Christmas in the Village runs from Nov. 28 to Christmas Eve this year. Most of its events get a night or a weekend to themselves. Saturday, Dec. 5 is different. Four events with four different organizers are on the calendar that day, and three of them have hours that fit together tightly in and around the brick Main Street. The Winterfest Open-Air Maker's Market closes at noon. Santa arrives at the Santa House at 11. The Holiday Home Tour runs from 10 to 4. Arriving at 11:30 leaves the market with half an hour to go.
Four events, four organizers, one Saturday
Here is how the day stacks up, with details from each organizer's own listing.
- Winterfest Open-Air Maker's Market, 9 a.m. to noon. Zionsville Parks & Recreation runs the market on the brick Main Street as part of its Winterfest program. The season guide lists local makers and artists, food trucks, seasonal music and carolers.
- Zionsville Show Choirs Holiday Home Tour, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. This is the 15th annual tour, with six decorated homes. Tickets are $25, and children 10 and under get in free.
- Selfies with Santa, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Santa and Mrs. Claus are at the Santa House at Cedar and Main, according to the Zionsville Chamber of Commerce. Families take their own photos on a phone or camera, and Chamber volunteers are there to help.
- Tri Kappa Santa Breakfast. Zionsville Tri Kappa has the breakfast on Dec. 5, and tickets went on sale Nov. 1.
The home tour was historically called Carol of Homes. Zionsville Community High School show choir students sing holiday solos and small-group numbers inside the homes. The six hours are the longest window of the day. The market's three hours are the shortest.
Why the market goes first
Of the three Main Street events, the market closes earliest, and it closes right when the Santa House is getting busy. Santa opens at 11, an hour before the market ends. Starting at the market at 9 or 10 leaves time to walk to Cedar and Main before noon. Waiting until after Santa leaves very little market time.
The home tour has the most room. It runs until 4, and the homes are private residences away from the Main Street event area, so it fits naturally after lunch. Advance tickets are sold at Fivethirty Home, Great Lakes Ace Hardware and Village Mattress, or by a show choir student. On tour day, tickets are cash-only at the homes. Buying ahead at one of those shops saves stopping at an ATM in the middle of the afternoon.
The breakfast is the one event that requires a ticket. If it's on the family's list, the Tri Kappa site is the place to start, and the rest of the morning can be planned around it.
Put together, the day looks like this:
- Before 9: coffee or breakfast in the Village
- 9 to 11: Maker's Market on Main Street
- 11 to noon: Santa House at Cedar and Main, before the market closes
- Lunch: Main Street or Pine Street
- Afternoon: Holiday Home Tour, last entry before 4
Breakfast before the market, and a coffee map that changed this year
The Village's morning options look different than they did last December. Current in Zionsville reported in July that Our Place Coffee would close for good on Aug. 8. Owners Paul and Bri Deinlein had opened it in 2022. A few blocks south, Bub's Burgers & Ice Cream at 620 S. Main St. announced it would close its Zionsville location Nov. 1 after 13 years, Current reported Oct. 30. Fox59 also covered the announcement.
These spots are within a short walk of the market and list Saturday hours that work for a 9 a.m. start:
| Spot | Address | Saturday hours | Fits the day as |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gables Bagels | 270 S. Main St. | 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. | Earliest open, before the market |
| Rosie's Place | 10 S. Main St. | 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. | Sit-down breakfast near the north end of Main |
| Cafe Patachou on Pine | 95 E. Pine St. | 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. | Breakfast or a late lunch after Santa |
| My Sugar Pie | 40 E. Pine St. | 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. | Pie to take home before the tour |
| The Baker's House | 365 S. Main St. | 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. | Opens with the market, so reserve bread |
| Cobblestone | 160 S. Main St. | Brunch 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. | Lunch between Santa and the tour |
The Baker's House opens at 9, the same hour as the market, and its visit page says a reservation is the best way to make sure bread is still there. On a Saturday when Main Street is already full by mid-morning, reserving ahead makes sense. Roasted in the Village at 27 E. Pine St. is the other coffee stop on Pine.
For driving in, the season guide lists free public lots at the northwest corner of Main and Sycamore and the southwest corner of Main and Pine, plus street parking and other public lots around the Village. Both lots sit at the Main Street end of the day's walking route.
How Dec. 5 compares with the rest of the season
The other weekends spread out more, and most of their big events happen away from Main Street. That's why Dec. 5 is the day to plan ahead.
| Date | Event | Where |
|---|---|---|
| Nov. 20 to Dec. 19 | Teeny Tiny Art Market, original works 6 by 6 inches or smaller | SullivanMunce Cultural Center |
| Sat., Nov. 28, 5 to 6:30 p.m. | Holiday Parade & Tree Lighting | Eagle Elementary to Old National Bank on S. Main |
| Sun., Nov. 29 | Selfies with Santa, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. | Santa House, Cedar and Main |
| Dec. 1, 3 and 8, 7 p.m. | ZCHS orchestra, band and choral holiday concerts | STAR Bank Performing Arts Center |
| Thu., Dec. 10, 5 to 9 p.m. | Ladies Night | Village shops |
| Dec. 11 to 13 | Central Indiana Dance Ensemble, The Nutcracker | STAR Bank PAC |
| Sun., Dec. 13, noon to 4 p.m. | An Afternoon with Santa | The Red Barn at Traders Point Creamery |
| Thu., Dec. 17, 5 to 9 p.m. | Christmas Crawl, 21 and older | Main Street |
| Dec. 18 to 20 | Metropolitan Youth Ballet, The Nutcracker | STAR Bank PAC |
Parade night on Nov. 28 opens the season. The Chamber's listing has the parade starting at 5 p.m. at Eagle Elementary and ending at Old National Bank around 6, with Santa and Mrs. Claus lighting the tree right after. Main Street is closed to cars during the parade, and parking near the route fills up fast. That's a different kind of crowd from Dec. 5. Everyone arrives at one time for one event and goes home after the tree is lit.
Dec. 13 is the other packed date, but it's spread around town. Morning Dove Therapeutic Riding Center hosts An Afternoon with Santa at Traders Point Creamery, 9101 Moore Road. Tickets are $25 after Oct. 31 and $30 at the door, and children 3 and younger are free. The event includes cookie and ornament decorating, face painting and a hot chocolate bar. The same evening, Zionsville Presbyterian Church at 4775 W. 116th St. holds Back to Bethlehem, a 30-minute walk-through with timed entry at $5 per person and no more than $20 per family. The Central Indiana Dance Ensemble's final Nutcracker matinee is at 2 that afternoon. Each of those events is at its own venue with its own parking.
The two Thursday nights are shopping evenings. Ladies Night on Dec. 10 runs from 5 to 9 with specials at participating Village businesses. The Christmas Crawl on Dec. 17 is for ages 21 and older and has an ugly sweater contest at 8 p.m. at participating locations. The Nutcrackers are on back-to-back weekends at the STAR Bank PAC, 1000 Mulberry St. The Central Indiana Dance Ensemble charges $30 for adults and $20 for students 17 and younger, and holds a Sugar Plum Fairy Dessert Party at 12:30 before each matinee. The Metropolitan Youth Ballet charges $30 for adults and $25 for children, seniors and military. Tickets for the high school concerts are on the STAR Bank PAC calendar, and sales for the orchestra concert open Nov. 18.
Getting the Dec. 5 tickets lined up this month
The Tri Kappa breakfast is the only Dec. 5 event that requires a ticket, and those went on sale Nov. 1. The home tour sells tickets at the door, cash only, so advance tickets from Fivethirty Home, Great Lakes Ace Hardware or Village Mattress keep the afternoon simple. The market and the Santa House just need you to be there during their hours, and for the market that means before noon. If one more stop fits, the Teeny Tiny Art Market at SullivanMunce Cultural Center is open through Dec. 19 and sits outside the Main Street event area.
If a walk down Main Street this December gets you wondering what your own home in Zionsville is worth, The Wilson Team can give you a straight answer based on appraisal-grade pricing, without any pressure to act. Get your instant home valuation, and enjoy the parade.
