Rally the corgi has sniffed out the best Christmas events for kids in Yonkers for 2026, and here is what he found: 2 family events. They are Santa at Ridge Hill (from November 21) and Story Time with Santa (from November 24). We check every date on the host’s own website, and each listing links straight there. For the rest of the state, see our New York Christmas events for kids guide.
What Rally found in Yonkers
- 2 Christmas events for kids in Yonkers
- Meet Santa: Santa at Ridge Hill (from November 21) and Story Time with Santa (from November 24)
- Season: November 21 (Santa at Ridge Hill) to December 24 (Santa at Ridge Hill)
- Every date checked on the host’s own site on Nov 10
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- 2 Santa
- 1 Crafts
- 1 Story time
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Ticketed and paid Christmas events for kids in Yonkers
Admission, tickets or a fee apply. Where a host has not posted a price yet, the listing says so.
Santa visit
Santa at Ridge Hill
- When: Saturday, November 21, 2026 to Thursday, December 24, 2026 (select dates between November 21 and December 24; see the organizer's page for hours and booking)
- Where: Ridge Hill, Ridge Hill Boulevard, Yonkers, NY 10710 (opens in maps)
- Cost: No price listed on the organizer's page
Expand to see the parent tip
Santa sets up at the Ridge Hill shopping center for a photo experience that families reserve ahead of time. His season opens on November 21, the same day Ridge Hill holds its official tree lighting, and continues through Christmas Eve.
Ridge Hill lists Santa from November 21 to December 24, 2026, and asks visitors to book the photo experience. The events page does not give daily hours, the exact spot in the center or a price, so check the listing before you set out.
Parent tip: Because this is a booked photo visit rather than a walk-up line, reserve your slot first and plan the rest of the outing around it. Booking for a date early in the run is a safer bet than waiting for the last days before Christmas Eve.
- Host
- Ridge Hill (opens in a new tab)
- Address
- Ridge Hill, Ridge Hill Boulevard, Yonkers, NY 10710 (opens in maps)
- Confirmed
- On the host’s page, checked
New Yonkers events every week
Rally researches Christmas events in Yonkers daily and updates this page with new events. Enter your email to get a weekly update with new events in Yonkers.
Free. Unsubscribe anytime. Privacy policy (opens in a new tab)
Rally’s Christmas research
Rally the corgi has 1 more Yonkers 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 Yonkers.
- Exclusive access to free events Find the free Christmas events in Yonkers 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 Crafts
- 1 Story time
Enter your email to get new Christmas events in Yonkers every week.
Story time with Santa
Story Time with Santa
- When: Tuesday, November 24, 2026 to Tuesday, December 8, 2026 (select dates between November 24 and December 8; see the organizer's page for days and times)
- Where: Ridge Hill, Ridge Hill Boulevard, Yonkers, NY 10710 (opens in maps)
- Cost: No price listed on the organizer's page
Expand to see the parent tip
Here Santa trades the camera for a book. Children at Ridge Hill listen to him read and then make a craft with him, a slower visit than the photo sessions the center runs through the season.
Ridge Hill lists Story Time with Santa from November 24 to December 8, 2026. Its events page does not state the days, the start time, the location inside the center, a price or whether you need to sign up, so confirm those details with Ridge Hill first.
Parent tip: This run is short and ends on December 8, more than two weeks before Santa's photo visits stop, so do not leave it for the week before Christmas. Ask which days it is held before you promise it to a child.
- Host
- Ridge Hill (opens in a new tab)
- Address
- Ridge Hill, Ridge Hill Boulevard, Yonkers, NY 10710 (opens in maps)
- Confirmed
- On the host’s page, checked
New Yonkers events every week
Rally researches Christmas events in Yonkers daily and updates this page with new events. Enter your email to get a weekly update with new events in Yonkers.
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 New York Christmas train rides page.
See every event on a December calendar
Plan your December
When each Yonkers Christmas event for kids happens
The first is Santa at Ridge Hill in Yonkers on November 21; the last runs to December 24. Each bar spans an event’s dates, not every hour in them, so check the host’s page for times.
- Santa at Ridge HillYonkers · Nov 21 to Dec 24
- Story Time with SantaYonkers · Nov 24 to Dec 8
Looking further afield? Our New York Christmas events for kids guide lists every event we have found in the state, and we have city guides for Bronx, Tappan, Orangeburg and New York City. 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 Yonkers
Yonkers calls itself the City of Seven Hills, and one of the seven, Ridge, shares its name with the Ridge Hill shopping center where much of this season's family calendar is set. From the tree lighting on November 21 to Santa's last photos on Christmas Eve, the hill is where the confirmed events for children take place.
How Yonkers celebrates
The confirmed 2026 season for families in Yonkers is the one Ridge Hill publishes on its events page. The Lighting at Ridge Hill on November 21 is billed as the center's official tree lighting celebration, and Santa at Ridge Hill opens the same day and runs to December 24 as a bookable photo experience. Story Time with Santa, with reading and a craft, is listed from November 24 to December 8. The page also names a Pet Night with Santa, a Breakfast with Santa at Public Pizza, and a Menorah Lighting on December 8 held with Chabad of Yonkers.
Fun facts about Christmas in Yonkers
Yonkers counted 211,569 residents in the 2020 census, which makes it the third-most populous city in New York state. The land was granted to Adriaen van der Donck in July 1645, and the city's name comes from a Dutch honorific title he was known by. The Village of Yonkers was incorporated in 1854 and became a city in 1872. Elisha Otis invented a safety elevator in 1853, and the Otis Elevator Company opened the world's first elevator factory here.
Traditions today
- The Lighting at Ridge Hill: Ridge Hill's official tree lighting celebration on November 21 opens the center's holiday season.
- Santa at Ridge Hill: Families book a photo experience with Santa at Ridge Hill between November 21 and December 24.
- Story Time with Santa: Children read and make a craft with Santa at Ridge Hill on select dates from November 24 to December 8.
- Breakfast with Santa: Ridge Hill lists a morning breakfast with Santa, served at Public Pizza.
- Menorah Lighting at Ridge Hill: On December 8 the center marks Hanukkah with a menorah lighting held together with Chabad of Yonkers.
A fact for kids
The safety elevator was invented in Yonkers in 1853 by Elisha Otis, and the world's first elevator factory opened here beside the Hudson River. The first golf course in the United States was founded in Yonkers too, in 1888.
Questions about Christmas in Yonkers
How did Yonkers get its name?
The land was granted in July 1645 to Adriaen van der Donck, the patroon of Colen Donck. He was known locally by a Dutch honorific title, similar to esquire, and a shortened form of that title is where the name Yonkers comes from.
When did Yonkers become a city?
The Village of Yonkers was incorporated in 1854 within the larger Town of Yonkers, and it was incorporated as a city in 1872. In 1898 Yonkers was left out of the consolidated New York City and stayed independent.
Why is Yonkers called the City of Seven Hills?
The nickname refers to seven named hills within the city: Park, Nodine, Ridge, Cross, Locust, Glen and Church Hills. Ridge Hill, the shopping center that hosts this season's Santa events, shares its name with one of them.
How many people live in Yonkers?
The 2020 census counted 211,569 residents, the highest census count the city has ever had. That makes Yonkers the third-most populous city in New York state and the most populous city in Westchester County, just north of the Bronx.
What was invented in Yonkers?
Elisha Otis invented a safety elevator in 1853, and the Otis Elevator Company opened the world's first elevator factory in the city. Bakelite, the first completely synthetic plastic, was invented in Yonkers by Leo Baekeland, and the first FM radio broadcast was sent from a Yonkers home in 1940.
What happens at Christmas in Yonkers for kids?
Ridge Hill lists a tree lighting on November 21, 2026, Santa photos from November 21 to December 24, and Story Time with Santa from November 24 to December 8. The center also lists a Breakfast with Santa and a Pet Night with Santa.
Where do the Santa events take place?
They are held at Ridge Hill, which Wikipedia names as one of the city's major shopping areas along with Getty Square, the Cross County Shopping Center and Central Park Avenue. The center's events page lists each activity but not the exact spot on the property.
Who organizes these events?
Ridge Hill runs them and publishes the dates on its own events page. The Menorah Lighting on December 8, 2026, is held with Chabad of Yonkers. Questions about hours or booking can go to the center at its listed email address.
Is the Yonkers tree lighting free?
Ridge Hill's events page does not state a price for The Lighting at Ridge Hill, Santa photos or Story Time with Santa. It only says the Santa photo experience should be booked, so check with the center before assuming any of them are free.
Does Yonkers have a railroad history?
Yes. In 1888 the New York City and Northern Railway Company, later part of the New York Central Railroad, connected Yonkers to Manhattan, and a three-mile spur to Getty Square ran until 1943. A Kawasaki railcar assembly plant opened in the former Otis factory in 1986.
Sources
- Yonkers, New York, Wikipedia
- Things To Do & Events in Yonkers, NY, Ridge Hill
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 New York city.
Yonkers Christmas events for kids: questions parents ask
Where can kids meet Santa in Yonkers?
Ridge Hill lists Santa at Ridge Hill from November 21 to December 24, 2026, as a photo experience that families book. The same shopping center also lists Story Time with Santa from November 24 to December 8, plus a Breakfast with Santa at Public Pizza and a Pet Night with Santa.
Is there a tree lighting in Yonkers?
Yes. The Lighting at Ridge Hill is listed for November 21, 2026, and the center describes it as its official tree lighting celebration and the kickoff to its holidays. Santa's photo season at Ridge Hill begins on the same date.
Which Yonkers event is best for younger children?
Story Time with Santa is the gentlest option on the list. Children read and craft with Santa at Ridge Hill on select dates from November 24 to December 8, 2026. The events page does not list times, so confirm the schedule with Ridge Hill before you go.
Do I need to book Santa photos at Ridge Hill?
Ridge Hill asks families to book the Santa photo experience, which runs from November 21 to December 24, 2026. The events page does not show prices or hours, so look at the listing or write to the center for the booking details.
Are there Hanukkah events too?
Yes. Ridge Hill lists a Menorah Lighting at Ridge Hill on December 8, 2026, held with Chabad of Yonkers. It falls on the last listed date of Story Time with Santa, so families who mark both holidays can find both at the same center.
What is Ridge Hill, and why does it matter at Christmas?
Ridge Hill is one of the major shopping areas in Yonkers, and Ridge is also one of the seven hills that give the city its nickname. For the 2026 season the center lists a tree lighting, Santa photos, story time, a Santa breakfast and a menorah lighting.
Are there Christmas train rides for kids near Yonkers?
Santa trains and holiday train rides have their own guide: Rally Takes the Train’s New York Christmas train rides guide. This Yonkers 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.