Christmas Events in Sacramento for Families
Half of these twelve Sacramento family Christmas outings are free: the Theatre of Lights in Old Sacramento, the Fab 40s and Dovewood Court light displays, and the tree lightings in Folsom, Elk Grove and Roseville. The ticketed ones start at $15 for the Downtown Sacramento Ice Rink and Winter Wonderland at Fairytale Town and climb to $80 for The Polar Express Train Ride and $90 for the Magical Christmas Train at River Fox Train.
The other thing that separates them is how much of December each one covers. The ice rink runs from November 4, 2026 to January 18, 2027 and Imaginarium at Cal Expo from November 26 to January 11, so either fits around a busy month. The three tree lightings are single evenings and Winter Wonderland is four weekend dates, which makes those the ones to put on the calendar first.
Our picks
- Free and short enough for toddlers: Dovewood Court Christmas Lights. The walk around one decorated Orangevale cul-de-sac takes about a quarter of an hour, with $0 admission and no ticket.
- A cold or rainy evening: Magical Christmas Train at River Fox Train. The one-hour ride seats families in enclosed indoor cars with concessions on board, then stops at a walk-around Santa's Village.
At a glance
| Option | Admission | Event Type | When It Runs | City | Address |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Freesource | Light displaysource | Sacramentosource | 1002 2nd Street, Sacramento, CA 95814source | ||
| $80source | Train ridesource | November 13 - December 21, 2026source | Sacramentosource | 111 I St. Sacramento, CA 95814source | |
| $21source | Light displaysource | November 26 - January 11source | Sacramentosource | 1600 Exposition Blvd. Sacramento, CA 95815source | |
| $15source | Ice skatingsource | November 4, 2026 - January 18, 2027source | Sacramentosource | 701 K Street Sacramento CA 95814source | |
| $15source | Santa visitsource | Saturday & Sunday, December 5-6 & 12-13source | Sacramentosource | 3901 Land Park Drive Sacramento, CA 95822source | |
| $90source | Train ridesource | West Sacramentosource | 18095 County Road 117 West Sacramento, CA 95691source | ||
| Freesource | Light displaysource | Orangevalesource | 9333 Dovewood Ct, Orangevale, CA 95662source | ||
| Freesource | Light displaysource | Sacramentosource | 1232 43rd St., Sacramento, California 95816source | ||
| Freesource | Tree lightingsource | Folsomsource | Sutter Street, Folsom, CA, 95630source | ||
| Holiday showsource | December 12 - 24source | Sacramentosource | 1301 L St., Sacramento, CA 95814source | ||
| Freesource | Tree lightingsource | Saturday, December 5, 2026, 3:00 PM to 9:00 PMsource | Elk Grovesource | 8230 Civic Center Dr, Elk Grove, CA 95757source | |
| Freesource | Tree lightingsource | Thursday, 12/3, 6:00-8:00 pmsource | Rosevillesource | 311 Vernon Street, Roseville, CA 95678source |
One-night events versus all-season outings
Three of the free events happen once. The Downtown Roseville Holiday Celebration runs Thursday, December 3 from 6:00 to 8:00 pm, and the lighting comes a few minutes after the start, so a late arrival misses most of it. The Elk Grove Illumination Festival is Saturday, December 5, 2026 from 3:00 to 9:00 PM with the tree lit at 6pm, and the Historic Folsom Christmas Tree Lighting is one Friday evening in early December whose 2026 date had not been posted in early September.
Winter Wonderland at Fairytale Town shares that first weekend, December 5-6, then returns December 12-13, weather permitting. The Nutcracker by Sacramento Ballet fills December 12 to 24, and The Polar Express Train Ride runs from November 13 to December 21, 2026.
What a ticket actually covers
The admission column is the cheapest single ticket, and what it buys differs a lot. The ice rink's $15 includes skate rental, though skates only go down to a youth size 8. Imaginarium's $21 gets you into the light festival, but its rides and its own skating rink are priced separately. The two train rides, $80 and $90, are each about an hour, and The Polar Express charges more again for its first-class lounge and dining cars.
Free does not always mean nothing to spend. In Elk Grove the food, gifts and some activities cost money once you are inside, and in Folsom parking asks a small donation and the ice rink in the district is its own ticket. At Fairytale Town, advance tickets cost less than buying on the day.
Booking windows, parking and crowds
The Polar Express is the one to plan around: tickets are sold online only and routinely go within minutes of release. The ice rink is the opposite, with tickets sold at the rink itself, though it is closed most Mondays and busy on weekend evenings.
For the neighborhood lights, walking beats driving. The Fab 40s car line on weekends and Christmas night barely moves, and Dovewood Court brings parking pressure to the surrounding streets on peak nights. Folsom runs free light rail to two nearby stops on tree-lighting night, the Nutcracker's theater has little parking beyond metered street spots, and the River Fox depot is a real drive out past I-5.
The options in detail
Theatre of Lights
A short retelling of 'Twas the Night Before Christmas played out on the balconies and rooftops of Old Sacramento's K Street, using light, sound and live performers rather than a stage. It is the Old Sacramento Waterfront's signature holiday tradition, produced by the Downtown Sacramento Partnership, and it runs a couple of short shows a night on weekend evenings, so a family with small children can catch one without committing to a long outing. The trade-off is that you are standing on a street in December, and the show is brief enough that most people pair it with dinner or shopping nearby.
The Polar Express Train Ride
The licensed Polar Express ride out of Old Sacramento: families check in at the Central Pacific Passenger Station, ride about an hour to a North Pole stop, meet Santa and come home with a silver sleigh bell. It is the most in-demand family holiday ticket in the region, and the on-sale date is the whole game, because tickets are sold online only and routinely go within minutes of release. Coach is the base experience; first-class lounge and dining cars cost noticeably more. Miss the release and you will likely miss the season.
Imaginarium at Cal Expo
A ticketed walk-through light festival on the Cal Expo fairgrounds, built around large illuminated fairytale sets rather than one tree or one house. Beyond the displays it runs an ice rink, circus shows, carnival rides and games, so it works as a whole evening out rather than a stop on the way somewhere. The organizers suggest allowing about two hours. Worth knowing before you budget: rides and skating are priced separately from general admission, so the ticket price is not the whole cost for a family that wants to do everything.
Downtown Sacramento Ice Rink
A seasonal outdoor rink in Ali Youssefi Square, right outside Golden 1 Center and walkable from Old Sacramento. Admission covers skate rental, which makes it one of the cheapest ways to fill an afternoon downtown with kids, and it stays open well past Christmas into mid-January rather than folding on Boxing Day. Tickets are sold at the rink itself, so it works as a spur-of-the-moment plan. It is closed most Mondays and gets crowded on weekend evenings, and skates only go down to a youth size 8, which rules out the smallest children.
Winter Wonderland at Fairytale Town
Land Park's storybook children's park stays open into the evening on two December weekends and adds Santa, the Grinch, holiday crafts, a scavenger hunt and staged snowfall at 6pm. It is aimed squarely at younger children: Santa sits on the Mother Goose stage and families take their own photos for free rather than buying a package. Advance tickets are cheaper than day-of, and members cheaper still. Because it is only four dates and runs weather permitting, it is far easier to miss than a month-long attraction.
Magical Christmas Train at River Fox Train
A one-hour ride out of the River Fox depot in West Sacramento that ends at a walk-around Santa's Village of snow-dusted streets and photo scenes, rather than simply turning the train around. Seating is in enclosed indoor cars with concessions on board, which makes it a safer bet than an open-air outing on a cold or wet evening. It is one of the pricier tickets here for the time you get, and the depot is a real drive out past I-5 rather than a downtown stop, so budget travel time on both ends.
Dovewood Court Christmas Lights
A single Orangevale cul-de-sac where every house on the court decorates together, a tradition that has run for decades and draws people from across the region. You park nearby and walk the loop, which takes about a quarter of an hour, so it suits small children and short attention spans better than a long driving tour. It costs nothing and needs no ticket. The flip side of its fame is congestion and parking pressure on the surrounding residential streets on peak nights.
Fab 40s Christmas Lights
The best-known neighborhood light run in Sacramento: the numbered streets of East Sacramento in the low forties, where large older homes go elaborately decorated for the season. It is free and self-guided, and you can walk it, drive it or bike it, though locals will tell you to walk, because the car line on weekends and Christmas night barely moves. Displays are typically at their fullest from the second weekend of December onward. It is a display rather than an event, so there is no programming, no Santa and nothing to buy.
Historic Folsom Christmas Tree Lighting
Historic Sutter Street gives itself over to Folsom's tree lighting for one Friday evening in early December, with Santa making a parade pass down the street before the countdown. Around it run street performers, princess meet-and-greets, craft and food vendors, bounce houses and a separate ice rink in the district. The evening itself is free to attend; parking asks a small donation and the rink is its own ticket. Light rail runs free to two nearby stops that night, which is the easier way in given the street closure.
The Nutcracker by Sacramento Ballet
Sacramento Ballet's Nutcracker at the SAFE Credit Union Performing Arts Center is the region's traditional dress-up holiday outing, with live music and more than 250 young dancers from the community sharing the stage. It runs about two hours across a two-week December stretch, and the afternoon matinees suit younger children far better than an evening curtain. It is the most expensive outing on this list, and the venue has essentially no parking of its own beyond metered street spots, so sort out a garage before you go.
Elk Grove Illumination Festival
Elk Grove's city-run holiday festival at District56, built around a tree lighting at 6pm and a staged snowfall finale. It leans into being a full evening for families rather than a short ceremony: a vendor village, ice skating, bounce houses, winter carnival games and Santa photos, all free to walk into. Because it is a single Saturday afternoon into evening, it does not work as a drop-in the way a month-long display does. Food, gifts and some of the activities cost money once you are inside.
Downtown Roseville Holiday Celebration
Roseville's downtown tree lighting on Vernon Street Town Square: a free early-December evening with cookie decorating, a kids' activity zone, Santa, music and food. It sits inside a wider Downtown Holiday Celebration that also fills the square with a grove of decorated trees and puts a gingerbread house contest on display nearby, so there is something to see on other December evenings too. The lighting itself happens a few minutes after the start time and the whole event runs only two hours, so arriving late means missing most of it.
How we researched this
We kept the region's recurring holiday outings aimed at families, spread across both price points and across Sacramento and its suburbs. The When It Runs column was filled only where an organizer had posted dates for the coming season: as of September 3, 2026, the pages for Theatre of Lights, the Magical Christmas Train, Dovewood Court, Fab 40s and the Folsom tree lighting still showed 2025 dates, so those cells are blank rather than last year's. The Nutcracker's admission is blank for the same reason, because the only price we found was labelled as the 2025 production.
Candy Cane Lane in Elmhurst was left out because sources disagree on which block it is on, and the State Capitol tree lighting because its format has changed from year to year and no 2026 ceremony had been announced. Rockmont Circle and Pebble Creek Drive had no published street address, four more Old Sacramento programs were sourced only to 2025 copy, and satellites of events already listed (the Dickens Street Faire, the Roseville Tree Grove and the Folsom craft fair) were left out so the same evening isn't counted twice. The Polar Express pin marks the railroad museum; families board at the Central Pacific Passenger Station about a block away. Holiday dates and ticket prices for 2026 were still being announced when this table was built, so check each organizer's page before you plan the day.