Rally the corgi has sniffed out the Christmas events for kids in Pontiac for 2026. Saturday, December 5 is the big day downtown: the free Winter FUN Festival runs on Saginaw Street from 9 am with wagon rides, the Grinch and s’mores, and the 45th Holiday Extravaganza Parade steps off at 11 am with Santa and Mrs. Claus greeting kids afterward. We check every date on the host’s own website and link straight there. For the rest of the state, see our Michigan Christmas events for kids guide.
What Rally found in Pontiac
- 2 Christmas events for kids in Pontiac
- Winter FUN Festival: Saturday, December 5, 9 am to 2 pm, free
- Holiday Extravaganza Parade: Saturday, December 5, 11 am
- Santa and Mrs. Claus visit after the parade
- The Grinch plays the Strand at 2 pm with free lunch
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Free Christmas events for kids in Pontiac
45th annual downtown paradeFree
Holiday Extravaganza Parade
- When: Saturday, December 5, 2026, 11 am; Santa and Mrs. Claus visits right after
- Where: Saginaw Street, Downtown Pontiac, 1 N. Saginaw St., Pontiac, MI 48342 (opens in maps)
- Cost: Free
- Ages: All ages
Expand to see the parent tip
Pontiac’s Holiday Extravaganza celebrates 45 years with a Saturday morning parade of floats and marching bands through downtown, with Santa and the Grinch along for the ride.
Santa and Mrs. Claus greet kids right after the parade, and The Grinch plays at the Strand at 2 pm with a free lunch to round out the day.
Parent tip: Kids can start the morning with the free quarter-mile Santa Kids Run at 9 am using code kidsrunfree, then grab a curb spot on Saginaw Street before 11.
- Host
- Holiday Extravaganza (opens in a new tab)
- Address
- Saginaw Street, Downtown Pontiac, 1 N. Saginaw St., Pontiac, MI 48342 (opens in maps)
- Confirmed
- On the host’s page, checked
New Pontiac events every week
Rally researches Christmas events in Pontiac daily and updates this page with new events. Enter your email to get a weekly update with new events in Pontiac.
Free. Unsubscribe anytime. Privacy policy (opens in a new tab)
Rally’s Christmas research
Rally the corgi has 1 more Pontiac 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 Pontiac.
- Exclusive access to free events Find the free Christmas events in Pontiac 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 Santa
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Free street festival with wagon ridesFree
Winter FUN Festival
- When: Saturday, December 5, 2026, 9 am to 2 pm (paused during the parade)
- Where: Saginaw Street between Huron (M-59) and Pike Street, Downtown Pontiac, Pontiac, MI (opens in maps)
- Cost: Free
- Ages: All ages
Expand to see the parent tip
The Holiday Extravaganza’s free Winter FUN Festival fills Saginaw Street in downtown Pontiac with indoor and outdoor activities around the parade.
Kids can meet the Grinch and his Whoville friends, ride horse-drawn wagons, watch ice carving, get faces painted, roast s’mores and make holiday crafts, with a Santa and Mrs. Claus afterglow.
Parent tip: Arrive by 9 am to do the wagon rides and crafts before the parade pauses the festival, then come back afterward for s’mores and Santa.
- Host
- Holiday Extravaganza (opens in a new tab)
- Address
- Saginaw Street between Huron (M-59) and Pike Street, Downtown Pontiac, Pontiac, MI (opens in maps)
- Confirmed
- On the host’s page, checked
New Pontiac events every week
Rally researches Christmas events in Pontiac daily and updates this page with new events. Enter your email to get a weekly update with new events in Pontiac.
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 Michigan Christmas train rides page.
See every event on a December calendar
Plan your December
When each Pontiac Christmas event for kids happens
Plan a full Saturday downtown on December 5: festival activities in the morning, the parade at 11, Santa after and The Grinch at the Strand at 2.
- Holiday Extravaganza ParadePontiac · Dec 5
- Winter FUN FestivalPontiac · Dec 5
Looking further afield? Our Michigan Christmas events for kids guide lists every confirmed event in the state, and we have city guides for Rochester Hills, Rochester, Village of Clarkston and Sterling Heights. 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 Michigan city.
Pontiac Christmas events for kids: questions parents ask
What are the best Christmas events for kids in Pontiac this year?
Rally Takes the Train has confirmed 2 Christmas events for kids in Pontiac, Michigan, for 2026, both on December 5: the Holiday Extravaganza Parade and the Winter FUN Festival.
When is the Pontiac Holiday Extravaganza Parade?
Saturday, December 5, 2026, at 11 am in downtown Pontiac. It is the 45th year of the parade.
What is at the Winter FUN Festival?
Horse-drawn wagon rides, the Grinch and Whoville friends, ice carving, face painting, s’mores, holiday crafts and a Santa and Mrs. Claus afterglow, free from 9 am to 2 pm on Saginaw Street between Huron and Pike.
Is there a kids run at the Holiday Extravaganza?
Yes. The non-timed quarter-mile Santa Kids Run starts at 9 am, and kids run free with the code kidsrunfree.
Who do I contact about the Pontiac Holiday Extravaganza?
Holiday Extravaganza at he@holidayextravaganza.org or 248-421-7198.
Are there Christmas train rides for kids in Michigan?
Yes. Santa trains and holiday train rides have their own guide: Rally Takes the Train’s Michigan 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 Pontiac 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.