Rally the corgi has sniffed out the best Christmas events for kids in Travelers Rest for 2026, and here is what he found: 2 family events. They are Holiday Hop & Christmas Market (November 28) and Small Business Saturday at the Market (November 28). We check every date on the host’s own website, and each listing links straight there. For the rest of the state, see our South Carolina Christmas events for kids guide.
What Rally found in Travelers Rest
- 2 Christmas events for kids in Travelers Rest
- Season: November 28
- Every date checked on the host’s own site on Nov 10
What are you looking for?
All 2 events
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Ticketed and paid Christmas events for kids in Travelers Rest
Admission, tickets or a fee apply. Where a host has not posted a price yet, the listing says so.
Holiday event
Holiday Hop & Christmas Market
- When: Saturday, November 28, 2026, 3 to 7 pm
- Where: Main Street, Downtown Travelers Rest, Main St, Travelers Rest, SC 29690 (opens in maps)
- Cost: No price listed on the organizer's page
- Ages: All ages
Expand to see the parent tip
The City of Travelers Rest turns its downtown Main Street into a holiday stroll, with lights, decorated shop windows, a train ride, seasonal treats and the city's annual tree lighting. A Christmas Market sets up alongside, and the shops, galleries and restaurants along the street stay part of the evening.
The Holiday Hop runs on Saturday, November 28, 2026, from 3:00 to 7:00 pm on Main Street in downtown Travelers Rest. The city's listing does not mention an admission charge or sign-up, and it links to a separate schedule of everything happening during the Hop.
Parent tip: The event starts in daylight and ends after dark, so come by late afternoon for the market and train ride and stay for the lights and tree lighting. Check the city's linked schedule for the exact lighting time, since the event page itself does not give one.
- Host
- City of Travelers Rest (opens in a new tab)
- Address
- Main Street, Downtown Travelers Rest, Main St, Travelers Rest, SC 29690 (opens in maps)
- Confirmed
- On the host’s page, checked
New Travelers Rest events every week
Rally researches Christmas events in Travelers Rest daily and updates this page with new events. Enter your email to get a weekly update with new events in Travelers Rest.
Free. Unsubscribe anytime. Privacy policy (opens in a new tab)
Rally’s Christmas research
Rally the corgi has 1 more Travelers Rest 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 Travelers Rest.
- Exclusive access to free events Find the free Christmas events in Travelers Rest 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 Markets
- 2 Zoos and museums
- 1 Lights
- 1 Breakfast and treats
Enter your email to get new Christmas events in Travelers Rest every week.
Holiday market
Small Business Saturday at the Market
- When: Saturday, November 28, 2026, noon to 3 pm
- Where: Trailblazer Park, 235 Trailblazer Dr, Travelers Rest, SC 29690 (opens in maps)
- Cost: No price listed on the organizer's page
- Ages: All ages
Expand to see the parent tip
More than 60 local makers set up at Trailblazer Park for a market that opens the holiday shopping season in Travelers Rest. It is pitched as a way to shop local for Christmas, and the organizers plan a second Christmas Market at the park two weeks later, on December 12.
The market is on Saturday, November 28, 2026, the Saturday after Thanksgiving, from 12:00 to 3:00 pm at Trailblazer Park, 235 Trailblazer Drive. The listing does not mention an entry fee or registration.
Parent tip: This market closes at 3:00 pm, exactly when the Holiday Hop begins downtown, so you can browse here first and then move on to Main Street for the lights and tree lighting. With more than 60 booths to pass, give older kids a small gift budget to keep them interested.
- Host
- City of Travelers Rest (opens in a new tab)
- Address
- Trailblazer Park, 235 Trailblazer Dr, Travelers Rest, SC 29690 (opens in maps)
- Confirmed
- On the host’s page, checked
New Travelers Rest events every week
Rally researches Christmas events in Travelers Rest daily and updates this page with new events. Enter your email to get a weekly update with new events in Travelers Rest.
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 South Carolina Christmas train rides page.
See every event on a December calendar
Plan your December
When each Travelers Rest Christmas event for kids happens
The first is Holiday Hop & Christmas Market in Travelers Rest on November 28; the last runs to November 28. Each bar spans an event’s dates, not every hour in them, so check the host’s page for times.
- Holiday Hop & Christmas MarketTravelers Rest · Nov 28
- Small Business Saturday at the MarketTravelers Rest · Nov 28
Looking further afield? Our South Carolina Christmas events for kids guide lists every event we have found in the state, and we have city guides for Greenville, SC, Spartanburg, Columbia, SC and Saint George, SC. 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 Travelers Rest
Travelers Rest grew up along a wagon road that South Carolina funded in 1794 to run north from Greenville into the Blue Ridge Mountains, and it was the first well-equipped stop before the long climb. These days families stop on Main Street for a different reason: the Holiday Hop, with its lights, train ride and tree lighting.
How Travelers Rest celebrates
The City of Travelers Rest packs its holiday kickoff into the Saturday after Thanksgiving. The day begins at Trailblazer Park, where Small Business Saturday at the Market gathers more than 60 local makers for Christmas shopping. At 3:00 pm the action moves to Main Street for the Holiday Hop & Christmas Market, a downtown evening of lights, decorated shop windows, a train ride, holiday treats and what the city calls its annual tree lighting. Shops, galleries and restaurants take part along the street, which Wikipedia notes is also U.S. Route 276. A second Christmas Market is planned at the park on December 12.
Fun facts about Christmas in Travelers Rest
Travelers Rest is a city in Greenville County, about 10 miles north of Greenville and around 20 miles south of the North Carolina line, with 7,788 residents in the 2020 census. In 1794 the South Carolina General Assembly set aside $2,000 for a wagon road through the area toward Asheville and East Tennessee. The city's current incorporation dates to 1959, after an 1891 incorporation expired, and much of the area was known as Bates Township in between. The campus of Furman University was annexed into the city in 2018.
Traditions today
- Holiday Hop on Main Street: The city invites families downtown for an evening of lights, decorated shop windows, a train ride and holiday treats.
- Annual tree lighting: The city describes the tree lighting held during the Holiday Hop as an annual event.
- Christmas Market: A Christmas Market runs with the Holiday Hop downtown, and another is planned at Trailblazer Park on December 12, 2026.
- Small Business Saturday at the Market: More than 60 local makers sell at Trailblazer Park on the Saturday after Thanksgiving to open the holiday shopping season.
A fact for kids
Long ago, wagons heading into the mountains stopped in Travelers Rest to get ready for a climb of several thousand feet. The road they used is where the town's Main Street runs today.
Questions about Christmas in Travelers Rest
Why is it called Travelers Rest?
Wikipedia does not give a formal naming story, but it explains the idea behind the name. For people heading north from Greenville into the Blue Ridge Mountains, Travelers Rest was the first well-equipped stop to prepare for the climb of several thousand feet ahead.
When was Travelers Rest incorporated?
Travelers Rest was most recently incorporated as a city in 1959. According to Wikipedia, an earlier incorporation in 1891 expired. While it was unincorporated, most of the area was known as Bates Township during the 19th and early 20th centuries.
What road put Travelers Rest on the map?
In 1794 the South Carolina General Assembly appropriated $2,000 to build a wagon road from Greenville north into the Blue Ridge Mountains, through Asheville and on to East Tennessee. Once the road was fully completed in the mid-1850s, it carried heavy wagon traffic through the area.
How many people live in Travelers Rest?
The 2020 census counted 7,788 residents, compared with 4,099 in 2000. The city is in Greenville County in Upstate South Carolina. The campus of Furman University was annexed into the city limits in 2018, though it keeps a Greenville address.
What happens at Christmas in Travelers Rest?
The season opens on Saturday, November 28, 2026. Small Business Saturday at the Market runs from 12:00 to 3:00 pm at Trailblazer Park, followed by the Holiday Hop & Christmas Market on Main Street from 3:00 to 7:00 pm, with lights, a train ride and the annual tree lighting.
Who organizes the Holiday Hop?
The City of Travelers Rest hosts it and lists it on the city's event calendar under Downtown Events. Downtown shops, galleries and restaurants are part of the evening, and a Christmas Market runs alongside the lights, train ride and tree lighting.
Where do the holiday events take place?
The Holiday Hop is held on Main Street in downtown Travelers Rest, the stretch that Wikipedia identifies as U.S. Route 276. The makers market is at Trailblazer Park, 235 Trailblazer Drive, which also hosts a Christmas Market on December 12, 2026.
Are there historic places in Travelers Rest?
Yes. The John H. Goodwin House and the George Salmon House are listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The home site of Dicey Langston, a heroine of the American Revolution, is marked just north of the city proper.
Sources
- Travelers Rest, South Carolina, Wikipedia
- Holiday Hop & Christmas Market, City of Travelers Rest
- Small Business Saturday at the Market, City of Travelers Rest
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 South Carolina city.
Travelers Rest Christmas events for kids: questions parents ask
What is the main Christmas event for families in Travelers Rest?
The Holiday Hop & Christmas Market on Saturday, November 28, 2026, from 3:00 to 7:00 pm. The City of Travelers Rest fills downtown Main Street with lights, decorated shop windows, a train ride, holiday treats and a Christmas Market, and the evening includes the city's annual tree lighting.
When is the Travelers Rest tree lighting?
The annual tree lighting is part of the Holiday Hop on Saturday, November 28, 2026, which runs from 3:00 to 7:00 pm on Main Street downtown. The event page does not give the exact minute the tree is lit, so look at the city's linked Holiday Hop schedule before you go.
Is there a train ride for kids at the Holiday Hop?
Yes. The city's listing for the Holiday Hop & Christmas Market on November 28, 2026, includes a train ride among the attractions, along with lights, festive window decorations and holiday treats. The page does not say where the ride boards or whether it carries a fee.
Are there Christmas markets in Travelers Rest?
Yes. Small Business Saturday at the Market brings more than 60 local makers to Trailblazer Park on November 28, 2026, from 12:00 to 3:00 pm. A Christmas Market is part of the Holiday Hop downtown later that day, and the park listing mentions another Christmas Market on December 12.
Do the Travelers Rest holiday events need tickets?
Neither listing mentions tickets, registration or an admission charge. The Holiday Hop takes place along Main Street and Small Business Saturday at the Market is held at Trailblazer Park, so both are open-air events that families can walk into. Bring money for shopping, treats and dinner downtown.
Can we do both Travelers Rest events in one day?
Yes, and the timing lines up well. Small Business Saturday at the Market runs from 12:00 to 3:00 pm at Trailblazer Park on November 28, 2026, and the Holiday Hop & Christmas Market starts at 3:00 pm on Main Street and continues until 7:00 pm.
Are there Christmas train rides for kids near Travelers Rest?
Santa trains and holiday train rides have their own guide: Rally Takes the Train’s South Carolina Christmas train rides guide. This Travelers Rest 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.