West Michigan Christmas Events
Twinkling lights, fresh snow, and the excitement in the air – If you are like me, you want to soak in as many of these holiday moments and Christmas events as you can.
We invite you to use this Christmas Events Guide to fill your December with the best Christmas activities: Christmas lights, holiday shopping, Christmas Parades, and lots of holiday cheer and family fun this holiday season.
It’s jam-packed with loads of Christmas things to do and holiday events that will help you create memories that will last for years to come.
Christmas Events & Holiday Activities
Featured Holiday Events
Cue the hot cocoa and Christmas carols.
There are sweet Christmas events and heaps of things to do on this very nice list!
Santa Events
Seeing Santa and taking a photo with Santa are very popular Christmas events!
Santa is, without a doubt, one of the most recognizable figures around the world. And every year he (sometimes with Mrs. Claus) visits West Michigan children at various locations.
Check out the Santa Sightings list for all the places you’ll find Grand Rapids Christmas events with Santa.
Nutcrackers, Christmas Plays & Holiday Concerts
Get off the screens and experience a live performance. Whether professional or students, there is nothing quite as magical.
Go traditional and watch the Grand Rapids Ballet’s Nutcracker.
Rock out to Christmas tunes with the Trans Siberian Orchestra.
These and so many more are ready to dazzle us this holiday season.
Christmas Parades
West Michigan loves holiday parades – including the Grand Rapids Gentex Santa Parade with Lowell’s own real Santa! This year, there are 18 holiday parades on our list!
Nighttime Christmas parades are all over this year: Zeeland, Lowell and Hudsonville. Even the GR Santa Parade is in the evening this year!
Use our list to find a Christmas parade or holiday parade near you.
Holiday Tree Lightings
There’s pure joy in standing outside, bundled up in your warmest winter clothes and clutching a mug filled with hot chocolate, eagerly anticipating the very first time the Christmas tree is lit with thousands of lights.
Luckily, there are several places around West Michigan with holiday tree lightings.
While some are stand-alone Christmas tree lightings, others really bring their A Game in conjunction with holiday parades.
You can re-live the magic again and again – all in one season.
Christmas Holiday Trains
There is something magical about trains at Christmas time.
Polar Express look-alikes ride the rails throughout the state all month long – but snag your tickets as early as June to reserve your seats on some of them.
Watch the model train round the bends at Meijer Gardens or find the old “Breton Village train” at its new home at the Ford Museum.
Kids and adults alike look forward to these favorite West Michigan traditions every year.
Where to See Holiday Trains →
Live Nativities
If you are looking for a fun way to visualize the Nativity scene, check out a live Nativity.
These scenes have real people reenacting the original Christmas scene including live animals. Some places include refreshments, live music, or a narrator retelling the Christmas story.
Is your church or group hosting a Live Nativity as well? Submit your event here to get featured in our events calendar and on this list.
Free Christmas Events & Activities
Cost doesn’t need to hold you back from Christmas fun.
Stroll through Candy Cane Lane in Sparta. Be amazed by all the wreaths at the Festival of Wreaths in Muskegon.
Check out a downtown lit up and decorated for the holidays.
Spend time at the all new Dutch Winterfest in Holland.
West Michigan is filled with opportunities for free Christmas fun.
Christmas Markets
Christmas markets are Michigan’s best kept secret – and they start well before December.
Head up to Manistee for Old Christmas Weekend.
Stay closer to home at Holland’s 28th Kerstmarkt for shopping, food and even dogsled demos.
And don’t forget Grand Rapids’ own Christkindl Markt, running Nov 15 – Dec 23.
Bundle up and hit the road to find the best Christmas markets in Michigan.
Find a Christmas Market or Festival →
One of a Kind Christmas Events
Looking for something a little different?
These Christmas events are not your usual celebration and are a fun way to get moving this season.
Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park
Frederik Meijer Gardens and Sculpture Park is known for their many gorgeous displays and gardens. Their annual Christmas & Holiday Traditions exhibit is no exception.
Running just before Thanksgiving until early January, this exhibit showcases over 40 trees decorated in different themes of cultures around the world.
The Holiday Light Show returns for 2025. ENLIGHTEN is back again, running on select days from November 24, 2025 – January 3, 2026.
Check for special evenings when Santa visits and Dickens carolers serenade visitors.
Or when the Reindeer wait outside for pictures and maybe a nose rub.
No matter what day of the week you visit, awe-inspiring sights await.
Christmas at Frederik Meijer Gardens →
I love this fun resource. Thank you for all your hard work, compiling this.