Five national chains have free Christmas events for kids this season, from a free photo with Santa at Bass Pro Shops and Cabela’s through Christmas Eve to a holiday train workshop at The Home Depot on Dec. 5. The list below runs by date, with what kids get and whether you need to register, and I’ll add events as more chains post dates.
In this guide:
- Free Christmas events for kids by date
- Bass Pro Shops and Cabela’s Santa photos
- Barnes & Noble LEGO Holiday Build
- Home Depot kids workshops
- Michaels Kids Club Winter Workshop
- Lakeshore Learning holiday craft
- Free Santa visits at the mall and Lowe’s Kids Club
- Frequently asked questions
Free Christmas Events for Kids by Date
The five national chains are Bass Pro Shops and Cabela’s, Barnes & Noble, The Home Depot, Michaels and Lakeshore Learning. Every event in the table is free to attend, and the Michaels classes are online, with their supplies sold separately.
| Date | Where | What kids get | Cost and sign-up |
|---|---|---|---|
| Now through Dec. 24 (Christmas Eve) | Bass Pro Shops and Cabela’s | Santa’s Wonderland: a free 4×6 photo with Santa, a free shareable video and crafts | Free, reserve up to seven days ahead or walk in |
| Tuesdays through Dec. 22, 5 p.m. | Bass Pro Shops and Cabela’s | Christmas Tales: story time with Santa and Mrs. Claus, then a family photo with Santa | Free, separate reservation, opens seven days ahead |
| Thursday, Nov. 12, 3 p.m. Pacific | Michaels, online | Kids Club: Watercolor Santa Cards class, for kids over 6 | Free class, supplies extra |
| Nov. 13 to 15 | Barnes & Noble | LEGO Holiday mini build | Free, reserve with your store |
| Saturday, Nov. 21 | The Home Depot | Kids Workshop: Christmas car ornament | Free, register on Home Depot’s site |
| Dec. 1 to 12, noon Pacific | Michaels, online | Kids Club Winter Workshop: 12 holiday craft classes, one a day | Free classes, supplies extra |
| Saturday, Dec. 5, 9 a.m. | Bass Pro Shops and Cabela’s | Merry Morning Breakfast with Santa, and a Santa hat cup and a 4×6 photo for each family | Free, reservations open Nov. 28, up to four people per family |
| Saturday, Dec. 5, 9 a.m. | The Home Depot | Kids Workshop: holiday train | Free, register on Home Depot’s site |
| Saturday, Dec. 5, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. | Lakeshore Learning | Holiday Gift-Making: Festive Keepsakes, featuring OOLY | Free, walk in, no reservations |
Bass Pro Shops and Cabela’s Santa Photos: Free Through Dec. 24
Santa’s Wonderland, the in-store Santa visit at Bass Pro Shops and Cabela’s, gives each family a free 4×6 studio photo with Santa and a free shareable video at locations in the United States and Canada through Christmas Eve. Extra photo packages are for sale, with 20 percent off for CLUB members. This is Santa’s Wonderland’s 18th season, and Bass Pro Shops, which owns Cabela’s, has nearly 200 retail locations in North America.
Free reservations open up to seven days ahead, and walk-ins are welcome, first come, first served. Kids can make crafts, drop a letter in Santa’s mailbox and get a message back from Santa if the letter includes an email address. On weekday visits, while supplies last, kids get a Santa ornament craft from Nov. 9 to 27 and a sticker-by-number sheet from Nov. 30 to Dec. 18.
Christmas Tales is story time with Santa and Mrs. Claus at 5 p.m. on Tuesdays through Dec. 22, and Santa takes a photo with all the families after the reading. The Merry Morning Breakfast with Santa is at 9 a.m. on Saturday, Dec. 5, for up to four people per family, and each family takes home a free Santa hat cup and a 4×6 photo. Both are free and need a separate reservation: Christmas Tales opens seven days ahead, and the breakfast opens Nov. 28. Bass Pro Shops announced the season on Oct. 26, and Santa photo reservations are at basspro.com/santa and cabelas.com/santa.
Barnes & Noble LEGO Holiday Build: Nov. 13 to 15
Barnes & Noble’s free LEGO Holiday Build, an in-store LEGO mini build with a holiday theme, is listed at more than 550 stores in 47 states and Washington, D.C., from Friday, Nov. 13, through Sunday, Nov. 15, and most sessions are on Saturday, Nov. 14. The listing calls it perfect for ages 10 and up and says LEGO fans of all ages are welcome. Kits are limited, and by Nov. 10, 188 of the 553 stores, about one in three, had marked the build full, up from 89 on Oct. 13.
Barnes & Noble has no national sign-up for the build, so find your store’s LEGO Holiday Build Event listing on Barnes & Noble’s store events pages and reserve the way that store asks. Holiday storytimes, such as Polar Express readings and visits from the Grinch, are also set store by store, with no chain-wide date. My Barnes & Noble LEGO build report has the Holiday Build’s listings by day and the states with the most stores.
Home Depot Kids Workshop: Nov. 21 and Dec. 5
The Home Depot’s free in-store kids workshops, each built around a project kit, run at 9 a.m. on the first Saturday of every month while supplies last, and November has a second date this year. The Christmas car ornament workshop is Saturday, Nov. 21, and the holiday train is Saturday, Dec. 5. Next on Home Depot’s list is a claw machine bank on Jan. 2, 2027, with registration opening Dec. 5. Register for each workshop on Home Depot’s kids workshop page.
Michaels Kids Club Winter Workshop: 12 Free Online Classes, Dec. 1 to 12
Michaels’ Kids Club Winter Workshop is 12 free online holiday craft classes for all ages, one a day from Tuesday, Dec. 1, through Saturday, Dec. 12, each at noon Pacific for an hour on video. Each class is a video tutorial with a live moderator who answers questions, and every class stays on demand after it airs. The classes are free and the supplies are not: Michaels sends a supply list at sign-up, and the supplies can be shipped or picked up at a store.
The 12 projects:
- Dec. 1: Holly Jolly Ornaments
- Dec. 2: Snowman Pinch Pot
- Dec. 3: Fa La La La La Frames
- Dec. 4: Reindeer Handprint Tee
- Dec. 5: Beaded Holiday Decor
- Dec. 6: Hand Stitched Card
- Dec. 7: Gingerbread Puppet Pals
- Dec. 8: Snowball Wall of Frame
- Dec. 9: Cozy Crew Play Box
- Dec. 10: Seasonal Slider Card
- Dec. 11: Winter Watercolor Keychains
- Dec. 12: Merry Masked Friends
Before the workshop, on Thursday, Nov. 12, at 3 p.m. Pacific, the Kids Club’s Watercolor Santa Cards class teaches kids over 6 to paint Santa faces in watercolor and turn them into holiday cards, with $14.47 in listed supplies. Sign up on Michaels’ Winter Workshop page.
Lakeshore Learning: Free Holiday Craft on Dec. 5
Lakeshore Learning’s free in-store event on Saturday, Dec. 5, is Holiday Gift-Making, with kids making Festive Keepsakes, featuring OOLY, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at all 57 Lakeshore stores in 28 states. It is walk-in, with no reservations, and a parent or guardian who checks in can win a $100 Lakeshore e-gift card, with a new winner at every event. The details are on Lakeshore’s events page.
Free Santa Visits at the Mall and Lowe’s Kids Club
At malls run by Macerich, including Tysons Corner Center in Virginia, Danbury Fair in Connecticut, Fashion Fair in Fresno and Desert Sky Mall in Phoenix, “a visit with Santa is always free and photo packages are available for purchase.” Santa’s first day differs by mall, from Nov. 6 to Nov. 27, so check your mall’s Santa page for its dates.
Lowe’s Kids Club workshops are free for MyLowe’s Rewards members and are held once a month, typically on the third Saturday, generally for kids 4 to 11. Lowe’s shows the dates to signed-in members, and the public Kids Club page listed none on Nov. 10, so no Lowe’s date is in the table. Lowe’s MrBeast Workshops are separate and need a $14.98 toy kit.
Free Christmas Events FAQ
Are Bass Pro Shops and Cabela’s Santa Photos Free?
Yes, Santa’s Wonderland gives a free 4×6 studio photo with Santa and a free shareable video through Dec. 24, and extra photo packages are for sale.
Do You Need a Reservation for Santa at Bass Pro Shops?
Walk-ins are welcome for a Santa photo, first come, first served, and free reservations open seven days ahead at basspro.com/santa and cabelas.com/santa. Christmas Tales and the Dec. 5 breakfast need separate reservations.
When Is the Home Depot Kids Workshop in December 2026?
The Home Depot’s December kids workshop is a holiday train on Saturday, Dec. 5, at 9 a.m. Register on Home Depot’s kids workshop page.
Is the Barnes & Noble LEGO Holiday Build Free?
Yes, stores list the build as free, and kits are limited, so reserve with your store before Nov. 13.
Is the Michaels Winter Workshop Free?
The 12 online classes are free, and the supplies for each project are sold separately.
More Christmas for Families
- Free Halloween events for kids, my October version of this list.
- Theme Park Christmas 2026, every park’s holiday event by date.
- Christmas popcorn buckets at Disneyland and the movies.
- Christmas haunted houses for older kids, with the no-scare nights listed.
Last updated: November 10, 2026. Dates come from each chain’s event pages. Check before you go.
