Things to Do in Edmonton in December 2026: 100+ Family Events
This month in Edmonton is dark by 4:15 and glowing by 4:30. This is the month the city earns back everything winter takes: light festivals, Santa parades, free ornament painting, a two-week school break, and enough holiday programming that the hardest part is choosing.
Below you'll find 100+ family events, light displays, winter break camps and free activities — everything happening this month in one place.
Planning weekend by weekend instead? Our things to do in Edmonton this weekend guide updates every week, and the full Edmonton family events calendar has every date we're tracking.
Edmonton Christmas Lights Map
The cheapest family outing of the entire year is a slow drive with hot chocolate and a good playlist. Edmonton delivers on this like almost nowhere else.
Candy Cane Lane is the one everyone knows — roughly a dozen blocks along 148 Street, decorated by residents every December, free to walk or drive. Park a few streets over and walk it if you can stand the cold; you see ten times more on foot, and there's usually a food bank donation station along the route.
Beyond that, dozens of neighbourhood displays go up across the city and surrounding towns each year. Some highlights worth building a route around:
Alberta Legislature Grounds — Free, walkable, and the closest thing Edmonton has to a postcard.
Canadian Tire Magic of Lights — A 2.5 km drive-through at RAD Torque Raceway with over two million LEDs and a tunnel of lights. Everyone stays buckled and warm.
Borealis Lights, St. Albert — Drive-through, hundreds of thousands of lights, runs into early January.
Leduc Country Lights — Around $3 per person, with profits going back into Kinsmen community programs. Walkable.
Greenland Garden Centre, Sherwood Park — A transformed botanical garden at roughly $10 per family. Excellent value and short enough for little kids.
We map the displays every year — find the full route in our Edmonton Christmas lights and holiday guide.
Tip: go before December 20. After that the traffic on Candy Cane Lane can add forty minutes to a fifteen-minute drive.
Edmonton Santa Claus Parades
Most Santa Claus parades in the Edmonton region run from late November through the first two weekends of December, and nearly all of them are free.
Communities that typically host one include St. Albert, Sherwood Park, Spruce Grove, Stony Plain, Fort Saskatchewan, Leduc, Devon, Beaumont and Morinville. The smaller-town parades are the sleeper picks — shorter routes, no crowds, and the kids actually end up with candy.
A few things that make or break a parade morning: arrive 30 minutes early for a curbside spot, bring a folding chair for anyone under five, and pack more hand warmers than seems reasonable. Most routes have zero shelter.
Confirmed 2026 dates land in our events calendar as organizers announce them.
Edmonton Christmas Events
The ticketed anchors of the season. Book the popular ones in November — several sell out well before the break.
Glow Christmas Festival — Indoors at the Edmonton EXPO Centre, running December 3–31, 2026. The 2026 theme is The Magic Toy Shop. Kids 3 and under are free, and there's a quieter sensory-friendly night for families who need lower sound and smaller crowds. Warm, walkable, and a full evening out.
Edmonton Christmas Market — Twinkling lights, ice sculptures, roaming performers and hundreds of local makers. Weeknights are dramatically calmer than weekends.
Festival of Trees — Decorated tree displays, breakfast with Santa and family activity stations at the Edmonton Convention Centre, supporting the University Hospital Foundation.
The Singing Christmas Tree — A 35-foot tree stacked with Alberta choir singers, plus full orchestra. Loud, joyful, and surprisingly good with school-age kids.
Zoominescence at the Edmonton Valley Zoo — Light installations through the zoo grounds after dark. Dress for standing still outside.
The Nutcracker — Alberta Ballet at the Northern Alberta Jubilee Auditorium. A genuine first-ballet experience; matinees are easier with younger kids.
The Polar Express in IMAX — Telus World of Science runs it through December, and it's cheaper than a standard theatre ticket.
Holiday Streetcar Rides — A decorated 45-minute round trip from Old Strathcona across the High Level Bridge and back. Runs right through Christmas Day.
More holiday events as they're announced on our festivals page.
December Festivals
December's festivals are light festivals. If you only do three things this month, make them one drive-through display, one indoor light festival, and one community light-up — that covers the season without wrecking your budget or your bedtimes.
We track every family-friendly light-up in the region, including the free community ones that don't get much press, in our guide to Edmonton Christmas light-up festivals.
Also running in December: Winterval downtown, with sleigh rides, maple taffy and winter patios; Christmas at Callingwood, wrapped around the farmers' market with wagon rides and a Santa appearance; and Luminaria at the Devonian Botanic Garden, which sells out early every single year.
View all Family-friendly Festivals
Winter Break Camps
Two weeks off school, roughly December 21 through the first week of January. If both parents are working, you already know the panic.
Winter break camps in Edmonton typically run as single days or half-weeks rather than full weeks, which makes them easier to piece together around the holidays. The usual providers:
City of Edmonton leisure centres — Multi-sport and swim-based day camps, and the most affordable option in the city. Registration opens on the City's system well in advance and the popular sites go fast.
Telus World of Science — Science-themed day camps, indoors, and reliably good for curious 6–12 year olds.
Edmonton Valley Zoo and Fort Edmonton Park — Smaller, seasonal, and often overlooked.
Art Gallery of Alberta and community art studios — Half-day creative camps, good for kids who don't want a gym.
Theatre and improv programs — Youth classes for ages 5–17 that end in a showcase. A strong pick for a teen who's outgrown day camp.
Sports academies and climbing gyms — Hockey, gymnastics, climbing and multi-sport camps run through the break.
Register by early December. Winter break camps have a fraction of the capacity of summer ones and they close early.
Browse ongoing options on our lessons and programs page, and our camp guide for seasonal registration.
Indoor Things to Do with Kids
Eight hours of daylight and a windchill. This section is going to work hard for you.
Cineplex Family Favourites — Every Saturday morning, a beloved kid-friendly movie for $3.99 a ticket. December brings the holiday classics back, so it's the whole crew for the price of one regular admission.
Landmark Cinemas Kids Day Out — Sunday mornings, a ticket plus a kids pack for around thirteen dollars, with adult admission under ten.
Royal Alberta Museum — The Children's Gallery for under-8s, bug room and Ice Age galleries for everyone else. Two to three hours easily, and you're never outside longer than a minute.
Art Gallery of Alberta — Family drop-in programs most weekends, and free admission Tuesday afternoons.
Edmonton Public Library — Free storytimes, LEGO clubs, puppet shows and gaming drop-ins across every branch, plus the Makerspace at Stanley A. Milner with 3D printers, a laser cutter and a recording booth. In December, the library is the best-value building in Edmonton.
Rapid Fire Theatre Kids Improv — Saturdays, kids shout suggestions from the seats, tickets are five bucks for kids.
Rec Centres and Indoor Playgrounds — Public swim, drop-in skate and indoor play structures at leisure centres citywide. Several run free drop-in sessions through the winter, so check before you pay.
More rainy-day-turned-snowy-day ideas in our things to do in Edmonton guide.
Outdoor Things to Do with Kids
Yes, outdoors. Bundle up to get out and explore everything this winter city has to offer.
Skating — Outdoor rinks are open by December, and community league rinks are free. The IceWay at Victoria Park lets you actually skate somewhere rather than in circles, which changes the whole experience for kids who find rinks boring.
Sledding — Gallagher Park, Rundle Park, Emily Murphy and Whitemud Park all deliver. Free, burns an absurd amount of energy, works from about age two upward.
Skiing and Snowboarding — Snow Valley, Rabbit Hill and Sunridge are all inside or minutes from the city. Lessons and rentals available, and the hills are small enough not to terrify a beginner.
Snowshoeing and Winter Trails — River valley trails don't close. Mill Creek Ravine and Whitemud Creek are quieter and prettier in December than in July. Look for animal tracks in fresh snow — it turns a walk into a hunt.
Elk Island National Park — Bison viewing from a warm car, forty-five minutes east. It's also a Dark Sky Preserve, and December's early sunset means stargazing before bedtime.
Sleigh and Wagon Rides — Several operators around the region run winter sleigh rides through December, including glow rides after dark.
Walk the Lights — Candy Cane Lane and the Legislature grounds are both better on foot than from the car. Fifteen minutes outside, then straight back to the heater.
Free Things to Do with Kids in Edmonton
December looks expensive and doesn't have to be. We've rounded up 40+ free family-friendly Christmas events in the Edmonton area, and here's what's worth your time.
Free Ornament Painting at Michaels — Every Saturday afternoon in December, in store, no cost, treats included. Genuinely one of the best free hours of the month.
Free Home Depot Kids Workshops — Monthly Saturday builds for kids 6+, with a take-home project, apron and pin. Register early; December's holiday-themed build fills fastest.
Free Coding Classes at Apple — Weekly sessions for ages 6–10 using Swift Playgrounds and iPad. Free, devices provided, advance registration required. Available at West Edmonton Mall and Southgate Centre.
DIY Nights at the ReUse Centre — Free rotating weekly workshops. December leans into low-waste gift wrapping and ornament making, which is free and quietly useful.
Candy Cane Lane and the Legislature Light Display — Both free, both walkable, both the definition of a cheap night out.
Free Drop-in Swim and Skate — City leisure centres run free sessions all winter. A full afternoon for nothing.
Community League Light-Ups — Neighbourhood light-ups with hot chocolate and Santa run through early December. Free, small, and far less overwhelming than the big festivals.
Library Programs — Free storytimes, crafts, holiday concerts and teen gaming nights at every branch, all month.
Mall Santa Visits and Indigo Storytime — Free to see Santa at most malls if you skip the photo package, and Indigo runs free storytime sessions.
The full list lives on our free things to do in Edmonton page, updated year-round.