No holiday season is complete without a visit to the man in red! Below is a list of places you’ll be able to find Santa Claus around Columbia between now and when he loads his sleigh!
Photos with Santa at Columbiana Centre
Date: Thursday, November 16 – Saturday, December 24
Time: Varies – All guests are strongly encouraged to make advanced reservations and appointments to visit Santa Claus. Walk-in guests will be accepted on a space-available basis.
Location: Columbiana Centre, 100 Columbiana Circle, Columbia 29212
Details: All dogs and cats are welcome to take magical pics with St. Nick! Plus, children of all spectrums of special needs and abilities are welcome to join us before the mall opens for Santa Cares Day! Pose for photos with Santa where extra care is taken to support sensory needs.
Wild Lights at Riverbanks Zoo
Date: Select Nights November 17 – January 14
Time: 5 – 9 p.m.
Location: Riverbanks Zoo and Gardens, 500 Wildlife Pkwy Columbia 29210
Details: Experience Columbia’s longest running holiday tradition at Riverbanks Zoo and Garden. Visit the zoo at night with holiday lights and activities for the family. Non-members: $24.99 for adults and $19.99 for children ages 2-12. Tickets can be purchased here.
Please Note: Visits with Santa are November 17 – December 23.
Photos With Santa
Date: Saturday, November 18, 2023
Time: 10 a.m. – 2 p.m.
Location: Central Bark, 2931 Augusta Road, West Columbia 29169
Details: Experience Santa’s magic at Santa & Me on Sunday, November 19 at EdVenture Children’s Museum, hosted by Prisma Health Midlands Foundation. Your kids can take a pic with Santa, tell him their wish list, make a special plate with help from The Mad Platter team, AND BEST OF ALL, make an ornament for children who will spend their holidays at Prisma Health Children’s Hospital. Tickets start at $20, and all proceeds support Prisma Health Children’s Hospital.
Santa & Me
Date: Sunday, November 19, 2023
Time: 12 – 4 p.m.
Location: EdVenture Children’s Museum, 211 Gervais Street, Columbia 29201
Details: Experience Santa’s magic at Santa & Me on Sunday, November 19 at EdVenture Children’s Museum, hosted by Prisma Health Midlands Foundation. Your kids can take a pic with Santa, tell him their wish list, make a special plate with help from The Mad Platter team, AND BEST OF ALL, make an ornament for children who will spend their holidays at Prisma Health Children’s Hospital. Tickets start at $20, and all proceeds support Prisma Health Children’s Hospital.
Santa at CAE
Date: Tuesday, November 28, 2023
Time: 5 – 7 p.m.
Location: Columbia Metropolitan Airport, 3250 Airport Blvd, West Columbia 29169
Details: Go ahead and mark your calendars because 𝐒𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐚 𝐢𝐬 𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐬𝐥𝐞𝐢𝐠𝐡 𝐚𝐭 𝐂𝐀𝐄 this month! And this year, we’re doing “Santa at CAE” even bigger than before. Mrs. Claus will be joining for photos, and we’ll have stations for cookie decorating, ornament making and hot cocoa! The event is FREE and open to the public. Photos will be first come, first served. No reservations needed. You can also use your own camera, as we will not have a photographer – but are happy to help capture those family photos! Surface parking is free for the first 1/2 hour. (After that, you will have to pay the listed rate.)
Sweet Seasons in Forest Acres
Date: Tuesday, November 28, 2023
Time: 5 – 8 p.m.
Location: Lowes Foods Shopping Center, 4711 Forest Drive, Columbia 29206
Details: Sweet Seasons is a family-friendly event with free admission and free kids fun including: Meet Santa and The Grinch, face painters, balloon artists, a bubble artist, a magician, plus a live performance from The Hot Sauce Band! Dinner, Desserts and Drinks on site for purchase from amazing local Forest Acres vendors.
Kids Night with Santa Gene and Mrs Sandy Klaus
Date: Tuesday, November 28, 2023
Time: 6 – 9 p.m.
Location: Carolina Wings, 2423 Fish Hatchery Road, Cayce 29033
Details: Wings and photos with Santa Gene and Mrs. Sandy Klaus.
Breakfast with Santa
Date: Saturday, December 2, 2023
Time: 9 – 11 a.m.
Location: Seven Oaks Park, 920 Beatty Road, Columbia 29210
Details: Children ages 2-12 are invited to join us for a morning of fun as we host our annual Breakfast with Santa! Have your photo taken with Santa, eat some delicious breakfast, and enjoy arts & crafts and more! Space is limited, so register now!
PJs With Santa
Date: Saturday, December 2, 2023
Time: 9 – 11 a.m.
Location: Providence Presbyterian Church, 1112 Hummingbird Drive, West Columbia 29169
Details: Put on your pajamas and join us for a photo station with Santa, games, crafts and a special share of Santa & the Nativity story at 10 a.m.
Cooking with Santa!
Date: Saturday, December 2, 2023
Time: 10 – 11:30 a.m.
Location: Seven Oaks Park, 200 Leisure Lane, Columbia 29210
Details: What better time to grow a child’s love of cooking and baking than the most magical time of the year. Bring your child into the kitchen with Flavored Fork to cook alongside the jolly old elf himself making his favorite snacks and other Santa approved recipes.
Breakfast With Santa
Date: Saturday, December 2, 2023
Time: 10 a.m. – 12 p.m.
Location: Cayce Moose Lodge, 1541 Old Dunbar Road, West Columbia 29169
Details: Free for all Children 6 years and younger, $7 for everyone else. Breakfast includes scrambled eggs, Waffle, bacon, sausage and fruit cup.
Train Rides with Santa-SC Railroad
Dates: Saturday, December 2, 9, and 16, 2023
Time: 10 a.m., 11 a.m., 12 p.m., 2 p.m., 3 p.m., 6 p.m.
Location: South Carolina Railroad Museum, 110 Industrial Park Road, Winnsboro 29180
Details: Santa returns to the Rockton, Rion and Western Railroad. As you enjoy your ride through the countryside of Fairfield County, he will walk the train during the ride and talk to everyone but cannot sit with children or have them in his lap. The train does not return until Santa has talked to all the children. Santa will take letters from children, but limited touching is requested.
New this year, Twilight with Santa! While the first seating enjoys hot chocolate, chocolate chip cookies and stories in our historic dining car, the second seating visits with Santa and sings Christmas carols in one of our coaches. Halfway through the journey, we stop the train and the people from the diner swap places with the people visiting with Santa, and we repeat the experience.
Snowball Festival Carnival and Movie
Date: Saturday, December 2, 2023
Time: 1 – 7 p.m. (Santa will be there from 1 – 5 p.m.)
Location: Icehouse Amphitheater, 107 West Main Street, Lexington 29072
Details: Join the Town of Lexington for this years Snowball Festival Carnival at the Icehouse Amphitheater! Event features small carnival rides, face painting, balloon artists, + more! Food will be available for purchase. Stay for the showing of The Santa Clause (PG) at 5:30 p.m.
Christmas Olde and New – Cayce Historical Museum
Date: Saturday, December 2, 2023
Time: 6 – 9 p.m.
Location: Cayce Historical Museum, 1800 12th Street, Cayce 29033
Details: Visitors can take in the sights and sounds of Christmas during the Cayce Historical Museum’s annual Christmas Traditions Holiday Open House. Rooms of the museum will be decorated with Christmas trees and there will be live entertainment and light refreshments. Mr. and Mrs. Santa Claus will be there and there will also be a historical lantern tour. This year, for the first time, the event will feature an outdoor Christmas market with local vendors selling gifts, food, and drinks.
Sundaes with Santa
Date: Sunday, December 3, 2023
Time: 12 p.m. – 4 p.m.
Location: Cantey and Goodman Buildings at the South Carolina State Fairgrounds, 1200 Rosewood Drive, Columbia 29201
Details: Dress your children in their Sunday best for photos with Santa, enjoy games and crafts with your family, and top off the fun with an ice cream sundae bar! Tickets sold only at the door for $8/child.
Photos with Santa, Mrs. Claus, and the Grinch
Date: Tuesday, December 5, 2023
Time: 6 – 8 p.m.
Location: 803 Realty, 5599 Sunset Blvd, Lexington 29072
Details: Join Century 21 803 Realty for a magical holiday event! Capture the joy with photos with Santa and the Grinch. Dress in your holiday best and RSVP to spread the cheer!
Cookies With Santa at Metro Mortgage
Date: Thursday, December 7, 2023
Time: 4 – 7 p.m.
Location: Metro Mortgage, 7223 St. Andrews Road, Columbia 29212
Details: Bring the family, the kids and even the furbabies to Metro Mortgage for cookies and pictures with Santa!
Pancakes and PJs with Santa
Date: Friday, December 8, 2023
Time: 5:30 – 7 p.m.
Location: St. Stephen’s Lutheran Church, 119 N Church Street, Lexington 29072
Details: Wear your Christmas PJ’s, fill your belly with pancakes, and visit with Santa! Professional Pictures (Lovejoy Photography) with Santa (Santa Frank) and a Christmas Craft for each child. Ticket cost is $20 per child (one adult admitted free per child); additional adults or children $10 each.
Accessibility Morning – Meet Santa
Date: Saturday, December 9, 2023
Time: 9 – 11 a.m.
Location: SC State Museum, 301 Gervais Street, Columbia 29201
Details: This program provides free access for families of children, teenagers, young adults and adults who would benefit from a quieter, sensory-friendly and disability-adapted experience at the museum. Guests who are neurodiverse, autistic, or have other disabilities are welcome to participate in the optional activities listed below, or explore museum exhibition galleries at their own pace. An American Sign Language (ASL) interpreter, sponsored by Colonial Life, is available during the morning provided by certified interpreters through the SC School for the Deaf and Blind.
Selfies With Santa
Date: Sunday, December 10, 2023
Time: 2 – 4 p.m.
Location: Coldwell Banker Realty – Lexington/Lake Murray Office, 607 Columbia Avenue, Lexington 29072
Details: Santa will be in town!! Come see him and get your picture with him.
FA LA LA LA LA in Five Points
Date: Sunday, December 10, 2023
Time: 3 – 6 p.m.
Location: Five Points Fountain, 532 Congaree Avenue, Columbia 29205
Details: Join us for an afternoon of Holiday cheer in the Five Points District! Horse Drawn Carriage Rides – Sidewalk Sales – Pictures with Santa – Hot Chocolate Bar – USC’s Cockapella Carolers.
Cookies With Santa
Date: Monday, December 11, 2023
Time: 5 – 6:30 p.m.
Location: Janet Alexander Cotter Alumnae Hall, 1301 Columbia College Drive, Columbia 29203
Details: Drop in for your annual Christmas photo with Santa, decorate a sugar cookie or ornament, and enjoy some hot chocolate! Photos will be provided with the donation of a non-perishable food item or a $5 donation to the Koala Food Pantry.
Wings With Santa
Date: Monday, December 11, 2023
Time: 6 – 9 p.m.
Location: D’s Wings, 415 Meeting Street, West Columbia 29169
Details: Restaurant Sighting and Photo Opportunities
Santa Claus at Top Dawg Tavern
Date: Thursday, December 14, 2023
Time: 5:30 – 8:30 p.m.
Location: Top Dawg Tavern, 498-1 Town Center Place, Columbia 29229
Details: Bring your kids (or fun loving friends) to meet Santa at Top Dawg Tavern! Make sure to bring your Christmas List for him to take back to the North Pole and your camera phone to take lots of photos!
Cookies With Santa
Date: Friday, December 15, 2023
Time: 2 – 5 p.m.
Location: Mingos Cookies & Bubble Tea, 5580 Sunset Blvd, Lexington 29072
Details: Stop in for photos with Santa and enjoy cookies.
Lights on the Park
Date: Friday, December 15, 2023
Time: 6 – 8 p.m.
Location: Village Church Downtown Columbia, 2204 Park Street, Columbia 29201
Details: We will have a Hot Chocolate Bar, S’mores, Live Music, a picture opportunity with Santa Claus, and a tractor ride to look at all the lights on in the Elmwood Park Historic District of Columbia.
Children’s Breakfast With Santa
Date: Saturday, December 16, 2023
Time: 8 – 11 a.m.
Location: American Legion, 951 Pine Street, Pelion 29123
Details: Meal provided, crafts and games, and children visit with Santa and Mrs. Klaus for pictures and receive stocking treats.
