not posted a price yet, the listing says so.
Tree lighting
Christmas in Minden Kickoff
- When: Friday, November 20, 2026, 5 to 10 pm (Tree lighting ceremony at 6:00 p.m. The Rink and holiday hayrides run 5:00 to 10:00 p.m.)
- Where: Downtown Minden, Minden, LA 71055 (opens in maps)
- Cost: Skating $5 per skater for 30 minutes; hayrides $5 per rider
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Minden opens its Christmas season downtown with two things at once: the first public night of The Rink and the lighting of the town tree. Families can skate, ride a holiday hayride and warm up with hot chocolate and seasonal treats before and after the tree comes on.
The kickoff is on Friday, November 20, 2026. The Rink and the hayrides run from 5:00 to 10:00 p.m., and the tree lighting ceremony is at 6:00 p.m. Skating costs $5 per skater for a 30-minute session and hayrides are $5 per rider. The listing does not mention any charge to watch the lighting.
Parent tip: Skating is sold in 30-minute sessions, so one easy plan is to arrive at 5:00 p.m., skate first and be off the rink in time for the 6:00 p.m. tree lighting. Bring small bills for each skater and rider, since both activities are priced per person.
- Host
- Visit Webster Parish (opens in a new tab)
- Address
- Downtown Minden, Minden, LA 71055 (opens in maps)
- Confirmed
- On the host’s page, checked
New Minden events every week
Rally researches Christmas events in Minden daily and updates this page with new events. Enter your email to get a weekly update with new events in Minden.
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Breakfast with Santa
Breakfast with Santa
- When: Saturday, November 28, 2026, 9 am to noon
- Where: The ParTEA Room, 731 Main Street, Minden, LA 71055 (opens in maps)
- Cost: Adults $45, ages 3 to 17 $30, ages 0 to 2 $5
- Ages: All ages; priced by age
Expand to see the parent tip
The ParTEA Room on Main Street in Minden hosts a family breakfast with Santa on the Saturday after Thanksgiving. The tourism listing keeps the details short: a morning meal, time with Santa and tickets priced by age, down to a small charge for babies.
Breakfast with Santa is on Saturday, November 28, 2026, from 9:00 a.m. to noon at 731 Main Street. Prices are $45 for adults, $30 for ages 3 to 17 and $5 for children 2 and under. The tourism listing links to The ParTEA Room's own event page for booking details.
Parent tip: Even babies and toddlers have a ticket price here, so count every child when you budget. The listing does not explain seating times within the three-hour window, so confirm your arrival time with The ParTEA Room when you book.
- Host
- The ParTEA Room (opens in a new tab)
- Address
- The ParTEA Room, 731 Main Street, Minden, LA 71055 (opens in maps)
- Confirmed
- On the host’s page, checked
New Minden events every week
Rally researches Christmas events in Minden daily and updates this page with new events. Enter your email to get a weekly update with new events in Minden.
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Holiday market
Presents on Pearl
- When: Sat November 28, Sat December 5, Sat December 12 and Sat December 19, 2026, noon to 8 pm (Four Saturdays: November 28 and December 5, 12 and 19.)
- Where: 110 Pearl St., 110 Pearl St, Minden, LA 71055 (opens in maps)
- Cost: No price listed on the organizer's page
Expand to see the parent tip
Presents on Pearl is an indoor Christmas market on Pearl Street in Minden, where local vendors sell gifts over four Saturdays. Alongside the shopping there are Christmas characters for children to meet, spots set up for festive photos and hot chocolate to sip as you browse.
The market is open from noon to 8:00 p.m. on Saturdays, November 28 and December 5, 12 and 19, 2026, at 110 Pearl St. The listing does not mention an entry fee or tickets.
Parent tip: Because the shopping is indoors, this is a good fallback for a rainy or cold Saturday. On December 19 it pairs well with the Live Nativity walk through the historic district, which starts at 6:00 p.m., two hours before the market closes.
- Host
- Visit Webster Parish (opens in a new tab)
- Address
- 110 Pearl St., 110 Pearl St, Minden, LA 71055 (opens in maps)
- Confirmed
- On the host’s page, checked
New Minden events every week
Rally researches Christmas events in Minden daily and updates this page with new events. Enter your email to get a weekly update with new events in Minden.
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 Louisiana Christmas train rides page.
See every event on a December calendar
Plan your December
When each Minden Christmas event for kids happens
The first is Christmas in Minden Kickoff in Minden on November 20; the last runs to December 19. Each bar spans an event’s dates, not every hour in them, so check the host’s page for times.
- Christmas in Minden KickoffMinden · Nov 20
- Breakfast with SantaMinden · Nov 28
- Presents on PearlMinden · Nov 28 to Dec 19
- Christmas Live NativityMinden · Dec 19
Looking further afield? Our Louisiana Christmas events for kids guide lists every event we have found in the state, and we have city guides for Bossier City, Shreveport, Lake Charles and Lafayette, LA. 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 Minden
Minden's downtown still has its original brick streets, and at Christmas they are lined with life-size nutcrackers, a nod to the German homeland that founder Charles Veeder named the town after. The town is a stop on Louisiana's Holiday Trail of Lights, and its big weekend, Christmas in Minden, brings a tree lighting, a parade and a hayride through the historic district.
How Minden celebrates
The season centers on Christmas in Minden, a downtown weekend put together by the Greater Minden Chamber, Webster Parish tourism, Minden Main Street, the Dorcheat Museum and local businesses. Its fixtures are a tree lighting at City Hall, an evening Christmas parade, the Holiday Trail of Lights hayride, a vendor market called Presents on Pearl, a Christmas Tour of Homes and, in several years, fireworks. The sources found do not give a founding year for the weekend. A 2016 tourism listing already called the parade annual, then sponsored by the Minden Evening Lions Club, and the hayride was in its fourth year in 2024. In the mid 2010s the lights were switched on at Fasching, a German-themed November festival.
Christmas last year in Minden
Christmas in Minden 2025 ran from Friday, December 12 to Sunday, December 14. It opened with the tree lighting at City Hall, where Mayor Nick Cox spoke, the Minden High School choir sang carols and dancers from Cydni's School of Dance performed, with Santa and Mrs. Claus looking on. That night also had the free Holiday Trail of Lights hayride, a wine walk and the Presents on Pearl market, and the Germantown Colony Museum offered cookies with Santa and Mrs. Claus. On Saturday at 5:00 p.m. the parade, themed A Hometown Christmas, sent more than 35 units through downtown, including the Minden High School Marching Band, and finished just before rain arrived. The Christmas Tour of Homes closed the weekend on Sunday. Local churches also staged a free walking live nativity in the historic district that season.
Fun facts about Christmas in Minden
Charles Veeder built an inn at the site in 1835, laid out the town in 1837 and named it for his ancestors' home in Germany, according to a 2015 tourism release. The hayride tours have used two tractors pulling trailers, each with a guide, and in 2024 demand was high enough that rides scheduled to end at 9:00 p.m. kept going until 9:45. Weather has reshuffled the weekend more than once: in 2023 the parade and fireworks moved to Sunday because of severe storms, and in 2024 the fireworks were moved up to Friday ahead of rain.
Traditions today
- Tree lighting: The official tree lighting has been held at Minden City Hall in recent years, and in 2025 it included carols from the Minden High School choir and a visit from Santa and Mrs. Claus.
- Downtown Christmas parade: An evening parade rolls through downtown on the Saturday of the Christmas in Minden weekend, with a new theme each year such as Candyland Christmas in 2024 and A Hometown Christmas in 2025.
- Holiday Trail of Lights hayride: Tractor-drawn trailers carry riders through the downtown and historic district lights with caroling and stories about the old homes and landmarks.
- Christmas Tour of Homes: On the Sunday of the weekend, decorated historic properties open to visitors, seven of them in 2024.
- Nutcrackers on the brick streets: Life-size nutcrackers stand along the brick streets downtown each season as a reminder of the town's German roots.
- Live nativity walk: Local churches turn part of the historic district into Bethlehem for one night with costumed characters, live animals and a community choir.
A fact for kids
Downtown Minden has had more than one hundred nutcrackers as tall as people standing along its brick streets at Christmas. The Christmas hayride there is pulled by tractors instead of horses.
Questions about Christmas in Minden
What is Christmas in Minden?
Christmas in Minden is the town's annual downtown holiday weekend. In 2025 it ran December 12 to 14 with a tree lighting at City Hall, a wine walk, the Presents on Pearl market, the Holiday Trail of Lights hayride, a Saturday evening parade and a Sunday Tour of Homes.
Where is Minden's Christmas tree lighting held?
Local coverage places the ceremony at Minden City Hall in 2021 and 2025, and in front of the Minden Civic Center in 2024. For 2026, the tourism calendar lists the tree lighting at 6:00 p.m. on Friday, November 20, during the Christmas in Minden Kickoff downtown.
When is the Minden Christmas parade?
It runs on the Saturday evening of the Christmas in Minden weekend. In 2025 that was December 13 at 5:00 p.m., under the theme A Hometown Christmas, with more than 35 units including the Minden High School Marching Band. The 2024 parade was called Candyland Christmas.
What is the Holiday Trail of Lights?
It is a Louisiana holiday route that links Minden with Natchitoches, Shreveport-Bossier, Monroe-West Monroe and Alexandria-Pineville. A 2021 Webster Parish Journal report said the trail had been running for 30 years and that Minden was listed first among its cities that year.
What is the Holiday Trail of Lights hayride in Minden?
Run by the parish tourism office with the Dorcheat Museum, the hayride tours downtown and the historic district with lights, caroling and local history. The museum's director said 2024 was its fourth year and its biggest crowd so far. It was offered free in 2021 and 2025.
Why does Minden decorate with nutcrackers?
The nutcrackers reflect German heritage. A 2015 tourism release says Charles Veeder built an inn in 1835, laid out the town in 1837 and named it for his ancestors' German home, and that more than one hundred life-size nutcrackers stood downtown among thousands of lights.
What is Fasching in Minden?
Fasching, billed as the Fifth Season Celebration, is a German-inspired festival that Minden held on its brick streets in November 2015 and 2016, with German food, music and a visit from Santa. In those years it opened the Christmas lights season, and the 2015 edition closed with fireworks before the lights were switched on.
Does Minden have Christmas fireworks?
Fireworks have been part of several recent seasons. In 2021 they followed the tree lighting, in 2023 they moved to Sunday with the parade because of severe weather, and in 2024 they were moved up to Friday ahead of rain. The 2025 coverage reviewed here does not mention fireworks.
What is the Christmas Tour of Homes in Minden?
The Tour of Homes closes the Christmas in Minden weekend on Sunday afternoon. In 2024 it ran from 1:00 to 6:00 p.m. with seven decorated properties, including the Dorcheat Museum and the Stewart Center. Visit Webster Parish hosted it again on December 14, 2025.
Is there a live nativity in Minden?
Yes. In December 2025 local churches presented a free walking tour through the historic district with costumed characters, live animals and a community choir. It returns on December 19, 2026 from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m., starting at 1111 Broadway Street and ending at First Methodist Church Minden.
What happens at the Germantown Colony Museum at Christmas?
During the 2025 Christmas in Minden weekend the museum held a free holiday program from 1:00 to 4:00 p.m. on December 12 and 13 with tours, cookies with Santa and Mrs. Claus and photos with an elf. The colony was founded around 1834, about seven miles northeast of Minden.
Sources
- Celebrate the Season in Minden, Louisiana Holiday Trail of Lights
- Minden at the top of the Trail, Webster Parish Journal
- Christmas in Minden hits a home run despite weather-related curve balls, Webster Parish Journal
- Group effort makes for magical Christmas in Minden last weekend, Webster Parish Journal
- 'A Hometown Christmas', Webster Parish Journal
- O Come All Ye Faithful: A community-wide live nativity experience, Webster Parish Journal
- Christmas in Minden returns Dec. 12-14, Minden Press-Herald
- Christmas in Minden 2025 opens with tree lighting, downtown festivities, Minden Press-Herald
- Christmas in Minden ushers in holiday season with packed weekend of festivities, Minden Press-Herald
- Louisiana Holiday Trail of Lights, November Events in Minden Announced, PRWeb (Louisiana Holiday Trail of Lights news release)
- Top 10 Things to Do in Minden, Louisiana Holiday Trail of Lights
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 Louisiana city.
Minden Christmas events for kids: questions parents ask
What is the best Christmas event for kids in Minden to start with?
The Christmas in Minden Kickoff on Friday, November 20, 2026 is the natural first stop. Downtown opens The Rink for skating and runs holiday hayrides from 5:00 to 10:00 p.m., and the town Christmas tree is lit at 6:00 p.m. Skating is $5 per skater for 30 minutes and hayrides are $5 per rider.
Are there free Christmas events for kids in Minden?
Yes. The Christmas Live Nativity on Saturday, December 19, 2026 is listed as free and open to the public. It is a walking tour through the historic district from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. with live animals, costumed characters and a community choir, and it takes about 30 to 45 minutes.
Where can kids meet Santa in Minden?
Breakfast with Santa at The ParTEA Room, 731 Main Street, is on Saturday, November 28, 2026, from 9:00 a.m. to noon. For a more casual visit, Presents on Pearl at 110 Pearl St. has Christmas characters to meet and photo spots on four Saturdays: November 28 and December 5, 12 and 19.
Is there a tree lighting or lights event in Minden?
Minden lights its Christmas tree at 6:00 p.m. on Friday, November 20, 2026, during the Christmas in Minden Kickoff downtown. The same evening has holiday hayrides and skating at The Rink until 10:00 p.m., so families can stay on after the tree comes on.
Which Minden Christmas events cost money or need booking?
Breakfast with Santa on November 28, 2026 is priced at $45 for adults, $30 for ages 3 to 17 and $5 for ages 0 to 2, with details on The ParTEA Room's event page. At the November 20 kickoff, skating and hayrides are $5 each. The Live Nativity on December 19 is free.
What can families do in Minden on a cold or rainy December Saturday?
Presents on Pearl is described as indoor holiday shopping, so it works in any weather. It runs from noon to 8:00 p.m. at 110 Pearl St. on November 28 and December 5, 12 and 19, 2026, with local vendors, hot chocolate, festive photo spots and Christmas characters for children to meet.
Are there Christmas train rides for kids near Minden?
Santa trains and holiday train rides have their own guide: Rally Takes the Train’s Louisiana Christmas train rides guide. This Minden 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.