Rally the corgi has sniffed out the Christmas events for kids in Wilmette for 2026. Holiday Happenings fills the Village Green and downtown on Saturday, December 5, with a giant snow globe, Santa and the 5 pm tree lighting, and Breakfast with Santa at The Lawn at Wilmette Golf Club runs on four weekend mornings starting December 6. 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 Wilmette
- 2 Christmas events for kids in Wilmette
- Holiday Happenings: Saturday, December 5, 10 am to 6 pm, free, tree lighting at 5 pm
- Breakfast with Santa: December 6, 12, 13 and 19 at The Lawn
- Santa photos at the Wilmette Theatre on December 5, 1 to 2 pm
- Every date checked on the Village and Park District sites on Nov 11
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Free Christmas events for kids in Wilmette
Tree lighting and SantaFree
Wilmette Holiday Happenings and Tree Lighting
- When: Saturday, December 5, 2026, 10 am to 6 pm; tree lighting at 5 pm
- Where: Village Green and Downtown Wilmette, 1200 Wilmette Ave, Wilmette, IL 60091 (opens in maps)
- Cost: Free; some add-ons like cookie decorating are paid
- Ages: All ages
Expand to see the parent tip
The Village of Wilmette packs a full day into Holiday Happenings, with a giant snow globe and a gingerbread bounce house on the Village Green from 10 am to 3:30 pm and Santa strolling downtown with carolers from 11:30 am.
Santa poses for pictures at the Wilmette Theatre from 1 to 2 pm, Elf screens at 2:45 pm free with a $20 receipt from a local shop, and the day closes with hot chocolate, the New Trier Swing Choir and Drumline, and the tree lighting at 5 pm.
Parent tip: Pick up a $20 receipt from any Wilmette shop in the morning and trade it for free tickets to the 2:45 pm Elf screening at the Wilmette Theatre.
- Host
- Village of Wilmette (opens in a new tab)
- Address
- Village Green and Downtown Wilmette, 1200 Wilmette Ave, Wilmette, IL 60091 (opens in maps)
- Confirmed
- On the host’s page, checked
New Wilmette events every week
Rally researches Christmas events in Wilmette daily and updates this page with new events. Enter your email to get a weekly update with new events in Wilmette.
Free. Unsubscribe anytime. Privacy policy (opens in a new tab)
Rally’s Christmas research
Rally the corgi has 1 more Wilmette 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 Wilmette.
- Exclusive access to free events Find the free Christmas events in Wilmette 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 Wilmette every week.
Ticketed and paid Christmas events for kids in Wilmette
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
Breakfast with Santa
Breakfast with Santa at The Lawn
- When: December 6, 12, 13 and 19, 2026, seatings at 8:30 am, 10 am and 11:30 am
- Where: The Lawn at Wilmette Golf Club, 3900 Fairway Dr, Wilmette, IL 60091 (opens in maps)
- Cost: Free age 2 and under, $25 ages 3 to 11, $50 ages 12 and up
- Ages: All ages
Expand to see the parent tip
The Lawn Grill and Restaurant runs this breakfast with the Wilmette Park District at Wilmette Golf Club, with four weekend dates and three seatings each morning.
Families share a family-style breakfast, visit with Santa, take a photo and leave with a goodie bag. New for 2026, booking goes through The Lawn Grill rather than the Park District.
Parent tip: Book through The Lawn Grill, not the Park District registration system. The 8:30 am seating suits early risers and tends to leave the rest of the day free.
- Host
- Wilmette Park District and The Lawn Grill (opens in a new tab)
- Address
- The Lawn at Wilmette Golf Club, 3900 Fairway Dr, Wilmette, IL 60091 (opens in maps)
- Confirmed
- On the host’s page, checked
New Wilmette events every week
Rally researches Christmas events in Wilmette daily and updates this page with new events. Enter your email to get a weekly update with new events in Wilmette.
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 Wilmette Christmas event for kids happens
Spend Saturday, December 5, downtown for Holiday Happenings and stay for the 5 pm tree lighting. Then book a Breakfast with Santa seating on one of the four weekend mornings that follow.
- Wilmette Holiday Happenings and Tree LightingWilmette · Dec 5
- Breakfast with Santa at The LawnWilmette · Dec 6 to Dec 19
Looking further afield? Our Illinois Christmas events for kids guide lists every confirmed event in the state, and we have city guides for Arlington Heights, Chicago, Elmhurst and Schaumburg. 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.
Wilmette Christmas events for kids: questions parents ask
What are the best Christmas events for kids in Wilmette this year?
Rally Takes the Train has confirmed 2 Christmas events for kids in Wilmette for 2026: Holiday Happenings with the tree lighting on December 5, and Breakfast with Santa at The Lawn on December 6, 12, 13 and 19.
When is the Wilmette tree lighting in 2026?
Saturday, December 5, 2026, at 5 pm on the Village Green, closing out a full day of Holiday Happenings that starts at 10 am.
How much is Breakfast with Santa in Wilmette?
Kids 2 and under are free, ages 3 to 11 are $25 and ages 12 and up are $50. Seatings are at 8:30 am, 10 am and 11:30 am, booked through The Lawn Grill.
Where can kids meet Santa in Wilmette?
Santa strolls downtown and poses for photos at the Wilmette Theatre during Holiday Happenings on December 5, and he hosts Breakfast with Santa at Wilmette Golf Club on December 6, 12, 13 and 19.
Who do I contact about Wilmette holiday events?
For Holiday Happenings, the Village of Wilmette Special Events Coordinator at Grossnicklem@wilmette.gov. For Breakfast with Santa, the Wilmette Park District at connect@wilpark.org.
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 Wilmette 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.