On Friday, Dec. 4, at 7 p.m., downtown Delaware lights its Christmas tree at the corner of William and Sandusky Streets. Within a short walk of that corner are a candy shop, a cupcake bakery, an Irish pub, a wine bar, a second coffee shop and an Indian restaurant. None of them was open the last time the tree went up.
The storefronts that opened downtown in 2026 happened to land on the same blocks of William and Sandusky that Main Street Delaware uses for Home for the Holidays, its Dec. 4 to 6 weekend. The tree, the skating rink, the gingerbread contest and the parade route all sit on the streets that gained the most new businesses this year. The guide below follows the weekend block by block, starting at the tree.
William Street, where the weekend starts
The east side of William Street is home base for most of the weekend. The Delaware Welcome Center at 20 E. William St. hosts free ice skating behind the building and Santa visits inside. Next door, COhatch at 18 E. William St. is the starting point for Saturday's two biggest family events.
The newcomers are a few doors away in each direction:
- Hallihan's Irish Pub, 12 W. William St. After a run of soft openings, the pub moved to full service in mid-September, according to the Delaware Gazette. That puts it a short walk from the tree.
- Open Btl Wine and Spirits, 39 E. William St. The Gazette reported that the wine shop and bar held its grand opening on March 20. It sits on the same side of William Street as COhatch and the Welcome Center.
The First Friday Tree Lighting runs from 6 to 9 p.m. on Dec. 4. A main stage hosts local music groups and community vendors, and the remarks and countdown for the lighting start at 7 p.m. The skating rink opens earlier, at 5 p.m., and stays open until 9. Snappy's Automotive and The Mason Foundation provide the skating for free. Carriage rides also run from 6 to 9 p.m. that night. Main Street Delaware's event pages have the boarding and ticket details.
So a Friday night can start at the rink at 5, move to the corner for the 7 p.m. countdown, and end at either new spot on William Street without moving the car.
Saturday runs out of COhatch and the Welcome Center
Saturday, Dec. 5 has the busiest schedule of the weekend, and almost all of it starts from the 18 to 20 E. William St. stretch:
- 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., Dash for Dasher. Santa has lost his reindeer Dasher, and families follow clues around downtown to find him. The hunt starts at COhatch, and donations go to Main Street Delaware.
- 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., Santa at the Welcome Center. Walk-ins are welcome from 11 to noon. From noon to 3 p.m., visits are by appointment.
- 1 to 5 p.m., skating behind the Welcome Center. The first two hours are a kids-only skate, with lessons from the Warcats hockey team.
- 3:30 p.m., the Great Gingerbread Build-Off at COhatch. Doors open at 3:30, building starts at 4 p.m., and judging and voting begin at 7:15 p.m. Teams get three hours and a basic gingerbread house kit. Bring your own base and any extra decorations you want to use. A panel of judges awards first, second and third place. People's Choice is decided by $1 vote tickets that visitors drop in the jar of their favorite house.
The Dash for Dasher clues send families around downtown on foot, past storefronts that opened this year. That includes the stretch of South Sandusky Street that now holds three of them.
South Sandusky, three new storefronts on the parade route
The Light the Night Christmas Parade steps off at 6 p.m. on Sunday, Dec. 6. It starts at Mingo Park and travels down Sandusky Street to Wilmer Street. That route runs straight past the block of South Sandusky that filled in this year:
- Sip and Spice Indian Bar and Grill, 12 S. Sandusky St. Delaware Source first reported the restaurant in July. Destination Delaware County's listing now describes it as serving meals downtown.
- Espresso Air, 34 S. Sandusky St. Delaware Source reported that the coffee shop's second location officially opened Aug. 12.
- Betty's Cupcakes, 38 S. Sandusky St. Delaware Source covered the bakery's June opening, in the same story as a new candy shop across downtown.
The skating rink stays open from 1 to 5 p.m. on Sunday before the parade. That leaves a gap of about an hour between the rink closing and the parade stepping off. Coffee and cupcakes at 34 and 38 S. Sandusky, or an early dinner at 12 S. Sandusky, all fit in that hour, and all three are on the parade's path.
North Sandusky has the newest candy counter
The candy shop in that June story is Grandpa Joe's Candy Shop at 17 N. Sandusky St. The Delaware Gazette reported a planned opening time of 4:05 p.m. on July 2. It sits north of the tree corner, on the stretch of Sandusky the parade passes before it reaches William Street.
So the parade route now has new storefronts on both sides of the tree corner, with the candy shop to the north and the cupcake bakery, coffee shop and Indian restaurant to the south.
The shopping card connects the blocks through December
Main Street Delaware's Season of Shopping starts Saturday, Nov. 21, two days after this post goes up. Pick up a card at Main Street activities during December and mark your purchases on it. Turn it in at The Greater Gouda by Dec. 23 to be entered in the grand-prize drawing. The grand prize is a mix of gift certificates and items from downtown businesses.
The card runs on a longer schedule than the holiday weekend. Cards are handed out at December events, so the first chance to get one is the Dec. 4 tree lighting. The Dec. 23 deadline then leaves almost three more weeks of shopping downtown after the parade.
The second and third weekends
The schedule continues after Dec. 6, at a slower pace:
- Carriage rides, Friday, Dec. 11, 6 to 8 p.m. Rides leave from the Strand Theatre at 28 E. Winter St.
- Santa at the Welcome Center on Dec. 11, 12, 18 and 19, in addition to the opening-weekend visits. Main Street Delaware lists walk-in and appointment times for each date.
- Holiday Trolley Tour, Saturday, Dec. 12. The Delaware County Historical Society runs the tour, and tickets are on Eventbrite.
One more downtown project is in the works. Delaware Source reported in September that Andy Warnock's Westwood Collective bought the former jail and sheriff's residence at 20 W. Central Ave. The plan is to turn it into office and commercial space. For this December, everything new is within a few blocks of William and Sandusky. It starts with the 7 p.m. countdown on Dec. 4, and the Season of Shopping card is due at The Greater Gouda on Dec. 23.
We love watching downtown Delaware gain new places to stop between the tree, the rink and the parade route. If the holidays have you wondering what your own home might be worth in this market, I Care Home Group is happy to help. Call us for a free home valuation, and we'll see you on Sandusky Street.
