Last December, a family doing everything at Main Street Delaware's "Home for the Holidays" weekend still had to pay twice. A horse-drawn carriage ride cost $2 a person, and a team in the Great Gingerbread Build-Off paid $25 to register. This year both are free. Every event on the Dec. 4 to 6 weekend now costs nothing to attend, and sponsors pick up the bills. Main Street Delaware's Christmas in Downtown page puts it plainly next to the carriage listing: "free this year!"
The change gives the weekend a different budget, and it also moves a few things around. The carriages board somewhere new, the tree lighting starts half an hour later, and the one December event that still sells tickets now has a different host.
What Last Year Cost, and What Changed
The Delaware Gazette's 2025 preview is the baseline. It covered Main Street's ninth "Home for the Holidays," which ran Dec. 5 to 7. Set next to this year's schedule, the differences look like this:
| 2025 | 2026 | |
|---|---|---|
| Weekend dates | Dec. 5 to 7 | Dec. 4 to 6 |
| Carriage ride cost | $2 per person, free for kids 6 and under | Free |
| Carriage boarding | HQ, 1 W. Winter St. | Strand Theatre, 28 E. Winter St. |
| Carriage nights | Dec. 5, 12 and 19 | Dec. 4 and 11 |
| Tree lighting remarks | 6:30 p.m. | 7 p.m. |
| Gingerbread Build-Off entry | $25 | Free, basic kit included |
| Dash for Dasher start | Fresh Start Cafe & Bakery | COhatch |
Some of the money is still there. It just moved. The Build-Off's People's Choice Award still goes to the gingerbread house that collects the most monetary donations, and those donations support Main Street Delaware, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit. The sponsor list behind the Build-Off grew a lot too. Main Street names fifteen sponsors this year, including Pathways Financial Credit Union, COhatch, Consolidated Cooperative, The Modern Maid, TTM Mechanical and Scioto Title. The Gazette named six for 2025.
Kemba Financial Credit Union, Performance Delaware and Artomotive now cover the carriage rides.
Friday, Dec. 4, Carries Most of the Weekend
With nothing to buy, the only real question is timing, and Friday packs in more than the other two days. It's also December's First Friday, sponsored by Suburban Natural Gas. In order:
- 5 p.m. Free skating opens behind the Delaware Welcome Center, 20 E. William St., and runs until 9 p.m. Snappy's Automotive and The Mason Foundation provide it. Last year was the rink's first in this spot.
- 5 to 6:30 p.m. Santa photo appointments begin at the Welcome Center.
- 6 p.m. The main stage opens with local music groups and community vendors, and the free carriage rides start boarding at the Strand. Both run until 9 p.m.
- 7 p.m. Remarks and the countdown, then the tree lights at the corner of William and Sandusky streets. Tree lighting sponsors include Hiram Masonic Lodge, COhatch, First Commonwealth Bank, The Roesch Family, Planet Marca, Destination Delaware, The Modern Maid and Delaware Pediatric Dentistry.
- 7:30 p.m. A few blocks west, Ohio Wesleyan's free One-Act Play Festival starts in the Studio Theatre at Chappelear Drama Center, 45 Rowland Ave. OWU asks for reservations.
- 8 p.m. Santa walk-ins open at the Welcome Center until 9 p.m.
Because the rink and Santa share the Welcome Center and the tree sits a block away at William and Sandusky, Friday's main events are all within a short walk. The Strand is close by on East Winter Street. Last year, carriages boarded outside HQ on the west side of Sandusky. This year they leave from the theater on the east side, the same side as the rink and Santa.
Carriages run on one fewer night this year. In 2025 they ran three Fridays. In 2026 there are two: Dec. 4 from 6 to 9 p.m. and Dec. 11 from 6 to 8 p.m. If you can't make tree-lighting night, Dec. 11 is the only other chance.
Saturday Runs Through COhatch
On Saturday, Dec. 5, most of the action is at COhatch, 18 E. William St., right next to the Welcome Center.
Dash for Dasher starts there at 11 a.m. and runs until 1 p.m. Kids follow Santa's clues around downtown to find his missing reindeer. It's free, and voluntary donations are accepted. Sponsors include the Delaware County District Library, Nationwide Children's Hospital, AudioNova, Little Buckeye Learning Center and Delaware Pediatric Dentistry. Last year the first clue came from Fresh Start Cafe & Bakery on North Sandusky. This year the hunt starts at COhatch.
Skating keeps going behind the Welcome Center. From 1 to 3 p.m. it's for kids 10 and under, who can learn to skate with the WarCats hockey team. Open skating follows from 3 to 5 p.m.
The Great Gingerbread Build-Off, now in its third year, starts at 3:30 p.m. Teams get three hours to build, and judging begins at 7:15 p.m. Free registration includes a basic gingerbread house kit. Builders bring their own base, no larger than 20 by 20 inches, plus any extra candy, sprinkles or glitter they want. Guest judges award first, second and third place. Registration runs through Main Street.
Santa has walk-in hours from 11 a.m. to noon and appointments from noon to 3 p.m.
Sunday's Parade, From the Curb
Sunday starts with open skating from 1 to 5 p.m. At 6 p.m. the Light the Night Christmas Parade leaves Mingo Park, 500 E. Lincoln Ave., heads down Sandusky Street and ends at Wilmer Street. Modern Woodmen–The Denney Agency and the Delaware Eagles sponsor it.
The parade registration rules for entrants also tell families what to expect from the curb:
- Every entry has to preregister.
- Because it's a 6 p.m. parade, no walking entrants are allowed except marching bands.
- Floats have to run with parking lights on.
- Entrants can't throw candy or anything else.
So small kids at the curb won't be collecting candy. They'll be watching lit-up floats roll down Sandusky in the dark.
Santa Stays Through Dec. 19
After the opening weekend, Santa keeps Friday and Saturday hours at the Welcome Center. Photos by For His Glory Photography are free and come with one print and a digital copy. Hiram Masonic Lodge and Willowbrook Christian Communities sponsor the visits. Appointments book through Main Street.
| Date | Walk-in | Appointments only |
|---|---|---|
| Fri., Dec. 4 | 8 to 9 p.m. | 5 to 6:30 p.m. |
| Sat., Dec. 5 | 11 a.m. to noon | Noon to 3 p.m. |
| Fri., Dec. 11 | 5 to 6 p.m. | 6 to 8 p.m. |
| Sat., Dec. 12 | 11 a.m. to noon | Noon to 3 p.m. |
| Fri., Dec. 18 | 5 to 6 p.m. | 6 to 8 p.m. |
| Sat., Dec. 19 | 11 a.m. to noon | Noon to 3 p.m. |
Friday, Dec. 11 pairs well with a carriage ride. Santa walk-ins start at 5 p.m., and the carriages leave the Strand from 6 to 8 p.m.
The Shopping Card and the One Ticket
Main Street's Season of Shopping starts Nov. 21. Pick up a card at any of the December activities, mark off your downtown purchases, and turn it in at The Greater Gouda by Dec. 23. Completed cards go into a drawing for a grand prize of gift certificates and items from downtown businesses. Delaware Source, the City of Delaware Economic Development Department and COhatch sponsor it.
The only paid event on Main Street's December calendar comes a week after the big weekend. On Saturday, Dec. 12, the Delaware County Historical Society hosts the holiday trolley tours, with departures at 1, 2:30 and 4 p.m. Tickets are $25 per person. Guides in vintage clothing tell the stories behind downtown buildings such as St. Mary Catholic Church, Byxbe House, Old City Hall and Williams Opera House, and St. Peter's Episcopal Church. Hot drinks, cookies and music come first. In 2024 and 2025, Main Street promoted the tours with the Historical Society as a partner. This year Main Street lists the Society as the host.
If you want more than the trolley tour that afternoon, the Richard M. Ross Art Museum at 60 S. Sandusky St. has Ardine Nelson's "City Center" and the OWU Fine Arts Faculty Exhibition up through Dec. 18.
Here at MORE Ohio Team, we like having the whole downtown Delaware season on one page, and we're glad to help you plan around it. If you have questions about Delaware's downtown blocks or the streets around them, reach out and Work With Us. Josh will be glad to talk it through.
