Worthington's 2026 holiday season runs on two calendars. The free events fall on three dates, Nov. 22, Nov. 29 and Dec. 2, and all you need to do is show up. The events that need reservations sit mostly at the Orange Johnson House on High Street, and their ticket sales open in November, one on Nov. 1 and the other on Nov. 10. They also fall on the same December Saturdays as a chorus matinee, a toy drive and a wreath ceremony. If you want to do more than walk the Village Green, the planning happens in the next couple of weeks.
The free half fits on three dates
These three are public events with no admission and no reservations. The first two fall a week apart on Sundays, and the third comes three days later on a Wednesday evening.
- Worthington Holiday Craft Fair, Sunday, Nov. 22, noon to 4 p.m. More than 70 local artists, makers, crafters and small businesses fill the Worthington Community Center at 345 E. Wilson Bridge Road. The City of Worthington's listing describes it as a place to find handcrafted gifts, seasonal décor and homemade treats.
- Holiday Open House and Tree Illumination, Sunday, Nov. 29. The Worthington Partnership hosts the Open House in Old Worthington from noon to 5 p.m. on the Sunday after Thanksgiving, with horse-drawn carriage rides, train rides, live music and photos with Santa. The city's Tree Illumination begins at 5:30 p.m. on the Southeast Village Green, at the corner of SR 161 and High Street, with Santa and hot chocolate.
- Worthington Illuminated Shopping, Wednesday, Dec. 2, 6 to 9 p.m. Old Worthington retailers offer special promotions and sidewalk sales on a weeknight evening.
The Nov. 29 pairing is the anchor of the free calendar. The Partnership's afternoon on High Street ends a half hour before the city's lighting, so one afternoon covers both events. You can go from carriage rides to the tree without going home in between.
These dates are fixed and easy. You don't buy anything ahead of time, and if the day turns cold or busy you can leave whenever you like. The other half of the season works differently.
The ticketed half opens its sales in November
The Worthington Historical Society runs two holiday programs at the Orange Johnson House, 956 High St. Both require reservations, and both start selling in November for events in December.
Children's Christmas at the Orange Johnson House is for children in grades 3 through 5. It runs on three Saturdays, Dec. 5, 12 and 19, from 4 to 8 p.m. The Historical Society's event page lists the evening's activities: preparing and eating a typical early 1800s meal, hearing Christmas stories, touring the house, playing period games, making a craft, singing traditional songs, learning about school traditions, and getting a gift from "a very famous visitor." Tickets cost $35 per child and went on sale online Nov. 1. Advance registration is required.
Christmas Traditions: An Historic Holiday Tour is a one-night evening tour on Thursday, Dec. 10, with tours starting at 6:30 p.m. History interpreters cover how Worthington's founders celebrated Christmas from 1803 through the 1800s and early 1900s, including stockings, trees, gift-giving and ghost stories, with the house decorated for the season. Tickets are $15, are sold online beginning Nov. 10, and are nonrefundable. The tour page notes that the house has several flights of stairs and that guests should be able to manage steps and stand for parts of the tour.
The McConnell Arts Center adds two holiday performances with fixed showtimes:
- The Worthington Chorus presents Storybook Christmas on Saturday, Dec. 5, at 1 p.m. and 4 p.m.
- Mad, Mad Men Swingin' Holiday Show 2026 runs Thursday, Dec. 17, through Saturday, Dec. 19, at 7 p.m., with a dessert reception at 6 p.m., at 777 Evening St.
For the two Orange Johnson House programs, the sale dates come weeks before the events.
December Saturdays are where the two calendars collide
Once you add the ticketed events, the community events and the volunteer events, three Saturdays in December carry most of the season.
| Saturday | Daytime | Late afternoon and evening |
|---|---|---|
| Dec. 5 | Indoor farmers market, 9 a.m. to noon; Storybook Christmas at the McConnell Arts Center, 1 p.m. | Storybook Christmas, 4 p.m.; Children's Christmas at the Orange Johnson House, 4 to 8 p.m. |
| Dec. 12 | Indoor farmers market, 9 a.m. to noon; Worthington Firefighters for Kids drive-through toy drive, until 3 p.m. | Children's Christmas, 4 to 8 p.m. |
| Dec. 19 | Indoor farmers market, 9 a.m. to noon; Wreaths Across America ceremony, 11 a.m. | Children's Christmas, 4 to 8 p.m.; Mad, Mad Men Swingin' Holiday Show, 7 p.m. |
On Dec. 5 the chorus's 4 p.m. show starts at the same time Children's Christmas begins. A family with a third grader and a grandparent in the chorus audience would need to pick the 1 p.m. show or a different Children's Christmas Saturday. Since registration opened Nov. 1, that choice gets made in November.
Dec. 12 is lighter. The Worthington Firefighters for Kids Toy Drive holds a drive-through donation event at the Worthington Fire Department, 6500 N. High St., running until 3 p.m. You can drop off a donation without leaving the car.
Dec. 19 has the widest spread. The Worthington Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution hosts its Wreaths Across America ceremony, which the Worthington Partnership lists under its America 250 events. The program starts at 11 a.m. in the Fellowship Hall of Worthington Presbyterian Church, 773 N. High St., entered from the side, with doors opening at 10:30 a.m. At noon, participants go to Walnut Grove Cemetery's Circle of Honor at 5561 Milton Ave. to lay wreaths on service members' graves. Several Revolutionary War patriots are buried there. Participants are asked to say each service member's name as they place the wreath. Sponsoring a wreath costs $17, and the chapter takes sponsorships at [email protected]. On the same day, the last Children's Christmas runs from 4 to 8 p.m. and the final Mad, Mad Men show starts at 7. That puts three generations of the town's holiday customs on one Saturday, from an 1800s meal at the Orange Johnson House to a swing-era show on Evening Street.
Saturday mornings move indoors, with three exceptions
The indoor season of the Worthington Farmers Market runs on Saturdays from November through April, 9 a.m. to noon, at The Shops at Worthington Place, 7227 N. High St. The market's page lists three closed Saturdays this season: Nov. 28, Dec. 26 and Jan. 2.
Nov. 28 is the Saturday between Thanksgiving and the Open House, so Thanksgiving weekend has no market. The Dec. 26 and Jan. 2 closures fall right after Christmas and New Year's Day. If you're shopping for holiday meals, the last market before Christmas is Dec. 19, the same busy Saturday shown in the table.
The market's winter home made business news this fall. In late September, Columbus Business First reported that Direct Retail Partners had listed the mall site for $25 million, which the outlet said put the mall's long-planned redevelopment "into question." For this season, the market's published indoor schedule still lists The Shops at Worthington Place as its location.
Dinner around the evening events
Several of the season's evening events fit around one dining room on High Street. Wolf's Ridge at Worthington Inn, 649 N. High St., released a fall menu in late October, according to Columbus Underground's restaurant roundup. The same report lists its hours as Monday through Friday, 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.; Saturday, 10 a.m. to 10 p.m.; and Sunday, 10 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Those hours fit the calendar above. On Sunday, Nov. 29, the Tree Illumination starts at 5:30 p.m. and the Inn's Sunday hours run until 9. On Thursday, Dec. 10, the Orange Johnson House tour runs from 6:30 to 8 p.m., which leaves time for dinner afterward before a 10 p.m. close. Illuminated Shopping on Wednesday, Dec. 2, ends at 9 p.m., an hour before the weekday close. On Saturday, Dec. 19, the Inn opens at 10 a.m., an hour before the 11 a.m. wreath ceremony at Worthington Presbyterian Church.
This year the reservations and seat counts belong to the Historical Society's ticketed events. The free events ask only that you show up on the right date.
If a holiday weekend in Old Worthington has you wondering what your own house near the Village Green would sell for, and you'd like to talk it over while the trees are lit, I Care Home Group would love to hear from you. Call Us for a Free Home Valuation, and we'll set a time that fits around the Saturdays you've already booked.
