We love the Christmas season—it’s the most wonderful time of the year!

The holidays can also be a huge stress on our budget, particularly with rises in cost over the last few years

So, we created this list to help families find free, memorable things to do in Cleveland with kids this holiday season.

Free Santa Visit and 4x6 photo at Cabela's

Did you know that you can visit Santa for FREE at Cabela’s? You even get a FREE 4x6 printed photo with your visit. We have gone for the last 4 years, and our kids always love it. 

Be sure to make a reservation ahead of time to reserve your spot. Click here to visit their website for more details and to reserve your spot. SANTA’S WONDERLAND AT CABELA’S

Cabela's, 35685 Chester Rd, Avon, OH 44011

The event runs from Nov.25-Dec. 30, Wed.-Sun.* (closed Dec. 24 and 25). This event will be held at TWO locations - the Carlisle Reservation Equestrian Center, 13630 Diagonal Road, and the Carlisle Visitor Center, 12882 Diagonal Road in LaGrange.

The Equestrian Center will host the drive-through portion of this festive event. Enjoy this mile-long display from the comfort of your vehicle. At the Visitor Center, the Children’s Nature Discovery Trail will be decorated for a walking trail on Wed.-Sat. On Sundays.

Admission to this program is free, but they do ask visitors to bring one nonperishable food item that will be donated to Second Harvest Food Bank. More info can be found at loraincountymetroparks.com.

Life-size CandyLAND at Penitentiary Glenn

What kid doesn’t love a good life-size game of Candyland? 🍭  While Candyland isn’t a Christmas-themed game, it’s become a Christmas tradition for us to visit during the season. There’s just something about the game's whimsical nature that gives us the holiday feels. 🥰

We love that this nature center offers a fun outing for the family that costs nothing!

We are so excited that Candyland will start on Saturday (the 18th) and run through January 1st, 10 am-5 pm, at the Penitentiary Glenn Reservation.

Train display at Puritas Garden

This is the largest train display that we’ve ever seen in person, and we have loved going every year since the kids were little littles.

There are multiple sections, each with its own themes. From Star Wars to the Simpsons and Mickey Mouse, we love trying to spot characters we know and love each time we visit. And each year, the display changes, which makes each year’s visit unique and fun!

After you’re done watching all of the cute train displays, you can head over to the greenhouse that has a little fish pond, a fairy garden, and plenty of lovely plants. And when you’re done in there, they have a cute little Christmas shop for you to browse ornaments.

This is a free display, but they do have a donation box. I recommend donating to help them continue offering this amazing event for free. 😃 The nursery also has fresh-cut Christmas trees for sale along with wreaths and other festive decorations. More info can be found here: PURITAS NURSERY TRAIN DISPLAY INFO

You can read more about the 2023 Puritas Nursery Holiday Train Display on our blog.

What kid hasn’t always wanted to ride in a horse-drawn sleigh? This fun, free event lets young and old alike take a short sleigh ride around the Kamm’s Corners parking lot. Sleigh rides take place on the first 3 Fridays in December. Santa and Mrs Clause are also there for kids to visit while waiting in line.

The Kids’ free shopping event (Kids’ Holiday Gift Shop) at Tower City has been a family tradition for us for the past two years. This year it’s called Gifting with the Grinch, and our kids can’t wait!

Let your favorite holiday characters help you shop for everyone on your list and wrap presents at the American Greetings gift wrapping station. The fun doesn’t stop there! Watch the Spectacular Show Grouchy Holiday and The Grinch movie. More info here.

Our kids love that they get to pick out little gifts for my husband and I. After they’re done shopping, we always make time to walk around Tower City and Public Square to see the holiday displays.

We’ve been going to the Home Depot workshops on and off for years. We always do our best to try to make it to the holiday workshops because our kids love making holiday themed crafts.

The holiday workshops this year are on 11/25 and 12/2. Some Home Depot’s do require you to make a reservation (it’s free, you just have to claim your spot). You can register here.

HOLIDAY CHRISTMAS LIGHT DISPLAYS

To wrap up our list, we’re sharing some of our favorite Christmas light displays in and around Cleveland. We’ll continue to add to this part of the list as we discover new Christmas light displays this year.

Seabury Avenue has been one of our go-to destinations when we’re in the mood to look at Christmas lights. When our son was a baby, the only way to get him to go to sleep was to drive around in the car. Back then, about half of the street was decorated for Christmas. It’s been so cool to see how the community has come together to decorate and inspire one another to celebrate the holiday season together. You can visit the Fairview Park Holiday Facebook Page for updates on what’s going on the famed Elf Tent.

Bob Mangan’s WINTER WONDERLAND

There’s no denying that Bob Mangan puts on one of the best Christmas wonderland displays in our area!

His display covers his entire front yard (where you can see Santa waving through the front window), garage, and the entire backyard. On a lot about 90x315 feet, there are about 30 inflatables, including Mickey Mouse, 12-foot high toy soldiers, Santa Claus in a helicopter, a snowman family, 12-foot bears, and more!

34907 Cambridge Dr North Ridgeville, OH 44039

This has been a tradition for the last 8 years for our family, and somehow it hasn’t gotten old! It’s located on a cul-de-sac, and the sidewalks are lined with festive archways. Nearly every house on the cul-de-sac is decorated, and each has its own unique style.

The crown jewel of Crown Point has always been the Hoag House. It’s nearly unbelievable! They were even featured on ABC’s Great Christmas Light Fight a few years back. So cool!

We definitely recommend parking on the nearby street and walking the route. Especially since you can walk up the driveway and on the side of the Hoag property to see all of their displays. Just be sure to stay on the concrete. 😃

Every year they have a donation box to help local families. This year they are helping two different families. Be sure to take some time to read about them on the donation box and donate if you’re able.💜

Lights turn on at 5:30p, and Santa visits on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays from 6-9p.

It does get busy, so if you want to avoid the crowd, you can always visit during the week.

Crown Point Pkwy, Strongsville, OH 44136

Downtown Bedford Square

Downtown Bedford has the best (IMO) suburban Christmas displays! It’s just so cute and quaint and full of beautiful lights.

I remember walking around it as a child, and it had always felt so special to me. I just love that I get to experience it with my kiddos now, too!

THE END

I hope you enjoyed this list and are inspired to go make some great memories with your family this holiday season! Please remember that free events normally mean crowds, so leave plenty of time to do all the things you want to accomplish and also be sure to extend the volunteers/workers grace this holiday season. 

Looking for more to do?

If you’ve got some money to spend on making memories this holiday, check out some of our favorite paid holiday activities below.