7 Best Holiday Events for Kids in Kansas City (2026)

Holiday events for kids in Kansas City start on November 19 and run through January 4, which puts six weekends of lights, a Santa visit, and one balloon drop at lunchtime on the calendar. Union Station builds its walk-through village in the Grand Plaza again. Crown Center lights one of the biggest Christmas trees in the country on November 27. Science City counts down to noon on December 31, so a five-year-old gets a New Year's party and still goes to bed on time.

Three of the seven stops come with a GetOut Kansas City membership. Powell Gardens opens its November light nights to the pass, the Zoo covers the Santa weekend, and Science City takes one general admission. Two cost nothing to walk into, and the ticketed ones start at $10.

Holiday Events for Kids in Kansas City at a Glance

Holiday Lights Downtown

Holiday Reflections at Union Station

Grand Plaza holds a walk-through village from November 20 through January 4, and this season adds a Kansas City streetscape with three-dimensional storefronts modeled on the Country Club Plaza, Crown Center, and Gillham Park. Nearly 2,000 square feet of animated light hangs overhead. A new frozen section covers 1,300 square feet with shimmering igloos, singing penguins, and an ice throne built for photos.

The model train gallery comes with the ticket. Eighteen trains run at once along 800 feet of track, past a 15-foot lighted engine. Santa wanders the village between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. through December 24 and takes informal photos in passing. The Mini Holiday Express under the 30-foot tree carries riders under 48 inches for $5.

Admission runs $10 Monday through Thursday and $12 Friday through Sunday, then $12 on every date from December 21 through January 4, plus a 10% preservation fee. Babies 12 months and younger enter free. Hourly capacity is capped, so buying ahead matters more here than at any other stop on this list. Doors close November 26 and December 25, and the village shuts early at 6 p.m. on December 4, 11, and 24. Freezing rain makes this the stop that saves the day, and our five indoor Kansas City picks for a wet Saturday cover the rest of that afternoon.

Crown Center: The Mayor's Tree, Santa, and the Ice Terrace

One of the largest Christmas trees in the country goes up on Crown Center Square at 6 p.m. on November 27. The ceremony lasts 30 minutes, with a youth chorus, brief speeches, and fireworks at the end. Light shows continue on the square at 6, 7, and 8 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays and 6 p.m. on Sundays, all part of the Hallmark Christmas Experience, which stays free and open through December 20 with a Christmas market attached.

Destination North Pole opens the same day and runs through December 24 during mall hours. Candy canes frame a forest of interactive stations, letters to Santa appear to fly overhead, and the path ends at Santa's village. Photos with your own camera cost nothing, and professional packages start at $12.

The Coterie, on Level 1 of the shops, stages The Pigeon Gets a Big Time Holiday Extravaganza from November 10 through December 31. Mo Willems' Pigeon, Elephant, Piggie, and the Unlimited Squirrels fill an hour with songs and audience bits. Sensory-friendly performances run December 4 and 5, and family fun nights land on December 4, 11, and 18.

Skating opens earlier than any of it. The Ice Terrace marks 50 seasons on the same square, running November 6 through March 14. Anyone 4 and older pays $10, children 3 and under skate free with a paying adult, and rentals cost $6. Friday and Saturday hours stretch to 11 p.m., Christmas Day stays dark, and Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve close at 6 p.m. A family that takes to the rink can work through the metro's roller rinks on the membership once the ice season ends.

Light Shows Outside Downtown

Evergy Festival of Lights at Powell Gardens

Powell Gardens turns 175 acres of display gardens into a lit walk on select nights from November 19 through January 3. Gates run 5 to 10 p.m., and the garden closes on Thanksgiving Eve and Day, Christmas Eve and Day, New Year's Eve, and New Year's Day.

Adults pay $19 on Wednesday, Thursday, and Sunday and $22 on Friday and Saturday. Kids 5 to 12 pay $10 or $12 on the same split, and children 4 and under walk in free. Parking adds $10 a car for anyone who is not a garden member. Strollers handle the path. The far end sits away from the buildings, and the wind gets at it.

Powell Gardens is the one light show here the membership opens outright. The offer is one general admission for the year, and the terms extend it to any eligible Festival of Lights night in November, which covers November 19 through 22 and November 27 through 29. Anyone driving in from St. Louis for the holiday weeks can line up the other end of the trip with the GetOut St. Louis membership.

Luminary Walk at the Overland Park Arboretum

The arboretum's 27th Luminary Walk runs November 27 and 28, December 4 and 5, 11 and 12, and 18 and 19. Candles line the woodland paths, live music plays along the route, gnome and fairy villages sit between the trees, and Santa holds a spot for photos. Tickets cost $17, and children 5 and under walk free.

Two quieter versions of the same walk run alongside it. Electric Glow nights on December 16, 20, 21, 22, 23, and 26 use electric light alone, thin the crowd, and cost $12, which suits a kid who finds a busy path hard. Glow Cart tours on November 29 and 30 and December 1, 2, 6, 7, and 9 carry families with mobility needs past the displays for $45 on a three-passenger cart or $75 on a five-passenger one.

Christmas in the Park at Longview Lake

Jackson County's crews build the display themselves, and the 39th edition fills the Longview Lake campground with more than a million lights and 200 animated scenes. Cars enter at the Frank White Jr. Softball Complex and follow the loop between 5:30 and 10 p.m. Sunday through Thursday, with gates open until 11 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays.

Admission is free, and donations collected at the exit go to 37 local charities. Clearance runs about 14 feet, so a tall pickup or a church bus fits. A weeknight in the first half of December moves faster than the stretch between Christmas and New Year's, when the queue slows to a crawl. Grandparents driving down from Omaha can pair the visit with the GetOut Nebraska membership.

A Santa Weekend at the Zoo

Meet Santa at the Kansas City Zoo & Aquarium

Santa sets up in the Australia section near Sheep Station on December 6 and 7, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Kids write a letter and hand it over in person. Cameras are welcome, and zoo admission covers the stop.

Zoo tickets run $22 to $24 online and $25 to $28 at the gate, and children 2 and under enter free. That price covers the aquarium, Helzberg Penguin Plaza, the carousel, and the rest of the grounds, which turns a Santa stop into most of a day. Cold weather keeps the outdoor paths quiet while the aquarium and the penguin building stay warm. The membership carries one general admission to the Zoo for the year. More metro stops for the same crowd sit in our guide to family-friendly things to do in Kansas City with kids.

New Year's Eve for Kids in Kansas City

Noon Year's Eve at Science City

Science City runs its countdown on December 31 from noon to 6 p.m. The balloon drop comes at 5:30 p.m., when thousands of balloons fall over the crowd. The museum's 300-plus exhibits stay open all afternoon, and hands-on stations fill the hours around them: donut making, a UV paint wall, wax predictions, circuit demos, face painting, and a big science show late in the day.

Tickets cost $17 plus the 10% preservation fee, and Union Station members walk in free. The GetOut offer covers one Science City general admission for the year, which makes a weekday visit later in the same school break an easy second trip.

An earlier finish works for a family that wants to be home by dark. The Ice Terrace skates from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on December 31, so a 4 p.m. rink session and an early dinner cover the holiday without staying up.

How to Plan the Holiday Weeks

Buy the timed entries first. Holiday Reflections sells by the hour, the Luminary Walk sells by night, and Powell Gardens opens on specific dates. Everything outdoors can wait for a forecast, since December in Kansas City can hand you 55 degrees and sun on a Tuesday, then freezing drizzle by Friday.

Front-load the season. The stretch from November 20 to December 14 stays quieter than the week between Christmas and New Year's, when school is out and every display fills after 6 p.m. Powell Gardens closes on four holiday dates and Holiday Reflections closes on two, so the calendar settles some of this before anyone picks a night.

Rain has an obvious answer downtown. Union Station, Science City, and the Crown Center shops sit within a few blocks of each other, so a wet Saturday turns that cluster into a two-hour loop. The rest of the season can be planned around the fall playbook for Kansas City and DFW, and a family heading for the mountains after New Year's can see what the GetOut Colorado membership covers on the way west.

Frequently Asked Questions

Which of these holiday events come with a GetOut Kansas City membership?

Powell Gardens covers any eligible Festival of Lights night in November, and the Zoo and Science City each carry one general admission for the year. Holiday Reflections and the Luminary Walk sell their own tickets, and Christmas in the Park asks for nothing at the gate.

Which event asks the least of a toddler?

Christmas in the Park. Kids stay buckled in for a loop of lights that takes about half an hour, and nobody has to walk a path in the cold. For a stop where everyone gets out, Destination North Pole at Crown Center keeps the candy cane forest at toddler height, and the Ice Terrace skates children 3 and under for free.

When is the cheapest night to see the lights?

Christmas in the Park costs nothing on every night it opens. Powell Gardens drops to $19 for adults and $10 for kids on Wednesday, Thursday, and Sunday. Holiday Reflections runs $10 Monday through Thursday, and the Luminary Walk's Electric Glow nights cost $12.

Can you do New Year's Eve with kids who sleep at eight?

Science City drops the balloons at 5:30 p.m., so the countdown and the ride home both land before bedtime. The Ice Terrace closes at 6 p.m. on December 31 for a family that would rather skate than stand in a crowd.

When does the holiday season end?

Powell Gardens runs to January 3, Holiday Reflections to January 4, and Christmas in the Park to December 31. The Luminary Walk ends December 26, Science City's party lasts one night, and the Ice Terrace keeps skating into March.

Plan the Season With GetOut

A GetOut Kansas City membership runs $64.95 for the year and covers 62-plus venues around the metro, including the Zoo, Science City, and Powell Gardens. Adult tickets to those three stops come to about $58 to $61, which nearly covers the pass on its own. The remaining venues on the membership fill the weeks after New Year's, and families driving south to Tulsa for Christmas can see what the GetOut Oklahoma membership covers on the other end of that trip.

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