Franklin Park's biggest holiday events start at the Ruby Street railroad crossing on Monday, November 23, and end on a Metra platform at 25th and Pacific on Saturday, December 19. A brightly lit freight train with a stage comes first. A train ride to Santa comes last. Most of what falls between belongs to the Park District and the Franklin Park Public Library, and it lands on dates that are easy to miss if you're only watching the Village calendar.
Here is the season in order, with registration deadlines included. For a few of these events, the deadline matters more than the date.
November 23: a stage rolls up to Ruby Street
The CPKC Holiday Train is due in Franklin Park at 5:30 PM on Monday, November 23, according to the Village of Franklin Park. CPKC's published U.S. route lists the stop from 5:30 to 6:00 PM on the south side of the Ruby Street railway crossing, north of Franklin Avenue. Magic! and MARIS are the performers.
Where Franklin Park falls on that route is the interesting part. The night before, November 22, the train plays Windsor, Ontario. The next U.S. stop on CPKC's published route is Franklin Park. The schedule's next Illinois shows come the following morning, in Pingree Grove at 9:00 AM and Byron at noon on November 24. NBC Chicago's rundown of the 2026 Chicago-area stops lists Franklin Park on November 23, then Pingree Grove and Gurnee on later dates. Anyone on the Franklin Park side of the metro who wants to see this train on a weeknight has exactly one half hour to do it.
The show is free. When the train stops, a door on the side of the car drops down to become a stage, and the band plays from there. Local food bank officials are part of the program. CPKC asks people to bring cash or non-perishable food. Food bank representatives collect donations at the stop, nothing is collected on board, and the money and food stay in the community. The 2026 tour kicks off November 19 and runs 182 stops, per CPKC's announcement.
On the practical side, 5:30 PM on a Monday the week of Thanksgiving means a workday dinner hour. Put a bag of canned goods by the door that morning and you won't be making a grocery run on the way.
The holiday calendar, in date order
The rest of the season is split between the Park District of Franklin Park and the library. Here is what's still ahead, on one page. Several of these require registration ahead of time.
| Date | Event | Where | Key detail |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nov. 1 through Sun., Dec. 6 | Letters from Santa and Holiday Friends | Library, 10311 Grand Ave. | Letters mail starting the second week of December |
| Nov. 2 through Fri., Dec. 4 | Wrapping paper and gift bag drop-off | Library, 10311 Grand Ave. | Supplies available Dec. 7–12 |
| Thu., Nov. 19, 6–6:45 PM | Tiny Traditions Ornament Night | Community Center, 9560 Franklin Ave. | Ages 1–3 with a parent, $5 at the door |
| Mon., Nov. 23, 5:30–6 PM | CPKC Holiday Train | Ruby Street crossing, north of Franklin Ave. | Free; bring cash or non-perishable food |
| Tue., Dec. 1, 6–9 PM | Jingle Bell Jamboree | Library, whole building | Santa, the Grinch, tree lighting |
| Thu., Dec. 3, from 6 PM | Village Tree Lighting and Winterfest | Village event | Santa hands out locally made candy |
| Sat., Dec. 5, 9–10:15 AM | Breakfast with Santa | North Park, 10040 Addison Ave. | Registration required for everyone |
| Sat., Dec. 5, 11 AM–noon | Pictures with Santa Paws | Centre at North Park, 10040 Addison Ave. | Five-minute photo session |
| Sat., Dec. 12 and 19, 2:30–4:45 PM | Holiday Train Express | Franklin Park Train Station, 25th and Pacific | $18 resident, $23 nonresident, ages 3 and up |
Two tree lightings, two days apart
Franklin Park lights two trees in the first week of December. The first is at the library, where the Jingle Bell Jamboree runs Tuesday, December 1, from 6 to 9 PM. The all-ages event takes over the entire building, with Santa and the Grinch, crafts, warm drinks, a performance by the Leyden High School choir, and a tree lighting. Three hours on a weeknight makes it the longest single holiday event on the calendar.
The second is the Village's annual Tree Lighting and Winterfest on Thursday, December 3, starting at 6 PM. This one has a detail you won't find in many suburbs. Butterfinger and Baby Ruth are made by Ferrero right here in Franklin Park, and Ferrero donates the candy Santa hands out to kids at the tree lighting. The company also donates candy for the Park District's Fall Fest Parade, and it has put $75 million into a Franklin Park facility that makes Nutella Peanut, according to the Village's October 2026 newsletter. The treat in a kid's mitten at Winterfest was made a few miles away.
Families who go to both get two Santa sightings before the first weekend of December, and the Park District adds two more that Saturday.
December 5: one Saturday at North Park
The Park District puts both of its Santa events at the same address on the same morning. Breakfast with Santa runs 9 to 10:15 AM at North Park, 10040 Addison Ave., and everyone attending has to register, adults included. Pictures with Santa Paws follows from 11 AM to noon at the Centre at North Park, same address. Registration gets you a five-minute photo session.
A family can do breakfast, take a break, and come back for photos without moving the car. The Centre at North Park was also the Park District's November 6 venue for Holiday Creations, a wooden-sign painting workshop for ages 15 and up.
December 12 and 19: the train to the North Pole
The big events end where they started, on the tracks. The Park District's Holiday Train Express leaves the Franklin Park Train Station at 25th and Pacific Avenue on Saturday, December 12, and again on Saturday, December 19, from 2:30 to 4:45 PM.
Here is how the ride works, per the Park District:
- The ride to the "North Pole" takes 20 minutes, and the North Pole is the Elgin Train Station.
- On the way out there are Christmas carols, cookies, hot chocolate and an interactive holiday story.
- In Elgin, Santa gets on the train, greets every child and hands out a treat.
- Santa rides back to Franklin Park with everyone.
Tickets are $18 for residents and $23 for nonresidents, ages 3 and up. Kids 2 and under ride free. Every passenger, adults included, has to register, and the Park District warns that spots fill fast. Parking is free on Saturdays in the Metra lot. Both Franklin Park and Elgin are stations on Metra's Milwaukee District West line, which makes this one of the few Santa visits in the area where the trip itself is the main event.
Put the two trains side by side and you have the shape of the season. The November train comes to Franklin Park on its way from Canada. The December train leaves from Franklin Park and brings Santa back with it.
The deadlines that close before the events do
A few programs end before most people start thinking about the holidays:
- Letters from Santa and Holiday Friends runs through Sunday, December 6, and letters go out by mail starting the second week of December. The program is based in the Saeli Community Room at 10311 Grand Ave.
- The wrapping paper exchange takes new or gently used wrapping paper and gift bags through Friday, December 4 at 7 PM. Anyone can take from the collected supplies Monday, December 7 through Saturday, December 12.
- Tiny Traditions Ornament Night is Thursday, November 19, 6 to 6:45 PM, at the Community Center, 9560 Franklin Ave. It's for ages 1 to 3 with a parent and costs $5 at the door.
That leftover roll of paper from last year can go to the library by December 4, and the gift bags someone else dropped off can come home with you the next week.
If a spring move is on your list, the stretch between the Ruby Street show and the last Santa train is when the prep work gets done. Floor plans, repairs and staging take weeks, and a listing that's ready in March was planned in December. Francesco Campobasso can walk you through what your Franklin Park home would sell for today and what to fix before the season changes. Get Your Free Home Valuation.
