Rally the corgi has sniffed out the Christmas events for kids in Pekin for 2026. Mineral Springs Park glows with more than 400 lighted trees for the Winter Wonderland Festival on Sunday, November 29, with a parade, live reindeer and fireworks, and the Pekin Park District arranges personalized Letters from Santa for kids who sign up by December 3. We check every date on the host’s own website and link straight there. For the rest of the state, see our Illinois Christmas events for kids guide.
What Rally found in Pekin
- 2 Christmas events for kids in Pekin
- Winter Wonderland Festival: Sunday, November 29, Mineral Springs Park, free
- 400+ lighted trees, a parade, live reindeer and fireworks
- Letters from Santa: $5 per child, forms due December 3
- Every date checked in the Pekin Park District Fall-Winter 2026-27 Play Guide on Nov 11
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All 2 events
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Rally’s Christmas research
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Free Christmas events for kids in Pekin
400 lighted trees and a paradeFree
Pekin Winter Wonderland Festival
- When: Sunday, November 29, 2026; see the festival schedule for parade and fireworks times
- Where: Mineral Springs Park, 1701 Court St., Pekin, IL 61554 (opens in maps)
- Cost: Free
- Ages: All ages
Expand to see the parent tip
Since 1987 Pekin has opened the holidays by lighting Mineral Springs Park with more than 400 decorated trees, and the 2026 festival lands on Sunday, November 29.
The day brings the annual parade, live entertainment and a fireworks show, plus live reindeer from Snowman’s Reindeer Farm sponsored by the Pekin Park Foundation.
Parent tip: Parking is on site and in nearby lots, but they fill before the parade. Stay after dark for the trees and the fireworks, and dress for an evening by the lagoon.
- Host
- Pekin Winter Wonderland with the Pekin Park District (opens in a new tab)
- Address
- Mineral Springs Park, 1701 Court St., Pekin, IL 61554 (opens in maps)
- Confirmed
- On the host’s page, checked
New Pekin events every week
Rally researches Christmas events in Pekin daily and updates this page with new events. Enter your email to get a weekly update with new events in Pekin.
Free. Unsubscribe anytime. Privacy policy (opens in a new tab)
Rally’s Christmas research
Rally the corgi has 1 more Pekin 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 Pekin.
- Exclusive access to free events Find the free Christmas events in Pekin 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
- 1 Santa
- 1 Lights
- 1 Parades
- 1 Free
Enter your email to get new Christmas events in Pekin every week.
Ticketed and paid Christmas events for kids in Pekin
Admission, tickets or a fee apply. Where a host has not posted a price yet, the listing says so.
Event hosts: free events are listed first. The #1 spot puts your event at the top of this page.Inquire about the #1 spotAdd your event for free
Personalized letter from Santa
Letters from Santa
- When: Sign up any time until 11:59 pm, Thursday, December 3, 2026
- Where: Pekin Park District (by mail), Pekin, IL 61554 (opens in maps)
- Cost: $5 per child
- Ages: Kids
Expand to see the parent tip
Santa writes a personalized letter to each Pekin child signed up through the park district, using details families share on a short form.
Register through the park district’s normal registration system, and the form arrives by email to fill out and return.
Parent tip: The form must be turned in by 11:59 pm on December 3. Add a favorite toy, pet or recent achievement so the letter feels unmistakably from the North Pole.
- Host
- Pekin Park District (opens in a new tab)
- Address
- Pekin Park District (by mail), Pekin, IL 61554 (opens in maps)
- Confirmed
- On the host’s page, checked
New Pekin events every week
Rally researches Christmas events in Pekin daily and updates this page with new events. Enter your email to get a weekly update with new events in Pekin.
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 Illinois Christmas train rides page.
See every event on a December calendar
Plan your December
When each Pekin Christmas event for kids happens
Spend Sunday, November 29, at Mineral Springs Park for the parade, reindeer, lighted trees and fireworks. The same week, sign up for a Letter from Santa before the December 3 deadline.
- Letters from SantaPekin · Nov 11 to Dec 3
- Pekin Winter Wonderland FestivalPekin · Nov 29
Looking further afield? Our Illinois Christmas events for kids guide lists every confirmed event in the state, and we have city guides for Peoria, Normal, Bloomington and Springfield. 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 Illinois city.
Pekin Christmas events for kids: questions parents ask
What are the best Christmas events for kids in Pekin this year?
Rally Takes the Train has confirmed 2 Christmas events for kids in Pekin for 2026: the Pekin Winter Wonderland Festival and Letters from Santa from the Pekin Park District.
When is Pekin Winter Wonderland in 2026?
Sunday, November 29, 2026, at Mineral Springs Park, 1701 Court Street. It is free and includes more than 400 lighted trees, a parade, live entertainment, live reindeer and fireworks.
Is Pekin Winter Wonderland free?
Yes. All festival activities are free to attend, funded by tree sponsorships and donations.
How do I get a letter from Santa in Pekin?
Register through the Pekin Park District, then fill out the form it emails you by 11:59 pm on December 3, 2026. It costs $5 per child.
Who do I contact about Pekin holiday events?
The Pekin Park District at recreation@pekinparkdistrict.org, or Andrew Richey at arichey@pekinparkdistrict.org for Letters from Santa.
Are there Christmas train rides for kids in Illinois?
Yes. Santa trains and holiday train rides have their own guide: Rally Takes the Train’s Illinois 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 Pekin 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.