At 6:30 on the evening of Friday, December 4, Santa's House closes for the night. The town's evening moves to the bandshell in Lititz Springs Park for Christmas in the Park, with local performers, a carol sing by candlelight, and the lighting of the Community Christmas Tree.
That one hour is the center of a December that, this year, looks a lot like every other year. That stands out in 2026. This is the same park that stopped hosting its big festivals this year, the change that sent Lititz's fall events looking for new homes. The holiday season came through because it's built from the kind of events the park still wants: short, small and close together. In Lititz's 270th year, the town's oldest institutions have added room instead of trimming it.
The ban was written with exceptions, and December is one of them
When ABC27 reported in August 2025 that the park board was suspending large events starting in 2026, the story laid out what was staying. The Independence Day Celebration continues because it's the park's only fundraiser and because the operating agreement with the Lititz Moravian Congregation, which owns the grounds, requires it. The agreement says the board:
"shall continue the annual Fourth of July celebration in the park in a manner and form which will be in keeping with the history and traditions of the celebrations and the community of Lititz."
The same report named the smaller events that continue: Kiwanis Kid's Day, Community Vespers services, the Lititz Farmers Market and Christmas in the Park. The ban has no end date. The board wants the park back in shape, with drainage work in the swales, repairs to bridges and stream walls, better walking paths and native plantings. WGAL reported that same August that the first work had included repaving the front entrance and taking down some trees.
That's why the holiday calendar holds together. Christmas in the Park is a one-hour Friday evening at the bandshell, with food vendors and restrooms on site. It's exactly the kind of event the board chose to keep.
Santa's House runs on a schedule built around the park
Santa comes back to Lititz on Black Friday, November 27, with an arrival event at Lititz Springs Park, 24 North Broad Street, from 2 to 2:30 p.m. The town's event listing promises holiday music and hints that "there may even be an extra special guest." After that, Santa's House keeps weekend hours, then adds weekday afternoons the week of Christmas. Donations from the 2026 season go to Lititz Springs Park, so the house and the park are raising money for the same place.
Here's the full 2026 schedule from the Santa's House page:
| Date | Hours |
|---|---|
| Friday, Nov. 27 | 2 to 7 p.m. |
| Saturday, Nov. 28 | 1 to 7 p.m. |
| Sunday, Nov. 29 | 2 to 5 p.m. |
| Friday, Dec. 4 | Closed for Christmas in the Park, 6:30 p.m. |
| Saturday, Dec. 5 | 2 to 7 p.m. |
| Sunday, Dec. 6 | 2 to 5 p.m. |
| Friday, Dec. 11 | 4 to 7 p.m. |
| Saturday, Dec. 12 | 2 to 7 p.m. |
| Sunday, Dec. 13 | 2 to 5 p.m. |
| Friday, Dec. 18 | 4 to 7 p.m. |
| Saturday, Dec. 19 | 2 to 7 p.m. |
| Sunday, Dec. 20 | 2 to 5 p.m. |
| Monday, Dec. 21 | 2 to 5 p.m. |
| Tuesday, Dec. 22 | 2 to 5 p.m. |
| Wednesday, Dec. 23 | 2 to 5 p.m. |
Opening weekend has the longest hours of the season, including the only 1 p.m. start, on Saturday, November 28. From December 11 on, Fridays don't open until 4 p.m., so a visit after school is easier than one at lunchtime. Sundays always close at 5. The last three days before Christmas run 2 to 5 each afternoon, which fits an after-school stop for last-minute wish lists, and the season ends Wednesday, December 23.
The second weekend moves to Church Square and East Main
Once the tree is lit, Lititz's December moves a few blocks east, to places tied to the town's Moravian beginnings. The Lititz Historical Foundation is billing its 2026 holiday events as a four-way anniversary: America's 250th, Lititz's 270th, the Foundation's 65th and the 30th year of the Mary Oehme Gardens.
Thursday, December 10: Community Christmas Carol Sing. The Foundation and the Lititz Moravian Archives hold their annual carol sing at Moravian Church Square, 8 Church Square, starting at 6:30 p.m. The Moravian Trombone Choir plays, free song sheets are handed out, and everyone is invited inside Fellowship Hall afterward for light refreshments. It's free, and donations are welcome. Details are on the Foundation's carol sing post.
Friday and Saturday, December 11 and 12: Christmas Candlelight Tours. This is the biggest change on the December calendar. The Foundation's annual tour of the 1792 Johannes Mueller House runs on two nights this year, telling the story of Mueller and his family along with the customs of Lititz's 18th-century Moravian community. Tours leave every 15 minutes from 5 to 8 p.m. both nights, and tickets are $12 a person, available on the Foundation's Candlelight Tours post. The Foundation says the event "always sells out," so the second night adds real capacity rather than stretching the same crowd across two evenings. Ticket holders also get holiday refreshments and 10% off in the Lititz Museum gift shop both evenings. The museum is at 145 East Main Street.
Put those days next to the Santa schedule and December 10 through 13 becomes the busiest stretch of the season: carols on Thursday, the Mueller House and Santa's 4 p.m. opening on Friday, Santa and the second tour night on Saturday, and Santa's afternoon hours again on Sunday. All of it is within a few blocks of the Main and Broad intersection.
Getting to the bandshell now that Park Lane is gated
Anyone who used to cut through the park by car will find the route has changed. Park Lane has been closed to through traffic since January 1, 2025. The Lititz Springs Park Board's notice, reported by FOX43, cited safety concerns between cars and the walkers, cyclists and families using the park. Gates now split the road into two dead ends. One runs from Broad Street, which is Route 501, to the main parking lot. The other runs from Maple Street, near the Warwick School District, to the restroom house. The park's own post on the closure asks visitors to respect the barriers and use nearby roads instead.
For downtown street parking, Venture Lititz says on-street meters on Main, Broad, Kleine and Warwick streets are enforced Monday through Saturday, 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Christmas in the Park starts at 6:30 on a Friday and the carol sing at 6:30 on a Thursday, both after enforcement ends for the day. So do the Friday evening Candlelight Tours after 6. Santa's Sunday hours fall outside the enforcement days altogether.
The smaller dates that fill out the weeks
The big holiday nights sit alongside a steady run of downtown events listed on the Lititz PA events calendar:
- Saturday, November 14: Mad Lab ARTech Academy, a creative art studio and maker space at 929 Lititz Pike, holds its grand opening ribbon cutting.
- Saturday, November 28, 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.: Folk artist Mary Charles holds a meet-and-greet at Wood'n Brush, 55 North Broad Street, and will sign pieces of hers that visitors bring in.
- Tuesday, December 1, 3:30 p.m.: Afternoon Storytime with Ms. Alex at Aaron's Books, 35 East Main Street. It's suggested for ages 2 to 5, with siblings welcome, and an RSVP is requested.
- Sunday, December 6, 2:30 to 6 p.m.: The first-Sunday Jazz Jam Session at the Lititz Shirt Factory, 5 Juniper Lane. The cover is $5, and students get in free.
- Thursday, December 10, 8 a.m.: Earth to Lititz leads its free monthly urban hike from 56 East Main Street, picking up litter along the route. That's the same day as the evening carol sing.
Once the holidays are over, the next big downtown event is the Fire & Ice Festival from Venture Lititz, set for February 12 through 15 and February 18 through 21, 2027. Its page says this year's fire shows will have a new performer and a new location.
If December has you thinking about what your home near the park, Church Square or East Main is worth this winter, the Michael Orta Team can help. We follow Lititz's calendar as closely as its listings. Get your free home valuation, and we'll walk you through how your block compares.
