Rally the corgi has sniffed out the Christmas events for kids in Ruston for 2026. The lighted Ruston Christmas Parade rolls on Thursday, December 3, Santa poses for free portraits at the Historic Fire Station two days later, and the downtown Cookie Crawl fills boxes with holiday treats on December 13. We check every date on the official Ruston Lincoln Parish visitor calendar and link straight there. For the rest of the state, see our Louisiana Christmas events for kids guide.
What Rally found in Ruston
- 3 Christmas events for kids in Ruston
- Christmas Parade: Thursday, December 3, 6 pm, free
- Pictures with Santa: Saturday, December 5, 9 to 11 am, free
- Cookie Crawl: Sunday, December 13, 1 to 4 pm downtown
- Dates checked on the Ruston Lincoln Parish CVB calendar on Nov 11
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Rally’s Christmas research
Rally the corgi has 2 more Ruston events researched for you.
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Free Christmas events for kids in Ruston
Lighted evening paradeFree
Ruston Christmas Parade
- When: Thursday, December 3, 2026, 6 pm to 7 pm
- Where: Downtown Ruston parade route (starts at the Ruston High parking lot), Ruston, LA 71270 (opens in maps)
- Cost: Free
- Ages: All ages
Expand to see the parent tip
Quota of Ruston lines up a parade of Christmas lights on a weeknight in early December, rolling out of the Ruston High parking lot and looping along Alabama Avenue, Monroe Street, the Service Road South and James Street.
It is a short, glowing hour of floats and holiday music that is easy to fit in after school and before bedtime.
Parent tip: Pick a spot along Alabama Avenue near the start so the kids see every float while the lights are fresh, and bring a blanket for the curb.
- Host
- Quota of Ruston (opens in a new tab)
- Address
- Downtown Ruston parade route (starts at the Ruston High parking lot), Ruston, LA 71270 (opens in maps)
- Confirmed
- On the host’s page, checked
New Ruston events every week
Rally researches Christmas events in Ruston daily and updates this page with new events. Enter your email to get a weekly update with new events in Ruston.
Free. Unsubscribe anytime. Privacy policy (opens in a new tab)
Rally’s Christmas research
Rally the corgi has 2 more Ruston 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 Ruston.
- Exclusive access to free events Find the free Christmas events in Ruston 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
- 2 Free
Enter your email to get new Christmas events in Ruston every week.
Free Santa portraits downtownFree
Pictures with Santa at the Historic Fire Station
- When: Saturday, December 5, 2026, 9 am to 11 am
- Where: Historic Fire Station, Downtown Ruston, 200 E Mississippi Ave, Ruston, LA 71270 (opens in maps)
- Cost: Free
- Ages: All ages
Expand to see the parent tip
Ruston Main Street sets Santa up inside the Historic Fire Station downtown for a Saturday morning of complimentary portraits taken by a local photographer.
It is a relaxed way to get the year’s Santa photo without a mall line, and the downtown shops are steps away once the picture is done.
Parent tip: The window is only two hours, so arrive close to 9 am with the kids already in their holiday outfits.
- Host
- Ruston Main Street (opens in a new tab)
- Address
- Historic Fire Station, Downtown Ruston, 200 E Mississippi Ave, Ruston, LA 71270 (opens in maps)
- Confirmed
- On the host’s page, checked
New Ruston events every week
Rally researches Christmas events in Ruston daily and updates this page with new events. Enter your email to get a weekly update with new events in Ruston.
Free. Unsubscribe anytime. Privacy policy (opens in a new tab)
Ticketed and paid Christmas events for kids in Ruston
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
Cookie box shop hop
Christmas Cookie Crawl in Downtown Ruston
- When: Sunday, December 13, 2026, 1 pm to 4 pm
- Where: Downtown Ruston, 101 W Park Ave, Ruston, LA 71270 (opens in maps)
- Cost: Sign up in advance; see Ruston Main Street for details
- Ages: Families
Expand to see the parent tip
Families pick up a box and walk downtown Ruston on a December Sunday afternoon, collecting a different holiday cookie at each participating local shop.
By the end of the stroll the box is full of assorted Christmas cookies, which makes it a sweet little treasure hunt for kids while grown-ups browse the holiday specials.
Parent tip: Sign up early since boxes are limited, and let the kids carry the map so they can check off each cookie stop.
- Host
- Ruston Main Street (opens in a new tab)
- Address
- Downtown Ruston, 101 W Park Ave, Ruston, LA 71270 (opens in maps)
- Confirmed
- On the host’s page, checked
New Ruston events every week
Rally researches Christmas events in Ruston daily and updates this page with new events. Enter your email to get a weekly update with new events in Ruston.
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 Ruston Christmas event for kids happens
Catch the parade on December 3, come back Saturday morning for a free Santa portrait at the Historic Fire Station, and save December 13 for the Cookie Crawl.
- Ruston Christmas ParadeRuston · Dec 3
- Pictures with Santa at the Historic Fire StationRuston · Dec 5
- Christmas Cookie Crawl in Downtown RustonRuston · Dec 13
Looking further afield? Our Louisiana Christmas events for kids guide lists every confirmed event in the state, and we have city guides for Minden, Natchitoches, Bossier City and Shreveport. 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 Louisiana city.
Ruston Christmas events for kids: questions parents ask
What are the best Christmas events for kids in Ruston this year?
Rally Takes the Train has confirmed 3 Christmas events for kids in Ruston for 2026: the Ruston Christmas Parade, Pictures with Santa at the Historic Fire Station and the downtown Christmas Cookie Crawl.
When is the Ruston Christmas Parade in 2026?
Thursday, December 3, 2026, 6 to 7 pm. It starts at the Ruston High parking lot and travels Alabama Avenue, Monroe Street, the Service Road South and James Street.
Where can kids get free pictures with Santa in Ruston?
At the Historic Fire Station, 200 E Mississippi Ave, on Saturday, December 5, 2026, from 9 to 11 am. Portraits are complimentary.
What is the Ruston Christmas Cookie Crawl?
A Sunday afternoon walk through downtown on December 13, 2026, from 1 to 4 pm, where participants collect a holiday cookie at each local business. Sign-up is required.
Who do I contact about Ruston holiday events?
Quota of Ruston at Quotarustonla@gmail.com for the parade, and Ruston Main Street (Lauren Dowden) at laurendowden@rustonla.gov for Santa pictures and the Cookie Crawl.
Are there Christmas train rides for kids in Louisiana?
Yes. Santa trains and holiday train rides have their own guide: Rally Takes the Train’s Louisiana 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 Ruston 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.