"There will be road closures and limited parking on North Wayne Avenue on Friday night, 12/4, from approximately 4:30 - to 9:00 pm." That warning on the Christmas in Wayne site marks the start of the weekend.
From then through Sunday, Wayne holds a tree lighting, a Santa arrival, a 5k, a parade, a Hanukkah festival, a gallery opening with an awards ceremony, a concert, and a township-wide gift delivery. Almost all of it happens on North Wayne Avenue and East Lancaster Avenue. The rest of December in downtown Wayne is quieter. The tasks that make the weekend go smoothly, like registering, dropping off gifts and buying tickets, all happen in November.
Friday Night Is on North Wayne Avenue
The Wayne Business Association runs Christmas in Wayne on Friday, December 4 and Saturday, December 5, 2026. On Friday, North Wayne Avenue closes to traffic and fills up with activities. There's a winter ice rink, carnival games and a slide for children, and strolling carolers. Inside the Radnor Firehouse you'll find ornament crafting, face painting and a balloon artist. Christmas trolley rides loop through South Wayne and North Wayne. Riders get on and off at two stops: the Radnor Middle School bus loop on South Wayne Avenue and the ice rink on North Wayne.
The main event is at about 7:30 p.m., when Ducis Rodgers, sports director at 6abc Action News, leads the countdown to the tree lighting. Right after the tree lights up, Santa rides down North Wayne Avenue on a decorated Radnor fire truck. The Wayne Business Association's event listing repeats the road-closure window. If you'd normally drive into town that evening, it's easier to walk or take the trolley.
Downtown shops and restaurants stay open that night with holiday specials.
Saturday Moves From Lancaster Avenue to the Station to Maplewood Avenue
On Saturday the morning events are on East Lancaster Avenue, the afternoon is at the station end of North Wayne Avenue, and the evening is on Maplewood Avenue. Here's the schedule as published:
- 8:00 a.m. Radnor Memorial Library's "Elves for Shelves" 5k and fun walk runs through the streets of Wayne.
- 10:00 a.m. The Radnor High School Marching Band starts the annual Wayne Santa Parade. The parade heads west on East Lancaster Avenue from Aberdeen Avenue to North Wayne Avenue, with Santa and Mrs. Claus on a red Radnor fire truck.
- After the parade until 11:45 a.m. Free personal visits with Santa in the courtyard of Wayne Presbyterian Church. Hot chocolate comes from The Vanilla Bean and cookies from D'Innocenzo's Bakery.
- 3:00 to 5:30 p.m. The Light Up Wayne Hanukkah Festival takes place at the corner of North Wayne Avenue and Station Road, by the Wayne train station. Hanukkah stories and candle lighting start at sundown, 4:45 p.m., and the menorah is lit at 5 p.m.
- 6:00 to 9:00 p.m. The CraftForms 2026 preview party at Wayne Art Center.
The Hanukkah festival returns for a second year. Radnor Township's event page lists the organizers as Radnor Parks & Recreation, Temple Brith Achim and the Jewish Federation of Philadelphia, and it still has a video recap of the 2025 festival. The 2026 flyer lists a pop-up Hanukkah shop, music and a singalong, food and sufganiyot, plus coffee and hot chocolate from Mad Anthony Wayne. The festival is at the station end of North Wayne Avenue, the same street as Friday's tree lighting. Two Wayne traditions with different organizers happen within one day of each other on the same few blocks.
In the evening the crowd moves to 413 Maplewood Avenue. Wayne Art Center's preview party opens three shows at once: CraftForms 2026, Made in Philadelphia and Attraction to Abstraction. The center describes the evening as including an awards ceremony, an open bar, an ice luge carved by Ice Sculpture Philly, and live jazz from Phyllis Chapelle and Heath Allen. Dr. Robert K. Liu and Patrick Benesh-Liu of Ornament magazine are the jurors, and they'll award $12,000 in cash prizes. Tickets are sold through CraftForms.
The same night on North Wayne Avenue, 118 North has S. Carey on its calendar, playing solo with strings.
Sunday Spreads Across the Township
Sunday's main event isn't downtown. Radnor Township's Santa's Delivery runs on Sunday, December 6. Township departments and local fire companies deliver one wrapped gift per registered child to homes across Radnor. The township's instructions explain how families will know when Santa is near:
"Look for lights and listen for sirens. Be ready when the vehicles are approaching."
Deliveries begin after 11 a.m., and the township doesn't give specific times in advance. Apartment buildings get meeting locations ahead of time. If no one is home, the gift is left at the house.
Downtown, the Christmas in Wayne schedule lists CraftForms viewing at Wayne Art Center from 1 to 4 p.m. on Sunday. December 6 is also the first day of the exhibition's public run, which lasts through January 23, 2027 in the Davenport Gallery. After that Sunday, the gallery keeps its regular hours: Monday through Friday 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Saturday 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., closed Sundays and holidays.
The November Deadlines
Most of the December weekend depends on things done in November. In date order:
- Saturday, November 7 and Sunday, November 8. Wayne Art Center's 5th Annual Pottery Sale and Studio Fundraiser opens with a happy hour on Saturday, November 7, and the sale runs Sunday, November 8. Details are on the Wayne Art Center calendar. It's an early chance at holiday shopping, a month ahead of the craft fair.
- By Friday, November 20. Santa's Delivery registration runs November 2 through 20 and is open to Radnor Township residents only. Bring gifts to the Radnor Township Building at 301 Iven Avenue, weekdays from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m., or during an extra window on Friday, November 20 from 4 to 5:30 p.m. Each gift must be wrapped, labeled in Sharpie with the child's first and last name, no larger than 6 by 6 by 6 inches, and not bagged. Bring your printed custom form when you drop off.
- Thanksgiving week. Lancaster County Farmers Market at 389 W. Lancaster Avenue adds days to its usual Wednesday, Friday and Saturday schedule. It's open Tuesday, November 24 and Wednesday, November 25 from 6 a.m. to 4 p.m., closed Thanksgiving Day, open Friday, November 27 from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., and open Saturday, November 28 from 6 a.m. to 4 p.m.
- Before December 5. Buy tickets for the CraftForms preview party and for any 118 North show that night.
After the big weekend, two more dates are worth knowing. The CraftForms Holiday Shopping Weekend runs Friday, December 11 from 4 to 7 p.m., Saturday, December 12 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Sunday, December 13 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Vendors include ceramics, glass, leather, jewelry, honey, chocolates and spirits. Fireside Collective plays 118 North on December 13. The farmers market's Christmas-week hours are Tuesday, December 22 and Wednesday, December 23 from 6 a.m. to 4 p.m., Christmas Eve from 6 a.m. to 2 p.m., closed Christmas Day, and Saturday, December 26 from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.
What May Open on Lancaster Avenue Before the Parade
Two restaurants near the weekend's events are aiming to open this fall.
Old Friend is a live-fire American grill under construction at 166 E. Lancaster Avenue, at the corner of Louella Avenue, in the ground floor of the Apartments at Wayne Station. The parade runs along East Lancaster Avenue. The Philadelphia Inquirer reported in August that the 86-seat restaurant is aiming for a late-fall opening, with former Fork executive chef Sam Henzy running the kitchen. It sits across from Maison Lotus and Rosalie. No opening day has been announced.
At the west end of the avenue, Fearless Restaurants plans to open Martini & Roz Italiano in the former Bertucci's building at 523 W. Lancaster Avenue. The Radnor-Haverford Herald reported in September that it will have more than 300 seats, wood-burning ovens and a glass-enclosed cheese cave. The Herald says the target is fall 2026, with no exact date yet. Close by at Eagle Village Shops, Wild Yeast Bakehouse opened its retail bakery at 503 W. Lancaster Avenue on July 18. Its retail hours are Wednesday through Sunday. The Herald also reports that Rival Bros Coffee has signed a lease in the same center, aiming for spring 2027.
North Wayne Avenue may change too, though not this season. Savvy Main Line reported in May on a plan to replace 118 and 120 N. Wayne Avenue with a three-story mixed-use building. Under the plan, 118 North would close for at least a year during construction and then return to a purpose-built space on the new building's first floor. The project received preliminary Planning Commission approval and still needs further township approvals. In May, the developer estimated construction could be a year or more away. For now, 118 North still lists shows through December.
If you're thinking about what your home is worth on one of these blocks, The MacDonald Team can give you a confident, unhurried look at your Wayne property's value, ready well before the tree lighting.
