The Christmas in the Village program opens with Small Business Weekend and the November 28 parade, but its busiest days come a week later. On Friday, December 4, and Saturday, December 5, Zionsville Parks & Recreation, Zionsville Tri Kappa, the Zionsville Show Choirs and the Zionsville Chamber of Commerce all have events in or near the Village. For one hour that Saturday morning, four of them run at the same time.
Most of what fills the rest of December follows a schedule you can learn once: Santa on weekend afternoons, Main Street after dark on two Thursdays, and performances at the STAR Bank Performing Arts Center on weeknights and later weekends. That first weekend in December is different. It has more to plan than any other part of the season, and the planning starts this week, with registrations and ticket sales already open.
Friday's Event Has 100 Spots, and Registration Is Already Open
Jingle in the Park is the Zionsville Parks & Recreation evening at Lincoln Park, 100 W. Oak St., on Friday, December 4, from 4 to 6 p.m. It includes visits with Santa, live reindeer, holiday crafts and the annual Lincoln Park lighting, which Hometown Lawns sponsors.
It's the one event on the first weekend with a fixed headcount. The Parks registration portal lists 100 spots for children 12 and under. The fee is $5 for residents and $7 for nonresidents, and every child has to be registered. Registration opened at 8 a.m. on Sunday, November 15, for both residents and nonresidents. Spots have been up for grabs since that morning, so check the portal before you promise the reindeer to anyone.
Jingle in the Park ends at 6 p.m., so the evening can end with dinner in the Village. That's also the night before the busiest morning of the season.
Saturday, December 5, Hour by Hour
Saturday stacks four separate events on top of each other, run by four different organizers:
- 9 a.m. The Tri Kappa Santa Breakfast begins and runs until 11 a.m. It's listed at Zionsville Main Street as part of Christmas in the Village, with breakfast served at one of several downtown locations. The Winterfest Open-Air Maker's Market opens on Brick Main Street at the same time and runs until noon.
- 10 a.m. The Zionsville Showchoir Holiday Home Tour opens six decorated private homes until 4 p.m.
- 11 a.m. Santa and Mrs. Claus arrive at the Santa House at Cedar and Main for Santa House Selfies until 3 p.m.
- Noon The Maker's Market closes. The home tour and the Santa House continue into the afternoon.
From 11 a.m. to noon, all four are going at once: the last stretch of the breakfast, the last hour of the market, the home tour, and Santa's first hour at Cedar and Main. A family that wants the breakfast, the market and a Santa photo can do all three in a row without leaving the Village. Breakfast first, then the makers' tables, then the Santa House line once it opens at 11.
The market itself is free. On its Winterfest program page, Zionsville Parks says the market "continues to grow each year with more makers and artists, more food truck options, seasonal music, carolers and a few more surprises up our sleeves." It's held on the brick stretch of Main Street, the same street the breakfast is listed on, so the two morning events overlap in space as well as time.
What Each Saturday Event Costs to Get In
Saturday has four events, and each one has its own way in:
| Event | Hours | How to get in |
|---|---|---|
| Tri Kappa Santa Breakfast | 9–11 a.m. | Tickets on Eventbrite, listed from $23.18 |
| Winterfest Open-Air Maker's Market | 9 a.m.–noon | Free |
| Showchoir Holiday Home Tour | 10 a.m.–4 p.m. | $25; children 10 and under free |
| Santa House Selfies | 11 a.m.–3 p.m. | Bring your own phone or camera |
Breakfast tickets went on sale November 1, according to Zionsville Tri Kappa, a women's philanthropic organization that supports Boone County nonprofits and Zionsville Community Schools.
You can buy home tour tickets ahead of time at three Zionsville businesses: Fivethirty Home, Great Lakes Ace Hardware and Village Mattress. Show choir students also sell them. On the day of the tour, the homes sell tickets for cash only. This is the 15th annual tour, and Zionsville Community High School show choir students perform holiday solos and small-group pieces inside the homes. Since the homes don't take cards, buying ahead at Great Lakes Ace or Village Mattress on a weekday errand saves a stop at the ATM.
At the Santa House, families take their own photos with a phone or camera, and Chamber volunteers are there to help. No ticket, no photo package.
The Weekend After That Settles Into a Schedule
Once the first weekend is over, the Village program becomes predictable. Santa House Selfies run on seven dates in all, every one of them a Saturday or Sunday from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.:
- Sunday, November 29
- Saturday and Sunday, December 5 and 6
- Saturday and Sunday, December 12 and 13
- Saturday and Sunday, December 19 and 20
December 6, the Sunday right after the busy Saturday, has the same Santa hours with nothing else on the Village schedule. That makes it the quieter choice for the same photo.
The Chamber's two evening events both fall on Thursdays. Ladies Night runs Thursday, December 10, from 5 to 9 p.m., with specials at participating businesses in the Village. A week later, the Christmas Crawl runs Thursday, December 17, from 5 to 9 p.m. It's for ages 21 and up, with shop and restaurant specials and an ugly sweater contest at 8 p.m. at participating locations.
Apart from the parade, those two Thursdays are the only Village program events scheduled after dark. Every other Village event runs on weekend daylight.
December 13 Is Busy Too, but Spread Across Town
The second weekend has its own crowded day, Sunday, December 13. This time the events are spread across Zionsville rather than packed onto Main Street:
- 11 a.m.–12:30 p.m. The Bethlehem Beat, a children's musical open to the public, at Zionsville United Methodist Church, 9644 Whitestown Road.
- 11 a.m.–3 p.m. Santa House Selfies at Cedar and Main.
- Noon–4 p.m. An Afternoon with Santa, hosted by Morning Dove Therapeutic Riding Center at The Red Barn at Traders Point Creamery, 9101 Moore Road. Tickets are $25 in advance and $30 at the door, children 3 and under are free, and entry is in hourly time slots.
- 2 p.m. The final performance of the Central Indiana Dance Ensemble's The Nutcracker at the STAR Bank Performing Arts Center, 1000 Mulberry St.
- 5:30–8:30 p.m. Back to Bethlehem, a 30-minute walk-through with timed entry at Zionsville Presbyterian Church, 4775 W. 116th St. Admission is $5 per person, with a maximum of $20 per family.
That Sunday works better as a two-stop plan than a five-stop one. Moore Road and 116th Street are a drive from Cedar and Main, and two of the events use timed entry.
The STAR Bank PAC carries much of the season outside the Village. The Zionsville Community High School orchestra, band and choral holiday concerts are on December 1, 3 and 8, each at 7 p.m. Tickets for the orchestra concert went on sale November 18 through the STAR Bank PAC calendar. Two productions of The Nutcracker run on back-to-back weekends. The Central Indiana Dance Ensemble plays December 11 through 13, and adult tickets are $30. Its 2 p.m. shows are relaxed matinees, and a Sugar Plum Fairy Dessert Party starts at 12:30 p.m. before each one. Metropolitan Youth Ballet plays December 18 through 20, with $30 adult tickets and $25 tickets for children 17 and under, seniors 65 and older, and military. SullivanMunce Cultural Center's Teeny Tiny Art Market, with original works 6 by 6 inches or smaller, opens November 20 and runs through December 19, so it's open over every weekend of the season.
Before All That, the Parade Weekend
The parade on Saturday, November 28, marks the official opening weekend. The Christmas in the Village Parade & Tree Lighting leaves Eagle Elementary at 5 p.m. and ends near Old National Bank on South Main Street at about 6 p.m., and the town tree lighting follows. The Chamber's older parade page still shows a November 29 date from last year. The 2026 event listing has November 28. The parade falls in the middle of Small Business Weekend, which runs November 27 through 29, and Santa's first afternoon at the Santa House is the next day.
Main Street closes to vehicles during the parade, and parking near the route fills quickly. For the parade and every downtown event after it, the free public lots are at the northwest corner of Main and Sycamore and the southwest corner of Main and Pine. The STAR Bank PAC and the churches hosting December events have their own parking, so the Main and Sycamore and Main and Pine lots only matter for events in the Village itself.
If your December is filling up around Zionsville's Christmas weekends and you're also wondering what your home in the Village or nearby is worth right now, The Home Experts can help. Request a free market valuation, and we'll show you how homes near Main Street are pricing as the year ends, with no pressure and no obligation.
