On a Saturday morning in December, Santa sits at Soifer Park from 9 to 11. At noon, horse-drawn carriages start rolling on Asbury Avenue. At 1 p.m., a second Santa appointment opens at the Music Pier and runs until 3. The City of Ocean City's 2026 Calendar of Events lists that same lineup on Saturday and Sunday of four weekends in a row: Nov. 28–29, Dec. 5–6, Dec. 12–13 and Dec. 19–20.
Once you know the loop, the rest of the season is short. Only a handful of events fall outside it, and most of them land in two places: Thanksgiving weekend and the first weekend of December.
The Loop, Hour by Hour
The 2026 calendar lists the three recurring weekend events like this:
| Time | Event | Where |
|---|---|---|
| 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. | Santa in the Downtown | Soifer Park |
| Noon to 3 p.m. | Horse & Carriage Rides | Asbury Avenue, see below |
| 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. | Photos with Santa | Ocean City Music Pier |
The order matters for families. A morning visit at Soifer Park and an afternoon photo session at the Music Pier are two separate Santa appearances on the same day, with a two-hour gap between them that lines up with the carriage rides. The Ocean City Regional Chamber of Commerce's event page for the photos lists the same 1 p.m. start in its event details, though the page's own description says noon. The city calendar says 1 p.m.
Where the Carriages Line Up
The carriage rides are the one part of the loop where the published sources disagree. The city's calendar, last updated June 1, 2026, puts them at 6th Street and Asbury Avenue. The Chamber's date-specific listings, posted Oct. 9, 2026 for Nov. 27 and Dec. 5, put them at 9th Street and Asbury Avenue in front of City Hall, noon to 3 p.m.
The Chamber listing is the more recent of the two. Either way, the rides stay on Asbury Avenue's downtown blocks, so a family walking between Soifer Park and the Music Pier won't miss them by much.
Two Saturdays Before the Loop Starts
The holiday calendar opens two weeks before Thanksgiving, and both of the early events are about shopping.
Saturday, Nov. 14. The Chamber holds its sixth annual Winterfest by the Sea inside the Sports & Civic Center from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., with craft vendors, food vendors and a strolling Santa.
Saturday, Nov. 21. "Earlier than the Bird" runs downtown on Asbury Avenue from 8 a.m. to noon. The calendar pitches it as shopping in your pajamas for early-bird specials the weekend before Thanksgiving. That same day, the city calendar lists a preview of the carriage rides from noon to 3 p.m. So the carriages start an hour before the shopping ends, a week ahead of the full loop.
Before either of those, the Ocean City Exchange Club's Halloween Parade on Oct. 29 at 7:15 p.m. uses the same stretch of Asbury Avenue, 6th to 11th Street, that the Christmas Parade will use on Dec. 4.
Thanksgiving Weekend Is the One That Breaks Pattern
The first weekend of the loop starts right after the four most event-packed days on the holiday calendar, and those four days take some planning.
- Thursday, Nov. 26. The Humane Society of Ocean City's Fast & Furriest 5K Turkey Trot runs on the Boardwalk with an 8:30 a.m. start. Registration on RunSignup closes Sunday, Nov. 22, at 11:59 p.m., four days before the race. The course description on that page still cites last year's Nov. 27 date, so the exact 2026 start and finish point is worth confirming closer to race day.
- Friday, Nov. 27. Christmas in the Downtown, billed as "Our Miracle on Asbury Avenue," runs from 2 to 5 p.m. and ends with Santa's arrival at 5. Last year it started at noon, according to OCNJ Daily's 2025 preview. That's two fewer hours, with the same 5 p.m. finish. Carriage rides run noon to 3 p.m. that day too, so the carriages and the downtown event overlap for an hour. The 2026 listing announces Santa's arrival but doesn't mention the tree lighting or drone show from last year's program.
- Saturday, Nov. 28. The full loop runs, and the evening adds Holidays with the Ocean City Pops at the Music Pier. Maestro Vince Lee leads two shows, at 2 p.m. and 6 p.m. Tickets are $27 and $32 through the city's box office. The 2 p.m. show starts during the 1-to-3 Santa photo window in the same building, so families planning both should allow time between them.
- Sunday, Nov. 29. The loop again, with nothing else on the city calendar.
Here's how the dates line up against 2025. Thanksgiving falls a day earlier on the calendar this year, so most of the season shifts with it: the Turkey Trot moves from Nov. 27 to Nov. 26, and the downtown kickoff moves from Nov. 28 to Nov. 27.
Parade Friday Turns the First December Weekend Into Three Days
The second weekend of the loop starts a day early. The Christmas Parade steps off Friday, Dec. 4, at 6 p.m. and runs on Asbury Avenue from 6th Street to 11th Street. The city's parade page lists Friday, Nov. 27, as the deadline for entries, which is also the day of Christmas in the Downtown. The time and route are the same as last year's parade, which OCNJ Daily reported for Friday, Dec. 5, 2025.
On Saturday and Sunday, Dec. 5 and 6, the 2026 Holiday Train Expo fills the Music Pier from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. both days, and admission is free. Vendor registration closed Oct. 1. The loop runs on the same two days, so the Music Pier hosts both the train show and the 1-to-3 Santa photos. On those two afternoons, a single trip to the Pier covers both.
The Friends of OCNJ have also set their Holiday Historic Home Tour for the first weekend of December. The tour is members-only, and the group hasn't posted an exact time yet.
The Last Two Weekends Are the Loop and Nothing Else
From Dec. 12 to Dec. 20, the city calendar lists just the three recurring events: Santa at Soifer Park, the carriage rides and Photos with Santa at the Music Pier, on Dec. 12–13 and again on Dec. 19–20. No parade, concert or expo is scheduled on those dates. For anyone who wants the morning Santa visit and the carriage rides without Thanksgiving crowds or parade-weekend traffic, these two weekends carry the lightest schedule of the run. The next big event on the calendar after Dec. 20 is First Night on Dec. 31.
Planning a holiday visit from family, or thinking about where on the island you'd like to spend future Decembers? From our office on Simpson Avenue, The Anchor Group follows the island's calendar all year, and we're glad to talk through the island's year-round rhythm with you, from Santa weekends downtown to the quieter streets that are a short walk from it.
