Looking for Santa? We have rounded up options for Breakfast with Santa, Lunch with Santa, cookies, and so much more!
These are just some of the fun activities happening! Make sure to check out our calendar. We add events daily during the holiday season!
Breakfast with Santa
Yummy pancakes, eggs, bacon, and orange juice while visiting Santa?! Yes, please! We have so many options in the area, from the local YMCA, Park & Recreation and more. Here are some that look both delicious and fun!
- Gather on Broadway in Green Bay hosts a weekend of Santa Breakfasts annually with a breakfast buffet, pancake toss, hot chocolate station, cookie decorating, crafts, and photos with Santa. This year breakfast is served at 9 am on December 3-4, 2022.
- Green Bay Children’s Musuem and Mackinaws Grill & Spirits host multiple seatings on December 10 this year, starting at 7:30 am.
- Not Santa or breakfast, but you can count on the Ground Round in Neenah to host a Lunch with the Grinch each year! This year join the grumpy fave on Saturday, December 10, 2022 at 11 am. BYOCamera for photos!
- Neenah Parks and Recreation hosts an annual Grinch Family Breakfast that often sells out early. This year the event is on Saturday, December 3, 2022 at 9 am.
Cookies with Santa
Not ready to commit to a full meal with the Jolly Old Elf? Maybe a date with cookies is the right fit!
- Events Everlasting in New London hosts a by-donation evening with Santa that includes photos and cookie decorating on Thursday, December 8, 2022.
- Santa will be serving hot chocolate and cookies after the holiday parade in Weyauwega at the Gerold Opera House on Saturday, December 3, 2022, at 6 pm.
Santa & Fang
Santa will join our favorite Minor League Baseball mascot, Fang, on Saturday, December 3, 2022, for their annual breakfast at the Fox Cities Stadium! Have a pancake breakfast and spend time decorating Christmas cookies. Register early for this one; the cut-off is Wednesday, November 23, 2022, by calling 920-733-4152 or ordering tickets online.
Holidays at the Children’s Museum
Holiday events at a children’s museum are a fun familiar place to kick off the holiday season! Enjoy a special event with a beloved holiday character and enjoy playing at a children’s museum.
Each year the Building for Kids Children’s Museum in Appleton hosts a breakfast with the Grinch but this year, they have a special spin and are hosting Pizza with the Grinch on Friday, December 2, 2022.
The Children’s Museum in Green Bay offers a slate of holiday happenings! Join the Holiday EXTRAvaganza on November 19, 2022, Story Time with the Grinch (sold out for 2022, keep an eye out early next year!), three seatings for Breakfast with Santa on December 2, 2022, and Gingerbread Jamboree. Find all of these events on our calendar along with their New Year’s Eve event, Kid’s Rockin’ Eve.
The Children’s Museum of Fond du Lac hosts a Pancake Breakfast with Santa and Mrs. Claus to benefit the Fond du Lac Foster Care Program on Saturday, December 10, 2022, with a sensory-friendly time to follow.
Culture & Santa
Representation matters always, and can feel especially important during the holidays. This holiday event is unique in Northeast Wisconsin in many ways, but the most obvious is that they feature Black Santa. African Heritage Inc.’s Soulful Holiday Village event on December 10, 2022, at Fox Cities Exhibition Center in Appleton.
The Grandest Arrival—Christmas in the Air
EAA Airventure in Oshkosh is a fun place to explore any time during the year, but it looks a bit different decorated during the holidays. Their annual event, Christmas in the Air, Santa arrives at noon by helicopter and sticks around to take photos! Other activities include writing letters to Santa, enjoying cookies and milk, and a holiday-themed scavenger hunt.
All events and museum admission are free between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. Donations of unwrapped toys for Toys for Tots or non-perishable food goods for the Father Carr’s Place 2B are greatly appreciated.
Second chance to see Santa arrive by helicopter! If your schedule has you busy during Christmas in the Air at EAA, the Kettle Moraine EAA Chapter is bringing Santa in by helicopter also on December 10, 2022 at West Bend Municipal Airport for breakfast and photos.
BONUS! A little less of a dramatic entrance—but not by much—is a Santa Fly In event at Fremont Municipal Airport on Saturday, December 3, 2022 at 5 pm when Santa arrives by plane and is brought to the hangar by his waiting reindeer. The free event includes games, cookies, beverages, a meet a greet with Santa!
Visit Santa at a Tree Farm
You can sometimes find Santa at the Christmas Tree Farms! Check off two things on your list – cut down your tree and visit with Santa!
- Located in Oconto, about a 1-hour drive from Appleton, Whispering Pines is full of fun activities including Santa visits on the weekends.
- Heritage Tree Farm in Octonto will be paid a visit from Santa and Mrs. Claus on Saturday, December 3, 2022.
Santa Visits
The classic Santa visits at the Fox River Mall and Bay Park Square but did you know you can also make reservations to see Santa at Cabela’s (for FREE).
Santa also makes appearances at many of our Downtown Tree Lights and Community Light Displays like Oshkosh’s Celebration of Lights or the Fox Cities Festival of Lights in Darboy.
Some local photographers also offer photography packages. This option is perfect for the ultimate planner and you don’t have to worry about long lines.
You can also find Santa at home at The North Pole in Chilton! If you have never been to The North Pole it’s a magical place.
Sensory Friendly Santa Visit
If your child would love to visit Santa but needs sensory accommodations, a VIP visit at Journey Chiropractic Center in Green Bay might be the perfect solution. Sign up in advance to have a private visit with Santa without bright lights or crowds and a sensory smart Santa and elves on Sunday, December 11, 2022.
Mrs. Claus
At Green Bay Botanical Garden’s WPS Garden of Lights, Mrs. Claus hosts a story time each Saturday in December leading up to the big day from 5 – 8 pm. You can also find her here on Family Night, when kids under 12 can enter the garden for free!
Santa Letters
There are lots of ways to get a letter off to Santa, from your mailbox to a local drop-off site!
Places to drop off Santa letters:
- Appleton Parks and Rec Santa Mailbox: Facility and Grounds Operations Center, 1819 Witzke Blvd in Memorial Park, Appleton, from November 25 to December 11, 2022. There are three options to get a letter back from Santa.
- The North Pole in Chilton: Drop off letters for Santa during your North Pole visit!
- Green Bay Botanical Garden: Drop off a Santa letter any night that you visit this amazing Green Bay holiday light installation.
Santa on a Train
Santa visits with some of the passengers on the train at the Polar Express event nights at the National Railroad Museum in Green Bay and is available to visit after the ride. Tickets sell out quickly each summer, but you might be able to pick some up if you keep an eye on Facebook. Don’t forget to mark your calendar to watch for the tickets to be on sale next July!
The Mid-Continent Railway Museum has two weekends of Train Rides with Old Saint Nick! Santa takes time to visit with each family on a 7-mile round-trip ride that lasts 55 minutes while. his elves spread Christmas cheer with small gifts for children onboard.
Santa Floats
Not up and close, but still really fun and special! Santa makes his way through Neenah, Menasha, Fox Crossing, Greenville, Hortonville, and New London with a Fire and Rescue escort by float each December—we’ve got all of the details you need to catch a float.
Parades
Santa sure is busy! You can also find him at a Christmas Parade—between November 19 and December 6, there are 8 holiday parades happening around the Fox Cities, including the largest nighttime Christmas parade in the Midwest, the 51st Annual Downtown Appleton Christmas Parade!
You can also find Santa at other locations throughout the Fox Valley here!
