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Christmas Parades 2026: Holiday Parades by Date

Written by the USA Fest Bot team with AI help. · Published · Updated

A rescue truck strung with colored holiday lights rolls down a dark street in a nighttime parade
A rescue truck in holiday lights, Springdale, Utah, 2022 (not one of the parades below). Photo: NPS / Jonathan Shafer, Wikimedia Commons, Public domain, cropped.

This guide lists 66 Christmas, Thanksgiving and New Year’s parades in 41 states and Washington, D.C., for 2026, grouped by date, with links to each listing and the organizer’s website. The busiest day is Saturday, December 5, with 15 parades. For more, browse our parades hub and filter by state or ZIP.

Tree lightings that come with a parade are in Christmas Tree Lightings 2026, and Veterans Day parades have their own guide. USA Fest Bot doesn’t sell tickets.

Dates can change, so check the event’s website before you go.

Before Thanksgiving: November 19–24

America’s Hometown Thanksgiving Parade steps off at Plymouth Rock and is billed as the only historically accurate chronological Thanksgiving parade, with floats for each century from the 17th to the 21st. Chicago’s Magnificent Mile Lights Festival parades down Michigan Avenue, with fireworks over the DuSable Bridge. Raleigh and Mooresville, North Carolina, have both paraded since 1944; Mooresville marches on the Tuesday before Thanksgiving.

Thanksgiving Eve and Thanksgiving Day: November 25–26

The Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade reaches its 100th edition with 100 inflatable elements, and Felix the Cat, the first character balloon in 1927, returns. Detroit’s parade covers three miles of Woodward Avenue, Chicago’s grew from a 1934 State Street Christmas parade, and El Paso’s has run since 1936. Charlotte’s Thanksgiving Eve Parade, a tradition since 1947, steps off after dark the night before. See also Thanksgiving events.

Black-and-white photo of a giant Felix the Cat balloon floating above a crowd in hats on a city street in 1927
Felix the Cat at the 1927 Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. Photo: unknown photographer, Bill Smith collection, Wikimedia Commons, Public domain.

Thanksgiving weekend: November 27–29

On the Friday after Thanksgiving, the Waikiki Holiday Parade marches down torch-lit Kalakaua Avenue to honor Pearl Harbor survivors and veterans, and San Antonio floats its Holiday River Parade on the River Walk. In Mystic, Connecticut, Santa arrives by tugboat before the lighted boat parade. The Hollywood Christmas Parade, dating to 1928, closes the weekend on Sunday and collects toys for Toys for Tots.

Early December: December 1–4

In Holland, Michigan, more than 80 lighted entries escort Santa down 8th Street, through a downtown known for heated sidewalks. Knoxville’s parade dates to the first Santa Claus Parade up Gay Street in 1928, and on Kauai, Lights on Rice brings about 60 units and 3,000 performers to Rice Street in Lihue.

Two boats outlined in holiday lights cruise a wide river at dusk past a line of bare trees
The Christmas Ships Parade in Portland, Oregon, 2023. Photo: Masohpotato, Wikimedia Commons, CC0 1.0, cropped.

First weekend of December: December 5–6

This is the biggest parade weekend of the season. Denver’s 9NEWS Parade of Lights has drawn recent crowds topping 200,000, and Richmond’s Dominion Energy Christmas Parade draws more than 100,000. Sunnyside, Washington, lights up tractors and combines for what is billed as the oldest farm implement parade in the nation. Lebanon, Ohio, sends horse-drawn carriages through downtown twice, by daylight and by candlelight. In Alexandria, Virginia, Scottish clans in tartans march with pipe and drum bands, and on Sunday Rochester, Michigan, holds what is cited as the state’s largest Christmas parade.

Mid-December: December 10–20

Fort Lauderdale’s Winterfest Boat Parade covers 12 miles and takes about two and a half hours to pass one spot. Annapolis’s EYC Lights Parade began in 1981, when two members strung Christmas lights on their boat’s rigging and cruised the harbor singing carols. On land, Old Saybrook brings fife and drum corps from all over New England for its Torchlight Parade, and Memphis parades down Beale Street.

New Year’s parades: January 1–2

The Rose Parade fills Pasadena on New Year’s morning, moving about 2 1/2 miles per hour along a 5 1/2-mile route. Philadelphia’s Mummers Parade bills itself as the country’s oldest folk parade, with string bands that allow no brass, and Phoenix’s Fiesta Bowl Parade follows on January 2 with more than 3,000 participants.

Boat parades

Coastal and river towns trade floats for boats. Portland’s Christmas Ships Parade began in 1954 with one sailboat and now sends around 80 boats along the Columbia and Willamette rivers over many December nights. Savannah’s boats loop the river twice, The Wharf in Washington sends 60-plus boats along the Washington Channel, and Newport Beach circles its harbor every night from December 16 to 20.

Before you go

Most lighted parades start after dark, so dress warmly and get to the curb early. Charlotte and Albuquerque’s Twinkle Light Parade go on rain or shine. Houston and Hollywood sell reserved seats; Hollywood’s curbside viewing is open along most of its route. Greer, South Carolina, offers Sensory Safe Zone reservations for families who need a quieter spot, and Charlotte’s parade airs live on WCCB.

For more near you, filter parades or Christmas events by state or ZIP, or see holiday lights and Christmas markets. Missing a parade? Submit a listing.

Quick answers

When is the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade in 2026?

Thursday, November 26, 2026, in New York City. It is the parade’s 100th edition.

What is the busiest day for Christmas parades?

In this guide, Saturday, December 5, with 15 parades in one day.

USA Fest Bot is not affiliated with any event in this guide and does not sell tickets. Found a date that has changed? Send a correction.

Related on usafestbot: Christmas events · Thanksgiving & turkey trots · Parades · Holiday lights