Santa Claus will make an appearance during the annual Home for the Holidays Tour in Noblesville during the first weekend of December.
The tour will feature six routes with the downtown portion being the traditional parade route, Noblesville Mayor Chris Jensen said.
“The Home for the Holidays Tour will be back and bigger than ever this year,” Jensen said. “This tour encompasses a large part of Noblesville as last year it covered over 110 lane miles.”
Jensen said while the city has had a route that covered the downtown Noblesville area in past years, the city will include the traditional downtown parade route this year. The downtown tour will also include nonprofit organizations and community groups, he added.
“As our community grows, we want to honor our past traditions as well as create new ones for the nearly 70,000 residents who call Noblesville home. We hope this will allow those who wish to see Santa in their neighborhood as well as those who wish to gather with friends and family downtown a great opportunity to do so,” Jensen said. “We are excited for Santa Claus to spread holiday cheer across Noblesville on Dec. 3 and 4.”
The Home for the Holidays Tour will be split by the White River with three routes, including the traditional parade route, being held east of the river on Dec. 3. The first tour will begin at 9 a.m. with the traditional downtown parade kicking off at 2 p.m., according to the city.
Another three parade routes will be held Dec. 4 west of the White River, according to the city, which said that routes are still being designed and will be announced in the coming weeks. The Home for the Holidays Tour was created to take Santa to the public while thanking first responders and essential workers during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“The pandemic made us be creative to keep the holiday spirit alive. In the four years prior to the change, organizers saw a large decline in parade participants and attendance,” Jensen said. “By changing the format, we immediately saw larger crowds of enthusiastic residents that really enjoyed the new plan, and we heard positive feedback from many residents who otherwise would not have been able to participate at an offsite location. Each year since then, we’ve tried to take Santa and the Home for the Holidays Tour to more people and neighborhoods.”
The Home for the Holidays Tour is part of the city’s seasonal celebration with Holidays at the Hill returning to Federal Hill Commons starting Nov. 19. The holiday tradition includes an ice-skating rink, walking light tour, carriage rides and holiday market.
The Lights Over Seminary holiday display will begin Dec. 2 as part of the First Friday events taking place in downtown Noblesville, according to the city. Nonprofit organizations and community groups interested in participating in the traditional downtown parade route or any of the neighborhood routes free of charge are asked to visit cityofnoblesville.org/parade for more information.
