Interurban Car No. 55 sits in Heritage Park on Poplar Way. It is one of six electric railcars that ran the Seattle–Everett line from 1910 to 1939. On Sunday, November 29, the car will be open to visitors, Santa will be in the cottage next door, and admission will cost nothing. The park's buildings usually open only on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays, so this is a Sunday afternoon you won't find there most weeks.
That Sunday is the hinge of Lynnwood's 2026 holiday calendar. The first half of the season happens along 196th Street SW and at Alderwood mall, with craft tables, a chocolate shop opening and Santa photos by appointment. After Thanksgiving, the season moves to the oldest ground in town and to a working teaching farm. On December 12 it returns to 196th for one last Saturday. If you plan the weeks in that order, you can catch both halves without crowding them into one weekend.
The season at a glance
| Date | Event | Where | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Starting Sat., Nov. 7 | Santa photos | Alderwood mall, Center Court near Macy's | Booking calendar or walk-up |
| Thu.–Sat., Nov. 12–14 | 55th Annual Holiday Boutique Arts and Craft Show | Lynnwood Event Center | See event listing |
| Sat., Nov. 14, 10 a.m. | Läderach grand opening | Alderwood mall | First 200 guests get a giveaway |
| Sun., Nov. 29, noon–3 p.m. | Cookies with Santa | Heritage Cottage, 19903 Poplar Way | Free |
| Early December | Christmas on the Farm | Vaughn's Farm, 2503 191st Pl. SW | Check the farm's calendar |
| Sat., Dec. 12, 9 a.m.–3 p.m. | Jingle Bell Breakfast & Craft Fair | Lynnwood Event Center | Breakfast ticketed, craft fair free |
Mid-November belongs to 196th Street
The season opens on Saturday, November 7. That's the first day on Alderwood mall's Santa booking calendar, with appointments starting at 11 a.m. Santa sits at Center Court near Macy's. Two details on the booking page shape the visit. Walk-ups are welcome daily until closing, and each 15-minute appointment slot is booked for several families, so a reservation still means some waiting. The mall's regular hours are 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Sunday. Holiday-week hours can change, so check the mall's visit page before planning around Thanksgiving weekend.
The following week brings the busiest stretch of the first half. The Lynnwood Event Center hosts the 55th Annual Holiday Boutique Arts and Craft Show from Thursday, November 12, through Saturday, November 14. Hours run 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Thursday and Friday, then close earlier on Saturday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. The listing promises regional crafts, décor, gifts and food items. A show that has reached its 55th year is older than most of the buildings around it on 196th.
Saturday, November 14, has more going on than any other day this month. On top of the boutique's final day, Alderwood mall is hosting a grand opening for Läderach at 10 a.m., with a giveaway for the first 200 guests. Santa is in Center Court that weekend too. Since the boutique closes at 5 p.m. that day, you could:
- Line up at Läderach before 10 a.m. if you want a shot at the giveaway.
- Head to the Event Center for the boutique while the craft tables are still stocked.
- Go back to the mall for a Santa photo in the afternoon, using the walk-up option if no appointment fits.
If Saturday crowds aren't for you, the boutique's two weekday evenings with a 7 p.m. close are the quieter alternative.
The Sunday after Thanksgiving goes back to 1917
Heritage Park explains why the season changes character after Thanksgiving. In 1917, the Puget Mill Company developed a 30-acre demonstration farm on this ground, with a hatchery, demonstration gardens and orchards. Prospective buyers came here to learn how to raise chickens on five-acre parcels. According to the City of Lynnwood, Alderwood Manor formed in 1919 and grew into a major egg-producing community. The Lynnwood-Alderwood Manor Heritage Association records that during the Depression, falling egg prices led the company to close the farm and sell much of the land as one-acre ranchettes.
Several of that era's buildings now stand together at Heritage Park: the Wickers Building, the Superintendent's Cottage, the Humble House, the Water Tower and Car No. 55. The Wickers Building dates to 1919. It was Alderwood Manor's first mercantile and post office, and today it holds a museum and the Snohomish County Visitors Information Center. Upstairs, the Wickers Exhibit recreates rooms to show what early Alderwood Manor life looked like.
Cookies with Santa runs Sunday, November 29, from noon to 3 p.m. at Heritage Cottage, 19903 Poplar Way. Santa attends as a guest of the Lynnwood-Alderwood Manor Heritage Association, the event is free, and the Interurban Trolley and the Wickers Building museum are open during those hours. Explore Lynnwood's listing suggests bringing your own camera for the Santa photo. It also says all the buildings and the trolley are ADA accessible.
It's also the cheapest Santa photo of the season, and the setting is very different from Center Court. At Alderwood, your photo comes from a timed slot. At Heritage Park, you get Santa, an interurban railcar that carried riders between Seattle and Everett, and a 1919 general store in one free afternoon. The park grounds are open dawn to dusk every day, so you can also take a walk among the buildings before or after the event.
Early December stays on the farm
Lynnwood started as a poultry colony, and a working farm still hosts one of its December traditions. Vaughn's Farm, at 2503 191st Place SW, describes itself as a family teaching farm. It focuses on food, animals, plants, seasonal picking and hands-on learning. The farm opens to the public only for events and rents its grounds year-round for field trips, parties and private gatherings. In a July 2026 profile, The Everett Herald described the farm's public season as running from Easter to Christmas. Christmas on the Farm is the event that closes that season.
The farm first held the event in 2020, Lynnwood Times reported after the fifth edition last December. Its coverage described lights, a bonfire, cocoa, donuts, children's activities and animal encounters. Explore Lynnwood's listing names two evenings, December 5 and 6, from 5 to 8 p.m., without giving a year. It mentions light displays, fire pits, photo spots, Santa photos, hot cocoa and food, and lists a $15 cost. The farm sets its own dates and sells its own tickets, so confirm this year's evenings and price on Vaughn's Farm's annual calendar before you go. Past editions have been ticketed per guest, and infants have counted as guests.
By early December, this is the season's third Santa, in a third kind of setting. The mall photo is indoors and scheduled, the Heritage Park photo comes with a museum visit, and the farm photo is outdoors after dark beside a fire pit. Each costs differently and suits a different group, and you can mix them across the season without trying to fit everything into one Saturday.
December 12 brings the season back to 196th
The calendar returns to the Event Center one more time. The Jingle Bell Breakfast & Craft Fair runs Saturday, December 12, at The District, inside the Lynnwood Event Center at 3711 196th St. SW. The event has two parts with different hours and costs:
- Ticketed breakfast and family program: 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.
- Craft fair: 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., free to browse.
- Breakfast tickets: $12 general admission, $7 for ages 12 and under, or $30 for a family bundle of up to four, plus fees.
The family bundle pays off with a third ticket. Two adults with one child would pay $31 at single prices, while two adults with two children would pay $38, compared with $30 for the bundle. Because the craft fair stays open two hours after breakfast ends, you can skip the breakfast entirely and come by in the early afternoon to shop for free.
The Holiday Boutique opens the season's shopping in mid-November, and this fair closes it on December 12, in the same building. Between them come a free Sunday afternoon at the trolley on November 29 and the farm's lights in early December.
At Team NSRG, we keep up with what's happening in the Lynnwood neighborhoods we work in, from the Heritage Park trolley to the newest shop at Alderwood. If you're thinking about where your own holidays might be in a year or two, schedule a consultation and we'll talk through the parts of town you already know best.
