Your Guide to Watching the 2016 Edmonton Santa’s Parade of Lights

This year, there’s a Santa parade coming to Edmonton and you’re going to be able to see the parade of lights in the evening, creating a beautiful holiday scene of Christmas lights down Jasper Ave on November 19th, 2016 at 5pm and one of our many free things to do with kids in Edmonton during the holidays.

The Edmonton Santa Parade Location | The Santa parade isn’t in the morning, so you don’t have to worry about getting up early. The parade begins at 5:00 just in time for you to enjoy the gorgeous light show as part of the 1.75km parade that takes between 30-40 minutes from start to finish. The parade starts at Jasper Ave and 99 Street. Here’s the map:

Where to Grab Dinner | Since the parade ends at dinner time, you might as well have dinner downtown. At Churchill square, there are going to be food trucks. If you’re not into eating outside or if the kids get cold during the parade, you can check out some of our favorite places to grab a burger with kids downtown or check out one of our favorite kid-friendly pizza places. For little kids that are walking, and not being pushed in a stroller, we like to stick closer to the end of the parade route – and closer to the end activities. Don’t forget to grab some cash for the food trucks, if you’re going that route!

Don’t forget to bring treats and hot chocolate to stay warm while you’re waiting for the parade to begin.

Bring Your Letters to Santa | Kids can bring their letters to Santa and meet Santa and deliver the letters after the parade has finished, at Churchill Square. You can even download a letter template for Santa, here. As a bonus, getting the Santa letters out of the way mean that you can finish up that shopping.

Don’t Forget Glow Sticks | The parade of lights is much more fun when you’ve got some lights of your own. We like to bring red and green glow sticks to use as zipper pulls on the kids snowsuits (Yes, even though it’s going to be around 0 degrees, we dress the kids in snowsuit to make sure they stay toasty warm throughout the parade). You can get glow sticks from the dollar store – a must have addition to the festivities.

Tip: make sure that you’re dressed warm too. You’re not going to enjoy it if you’re freezing the entire time. Bring mittens and a hat for yourself, and dress in layers to keep in the warmth since you’re going to be standing for a half hour or longer.

Grab a Good Spot | There are many great lookout spots available along the route, but we like to partner up with friends to watch the parade to make sure we get the best spot. Having a plan where three or four families are going to the parade together and seeing who gets the best spot (or who gets there first) and joining the family is a great way to get a spot where the kids are going to be able to have a great vantage point of the parade. Choose a spot where you’re going to feel comfortable with the kids standing in front where parents can hang back and enjoy the holiday feel.

Start out at Churchill Square, that’s where we watched the parade last year. Here, you’re going to be close to the food trucks and parking options, or skip the parking and take the LRT.

Want to get the details about the parade? Visit www.edmontonsantaparade.com.