Southeast Michigan, December 20, 2025

Various towns in Southeast Michigan are embracing the holiday spirit with a multitude of festive events. From stunning light displays and vibrant markets to family-friendly activities, the region is a hub of seasonal joy. Notable events include the Dearborn Wanderlights, Royal Oak’s Wild Lights, and the Monroe Holiday Tree Walk, providing residents and visitors alike with opportunities to celebrate. Each event showcases unique attractions, ensuring that the festive season is filled with excitement and community connection for all ages.

19 Southeast Michigan Towns Celebrate the 2025 Holiday Season with Festive Events

As the 2025 holiday season unfolds, 19 towns across Southeast Michigan are offering a variety of festive events, from dazzling light displays to traditional markets, providing residents and visitors with numerous opportunities to celebrate the season.

Dearborn

Dearborn Wanderlights is a new addition this year, running from November 20 to February 20 at PEACE Park West. This free outdoor art experience features interactive light installations from international artists, transforming the park into a dazzling holiday destination. The kickoff event on November 20 included live entertainment, refreshments, LED artists, and photos with Santa. Each month, the city plans to tie in a display with community events, turning PEACE Park West into a regional hub for winter celebration and community connection.

Royal Oak

The Wild Lights show at the Detroit Zoo in Royal Oak runs from November 22 to January 4. This ticketed event features over 500 outdoor displays, including trees, tunnels, and animal shapes, illuminated by millions of lights. Visitors can enjoy refreshments, a light projection show, and photos with Santa.

Monroe

New this year, the Monroe Holiday Tree Walk is open from November 22 to January 3 at Veterans’ Park. Local families, organizations, and businesses have sponsored and decorated lighted holiday trees along the River Raisin. The opening ceremony on November 22 included special events, and the park remains free to visit throughout the display period.

Adrian

The Comstock Christmas Riverwalk at Comstock Park opens with a tree lighting event on December 5. City officials have provided a list and map of the tree locations, and photos with Santa are available at the park after the city’s Holiday Light Parade.

Rochester

The Big, Bright Light Show in downtown Rochester runs from November 24 to January 18. More than 1 million twinkling lights illuminate the storefronts and downtown buildings every evening starting at 5 p.m., creating a festive atmosphere for shoppers and visitors.

Rochester Hills

The Holiday Lights show at Innovation Hills in Rochester Hills is on display from December 5 through January 11. Family-friendly events from 5 to 8 p.m. on December 5 and 6 include live entertainment, food trucks, and a Story Book Stroll. Entrance and parking to Rochester Hills city parks require a park pass.

Brooklyn

Nite Lites is a drive-through Christmas light show at Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn, running from November 21 to January 4. The 6½-mile route features twinkling lights of holiday scenes and tunnels along the racetrack and grandstand area. This is a ticketed event.

Clarkston

Magic of Lights at Pine Knob Music Theatre in Clarkston runs from November 21 to January 3. This drive-through light display is in its sixth year, featuring animations, lighted displays, and tunnels. There is also a walk-through lighted display area. More than two million lights have created the scenes. This is a ticketed event.

Commerce Township

Aurora: Winter Wizards is an immersive holiday light show at Glenlore Trails in Commerce Township, running from November 21 through December 28. This event offers a unique and enchanting experience for visitors.

Greenfield Village

Holiday Nights in Greenfield Village runs from December 20 to December 28. This event features lantern-lit streets, live music from choirs and musicians, ice skating, historic rides, artisan demonstrations, and traditional holiday fare, capturing the timeless spirit of the holidays.

Rochester

The Kris Kringle Market in downtown Rochester is inspired by 700-year-old European Christmas markets. Held on December 6-7, 2025, it offers one-of-a-kind shopping, specialty foods, caroling, live music, a gingerbread village, s’mores stations, visits with Santa, and a warming tent serving food, beer, and hot spiced wine.

Ann Arbor

KindleFest in the Kerrytown District of Ann Arbor is open all day and into the night on December 6. The event features multiple vendors, restaurants, and local artisans offering traditional German Christmas foods, handcrafted treasures, holiday lights, musicians, and a Kid Zone with crafts and entertainment.

Wyandotte

The Wyandotte Holiday Market on November 22 coincides with Wyandotte’s Christmas Parade—the largest holiday parade in Michigan’s downriver area. Visitors can watch the parade and then shop at local vendors lining the downtown streets.

Wayne

The Wayne Open-Air Christmas Market from November 22-24 features dance performances, quartets, family shopping, free photos with Santa, ice sculptures, and plenty of shopping, food, and drinks. Christmas classics play from concert performers throughout the weekend.

Detroit

The Wayne County Lightfest is a drive-through light show featuring giant animated holiday-themed displays. Lightfest began in 1993 and sees hundreds of thousands of visitors every November and December.

Fennville

Fennville is recognized as an agritourism destination in the Grand Rapids metropolitan area. Located ten minutes from the scenic coastal city of Saugatuck, Michigan, Fennville is noted for its small-town charm, local shops, restaurants supplied with ingredients from nearby farmers, and its vineyards. In the autumn season, corn mazes and you-pick fruit harvesting at orchards, along with the annual Goose Festival, are popular activities.

Detroit

The America’s Thanksgiving Parade features marching bands, large balloons, a variety of floats, celebrity guests, and thousands of marchers. Unique to Detroit’s parade are the Big Head Corps, a group of marchers wearing large papier-mâché heads caricaturing well-known figures; and the Distinguished Clown Corps, featuring local corporate executives and community leaders dressed as clowns. More than 4,500 volunteers march in and staff the parade. An actor playing Santa Claus rides in the last float, heralding the arrival of the Christmas season; at the end of the television broadcast, he is traditionally handed the “key to the city” by the mayor of Detroit.

Detroit

The Detroit St. Patrick’s Parade is an annual parade held on the Sunday preceding St. Patrick’s Day in Corktown, Detroit, Michigan. The parade has been held each year since 1958 (except 2020 & 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic) and is hosted by the United Irish Societies. The first parade was in Dearborn, Michigan. Today, the parade route begins at UIS Irish Plaza and follows along Michigan Avenue and proceeds through Corktown.

Ypsilanti

The YpsiFest (formerly Ypsilanti Heritage Festival) is held each year on the fourth weekend of August, sprawling across Frog Island Park, Riverside Park, and historic Depot Town. The festival features a variety of activities and entertainment, including helicopter rides, acrobats and theater performances by Ring of Steel, evening concerts, gambling and bingo, and a huge kids zone full of children-specific activities and rides. Additionally, there are featured events like Illumination@YpsiFest, where local businesses compete for prizes by creating illuminated sculptures for an evening display, and an illumination parade.

These events showcase the vibrant holiday spirit across Southeast Michigan, offering a range of activities for all ages to enjoy during the festive season.

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Author: STAFF HERE DETROITMI WRITER

DETROIT STAFF WRITER The DETROIT STAFF WRITER represents the experienced team at HEREDetroitMI.com, your go-to source for actionable local news and information in Detroit, Wayne County, and beyond. Specializing in "news you can use," we cover essential topics like product reviews for personal and business needs, local business directories, politics, real estate trends, neighborhood insights, and state news affecting the area—with deep expertise drawn from years of dedicated reporting and strong community input, including local press releases and business updates. We deliver top reporting on high-value events such as Movement Electronic Music Festival, Detroit Grand Prix, and America's Thanksgiving Parade. Our coverage extends to key organizations like the Detroit Regional Chamber and Focus HOPE, plus leading businesses in automotive and healthcare that power the local economy such as General Motors, Ford Motor Company, and Henry Ford Health. As part of the broader HERE network, including HEREGrandRapids.com, HERENorthville.com, HERENovi.com, and HEREPlymouth.com, we provide comprehensive, credible insights into Michigan's dynamic landscape.