Rally the corgi has sniffed out the Christmas events for kids in Portage for 2026. Santa lights the Mayor’s Tree in City Centre on Saturday, December 5, then leads the crowd to Celery Flats for carols, fire pits and cookies, and Santa and Mrs. Claus return to the Hayloft Theatre for photos on December 11 to 13. 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 Portage
- 2 Christmas events for kids in Portage
- Tree Lighting & Holiday Celebration: Saturday, December 5, 5:30 pm, free
- Tree lighting: 6 pm at the Mayor’s Tree, City Centre
- Photos with Santa & Mrs. Claus: December 11, 12 and 13
- Both at: Celery Flats Historical Area, 7335 Garden Lane
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Rally’s Christmas research
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Free Christmas events for kids in Portage
Tree lighting with SantaFree
Tree Lighting & Traditional Holiday Celebration
- When: Saturday, December 5, 2026, 5:30 to 8 pm, tree lighting at 6 pm
- Where: City Centre and Celery Flats Historical Area, 7335 Garden Lane, Portage, MI (opens in maps)
- Cost: Free, no registration required
- Ages: All ages
Expand to see the parent tip
Kids gather around the Mayor’s Tree in City Centre for a live reading of ’Twas the Night Before Christmas, then ring jingle bells to welcome Santa Claus for the lighting of the tree.
Afterward everyone follows Santa’s sleigh to Celery Flats for the Santa’s Village Boutique Market, choir carols, a lit Reindeer Lane, fire pits and free cookies and milk in Mrs. Claus’ Kitchen inside Stuart Manor.
Parent tip: Bring jingle bells for the kids to ring when Santa arrives, and dress warm for the walk down Reindeer Lane to the fire pits.
- Host
- Portage Parks & Recreation (opens in a new tab)
- Address
- City Centre and Celery Flats Historical Area, 7335 Garden Lane, Portage, MI (opens in maps)
- Confirmed
- On the host’s page, checked
New Portage events every week
Rally researches Christmas events in Portage daily and updates this page with new events. Enter your email to get a weekly update with new events in Portage.
Free. Unsubscribe anytime. Privacy policy (opens in a new tab)
Rally’s Christmas research
Rally the corgi has 1 more Portage 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 Portage.
- Exclusive access to free events Find the free Christmas events in Portage 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
- 1 Lights
- 1 Free
Enter your email to get new Christmas events in Portage every week.
Ticketed and paid Christmas events for kids in Portage
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
Santa photos
Photos with Santa & Mrs. Claus
- When: Friday, December 11, 4 to 7 pm; Saturday, December 12, 11 am to 3 pm; and Sunday, December 13, 2026, 4 to 7 pm
- Where: Celery Flats Historical Area, Hayloft Theatre, 7335 Garden Lane, Portage, MI (opens in maps)
- Cost: Registration through Portage Parks & Recreation, see the city listing for details
- Ages: All ages
Expand to see the parent tip
Santa and Mrs. Claus set up for family photos at the Celery Flats Historical Area, using the restored Hayloft Theatre and the amphitheatre as their holiday backdrop.
Three sessions across one mid-December weekend give families a Friday evening, a Saturday daytime or a Sunday evening slot to pick from.
Parent tip: Book through the Portage Parks & Recreation registration site, and pick the Saturday daytime session if your little ones fade in the evening.
- Host
- Portage Parks & Recreation (opens in a new tab)
- Address
- Celery Flats Historical Area, Hayloft Theatre, 7335 Garden Lane, Portage, MI (opens in maps)
- Confirmed
- On the host’s page, checked
New Portage events every week
Rally researches Christmas events in Portage daily and updates this page with new events. Enter your email to get a weekly update with new events in Portage.
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 Portage Christmas event for kids happens
The tree lighting is free with no registration, so just arrive by 6 pm. Book a Santa photo session for the following weekend through Portage Parks & Recreation.
- Tree Lighting & Traditional Holiday CelebrationPortage · Dec 5
- Photos with Santa & Mrs. ClausPortage · Dec 11 to Dec 13
Looking further afield? Our Michigan Christmas events for kids guide lists every confirmed event in the state, and we have city guides for Kalamazoo, Battle Creek, Grand Rapids and Allendale. 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.
Portage Christmas events for kids: questions parents ask
What are the best Christmas events for kids in Portage this year?
Rally Takes the Train has confirmed 2 Christmas events for kids in Portage, Michigan, for 2026: the Tree Lighting and Traditional Holiday Celebration on December 5 and Photos with Santa and Mrs. Claus on December 11 to 13.
When is the Portage tree lighting?
Saturday, December 5, 2026. The celebration starts at 5:30 pm and Santa lights the Mayor’s Tree in City Centre at 6 pm, then the fun moves to Celery Flats. It is free with no registration.
What happens at Celery Flats after the tree lighting?
Families follow Santa’s sleigh to Celery Flats for the Santa’s Village Boutique Market, holiday carols from the Portage Northern High School Choir, Reindeer Lane lights, fire pits, a brass band and free cookies and milk in Mrs. Claus’ Kitchen.
When can kids get photos with Santa in Portage?
Santa and Mrs. Claus are at the Celery Flats Historical Area on Friday, December 11, 4 to 7 pm, Saturday, December 12, 11 am to 3 pm, and Sunday, December 13, 4 to 7 pm, 2026.
Who do I contact about Portage holiday events?
Portage Parks & Recreation runs both events. Contact the events program manager at dunnb@portagemi.gov or call (269) 324-9271.
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 Portage 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.