At 6:02 p.m. on Friday, November 27, Santa is scheduled to pull up at Kiwanis Park. Two hours later he reaches Kellogg Park, and around 8:15 p.m. he helps light the holiday tree. Between those two stops are eight more on the 2026 route map from the Plymouth Downtown Development Authority. Each stop has its own scheduled minute, and the map asks people to be patient if trains or traffic hold him up.

Before 2020, Plymouth's Santa night had one stop. The neighborhood park visits began that year as a temporary fix, and the city never switched back. What changed later is the order: in 2020 the night started downtown, and in 2026 it ends there.

A One-Year Workaround That Stayed

Santa's arrival used to happen at Kellogg Park. The City of Plymouth's November 2020 Plymouth Pulse newsletter described the usual version this way:

"While Santa's arrival by fire truck is typically held in Kellogg Park, where he accepts the Key to the City and greets hundreds of Plymouth families, this year Santa will be social distancing by visiting Plymouth children at their neighborhood park."

That year, Santa boarded the Plymouth Fire Department's ladder truck at City Hall at 5:45 p.m. He went to Kellogg Park first, received the Key to the City and lit the tree. Then he rode out to nine neighborhood parks: Fairground, Lions Club, Wilcox, Garden Club, Rotary, Hough, Kiwanis, Starkweather and Knights of Columbus. He spoke to children from the truck, and families could follow him on a Santa Tracker on the city's Facebook page.

In January 2021, a City Commission strategic-planning document reviewed that year's changes. It recorded that 2020 special events had been changed because of COVID, and that Santa's Arrival had been changed to visits at every neighborhood park.

The park visits kept going after that. For 2025, the City of Plymouth's November 20 newsletter said Santa's City of Plymouth Parade would start at Kiwanis Park just after 5:30 p.m. on Friday, November 28 and continue to 10 different city parks and areas. By then the event had a parade name and a published route. Kellogg Park had also moved from the first stop to the last.

The 2026 Route, Stop by Stop

This is the schedule as the DDA published it on its 2026 route map. All times are scheduled arrivals on Friday, November 27.

Compared with 2020, three things have changed.

The start is later. The 2025 parade left Kiwanis Park just after 5:30 p.m. In 2026 the first stop is at 6:02, and the DDA newsletter gives 6 p.m. as the start.

One stop is different. Knights of Columbus Park was on the 2020 list. The 2026 map doesn't include it and adds New England Village as the second stop. The DDA newsletter describes the route as "10 City parks," and the map lists New England Village without the word "park."

The order is close to the 2020 list read backward. The 2020 announcement named Fairground, Lions Club, Wilcox, Garden Club, Rotary and Hough in that order. From Hough onward, the 2026 route runs through those same parks in reverse and finishes at Fairground before turning toward Kellogg Park. The 2020 night started downtown and ended in the neighborhoods. The 2026 night starts in the neighborhoods and ends downtown.

Since each park has its own arrival minute, a family near Hough Park and a family near Fairground Park are expecting Santa almost an hour apart. A family that wants both its own park and the tree lighting has time to see him at one and then walk or drive to Kellogg Park for 8 p.m. The map's warning about trains is a practical one, since crossings can delay any stop after the first.

Kellogg Park Starts at 7

Kellogg Park isn't empty while Santa is out on the route. The DDA's November 2026 newsletter says holiday activities in the park begin around 7 p.m. while people wait for Santa to arrive. He is due around 8 p.m. and helps light the Kellogg Park holiday tree around 8:15 p.m.

The Walk of Trees opens the same night. The Plymouth Community Chamber of Commerce presents it and Bank of Ann Arbor sponsors it. It runs in Kellogg Park from November 27 through Monday, January 4, 2027, and the trees can be viewed around the clock. If you're waiting downtown between 7 and 8, you can see the decorated trees on their first night while Santa is still making his way across town.

When the stop at Kellogg Park was the only stop, everyone came downtown for it. Now that it is the last stop, the people there at 8 p.m. include families who already saw Santa at their own park and came downtown afterward for the tree lighting.

The Rest of the Season Happens Around the Same Park

The parade is one of several holiday events between mid-November and mid-December, and most of them take place in or near Kellogg Park.

1. Friday, November 13: Red Kettle Kickoff and Main Street Boulevard Lighting. The Salvation Army's annual kickoff starts in Kellogg Park at 6:30 p.m. At 7 p.m. the DDA lights new holiday décor on the Main Street median. There will be complimentary hot chocolate and cookies, and the first 100 guests get a free gift from the Salvation Army. If you bring children's toys or nonperishable food, you can enter a drawing for gift cards from local businesses. The PCEP Choir and the Salvation Army Brass Band are scheduled to perform.
2. Friday, November 27: Santa's City of Plymouth Parade, the tree lighting and the first night of the Walk of Trees.
3. Saturday, November 28: Christmas Farmers Market, 4 to 8 p.m. It is the same day as Small Business Saturday on the downtown calendar.
4. Weekends from November 28 through December 20: Santa at the Plymouth Historical Museum. At 155 S. Main St., Santa will be in the museum's heated caboose from 1 to 4 p.m. on November 28 and 29 and December 5, 6, 12, 13, 19 and 20. Thanks to sponsors, admission is free on those dates.
5. December 11 and 12: Christmas in Plymouth. Christmas in Plymouth is a free downtown festival. Hours are 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Friday and 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Saturday. It includes horse-drawn carriage rides, the Mistletoe Market, live music and caroling, the Candy Cane Corner kids' zone, a Gingerbread Rock display and free downtown transportation. Carriage ride tickets go on sale Black Friday at 10 a.m., and the site says rides sell out.

The museum is also showing "A Red Ryder Christmas Story" from 1 to 4 p.m. on Wednesdays, Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays. The exhibit includes scenes from A Christmas Story and the history of Daisy Manufacturing Company, the maker of the Daisy BB gun, which was headquartered in Plymouth until 1958. The museum says each showing adds new pieces alongside returning favorites, including the Santa mountain scene. It is closed Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Day and New Year's Day.

Kellogg Park Is Due for a Redesign

The streets around Kellogg Park are part of the Plymouth DDA's long-range DTPForward streetscape project. At its October meeting, the DDA board approved hiring SmithGroup to find and apply for state and federal grants. That money will be needed for the larger phases, which cover Main Street, the areas around Kellogg Park, Ann Arbor Trail and Forest Avenue.

The proposed design came out of a year-long community engagement process that began in 2025. It includes wider sidewalks, new and improved crosswalks, removal of the on-street bike lanes, a multi-modal path down Main Street, a curbless street design in areas around Kellogg Park, replacement street trees and 60 to 80 more on-street parking spaces. Construction is expected to start in 2027 on parts of Harvey Street. Details are on the DTPForward project page.

None of this affects the 2026 holiday season. The 2026 parade will end at Kellogg Park as it stands now, at 8 p.m., with the tree lighting around 8:15. The latest information is on the DDA's Santa's City of Plymouth Parade page.

At The Faeth Team, we follow Plymouth's calendar closely enough to know which park Santa reaches at 6:56 and which one he reaches at 7:50. If you're wondering how a home near one of those stops would do on the market, start with a free home valuation and we'll go through the local details with you.