Three live reindeer are headed back to North Street. The Greenwich Reindeer Festival and Santa's Workshop opens for its 18th year on Friday, November 27, at Sam Bridge Nursery and Greenhouses, 437 North Street, and runs every day but Sunday through Christmas Eve.

Its organizers bill it as the North Pole on North Street, and the nursery is just minutes from downtown Greenwich. The format is simple: families walk in, meet the reindeer at their stable, wait inside Santa's Workshop and have a photograph taken with Santa. There are no tickets and no reservations. Photos are first come, first served, rain or shine, and parking at the nursery is free.

When to go

Photos with Santa run Monday through Friday from noon to 6 p.m. and Saturday from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. The festival is closed on Sundays. On Christmas Eve, Santa is in the workshop from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Opening weekend is billed as the We're Back Party Days: Friday, November 27, from noon to 6 p.m., and Saturday, November 28, from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. The reindeer leave for the North Pole on the afternoon of December 23, so anyone who wants the animals in the picture should plan to visit before then. Photos with Santa continue on Christmas Eve without them.

What is inside the workshop

The workshop gives families somewhere to wait indoors while the line moves. This year's activities include a reindeer coloring station, a letter writing table for notes to Santa, and a contest to name the festival's baby reindeer, a girl. Santa announces the winning name on December 24, and the entrant who suggests it wins a Mercedes-Benz kids' electric car. Every photo with Santa is also entered in a separate raffle for another of the electric cars.

Children ages 4 to 10 can enter the festival's second annual Reindeer and Santa Coloring Contest, sponsored by Avelo Airlines. Coloring pages for two age groups, 4 to 6 and 7 to 10, along with the rules, are posted on the festival's website.

Dogs are welcome

Pets can sit for photos with Santa any time the festival is open. Dogs that visit Monday through Friday go home with a free gift bag from Cornell University Veterinary Specialists, which has a hospital in Stamford.

Where the money goes

A portion of every photo with Santa goes to Kids In Crisis, the nonprofit that provides prevention, counseling and crisis services for children and families in Fairfield County and across Connecticut, around the clock. The festival has supported the organization every year since it started, which makes this the 18th consecutive year.

The 2026 festival is presented by Jenny Allen and Kristen Studwell of Compass Real Estate and produced by TMK Event Marketing. Families with photographs from past visits are invited to share them with the organizers, who post some of them on the festival's social media pages with permission.

Getting there

Sam Bridge Nursery is at 437 North Street, a short drive from downtown Greenwich. Parking is on site and free. Photo order forms and the full schedule are on the festival's website.

Greenwich Reindeer Festival and Santa's Workshop: November 27 to December 24, 2026, Sam Bridge Nursery and Greenhouses, 437 North Street, Greenwich. Monday to Friday noon to 6 p.m., Saturday 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., Christmas Eve 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., closed Sundays. No tickets or reservations needed.

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