Santa Takes the Streets in Short Pump This December. Here's How the Holiday Calendar Lines Up.

Last December, Santa left Twin Hickory Library at 5 p.m. on a Friday. He rode behind a Henrico Recreation and Parks parade float, a decorated fire truck, a dump truck and a library van. For three hours the convoy wound along Nuckols, Copperas, Horsepen, Gaskins, Pouncey Tract, Quioccasin and Ridgefield roads, then pulled into Deep Run Recreation Center for hot chocolate and crafts.

The year before, it took a different path.

That moving route sits at the center of December in Short Pump. The mall Santa stays in one place all season. The parade Santa reaches Three Chopt and Tuckahoe for one evening only, on streets the county picks fresh each year. This year that evening is Tuesday, December 8. The other dates on the calendar, from the West Broad Village tree lighting to Santa Paws at Short Pump Park, are easy to plan around once you know where the parade will go.

The parade that comes to you

The Henrico Holiday Express Tour is run by Henrico Recreation and Parks. The 2026 version brings what the county calls "a parade of merry and bright vehicles from Rec and Parks, Police, Fire, DPU, and Libraries." Santa rides along, and you can meet him at the end of each night's route. The county splits the tour over three evenings by magisterial district:

• Tuesday, Dec. 8, 5 to 8 p.m.: Three Chopt and Tuckahoe
• Wednesday, Dec. 9, 5 to 8 p.m.: Varina
• Thursday, Dec. 10, 5 to 8 p.m.: Brookland and Fairfield

Short Pump's night is the first one. The 2026 listing names Deep Run Recreation Center at 9910 Ridgefield Parkway as the venue, and that has been the finish line in each of the past two years.

The tour isn't new. WRIC covered the county's decorated vehicles touring neighborhoods in 2020, and both the county and WRIC's 2024 coverage call it an annual event.

Why last year's curb may not work this year

The route is the part that changes. Compare the last two Three Chopt and Tuckahoe tours with what has been posted for 2026 so far:

Some roads made both lists. Pouncey Tract, Wyndham, Gayton, Church and Three Chopt carried the parade in 2024 and in 2025. The 2025 route also pushed east and south onto Horsepen, Gaskins and Quioccasin, and it came into Deep Run along Ridgefield. A household on one of those added stretches saw the parade pass in 2025 and might not see it in 2026.

The county has also warned that the posted plan can shift on the night itself. The 2024 route sheet noted that traffic or other conditions could change the route.

How the night has worked

For both of the past two tours, Henrico posted a planned-route PDF ahead of time. It also put up a live Santa tracker, which went live when the tour began and didn't require a sign-in. Last year the county laid the evening out in three parts:

From 4:30-5pm: Visit Twin Hickory Library to view the floats up close, do a craft, and see Santa & friends. From 5-8pm: Santa Claus is comin' through town. Choose a spot along the tour to be your viewing location.

The third part was the finale at Deep Run Rec Center, with a hot chocolate bar, outdoor games, indoor crafts and a visit with Santa.

That gives families two ways to see Santa that night. You can stand at the curb if the route passes near home, or you can head to Deep Run for the end of the evening. The finale has run late each time, with Santa visits at 7:30 p.m. in 2024 and 7:45 p.m. in 2025. On a school night, that timing matters for families with young kids.

For 2026, the county's event page gives [email protected] as the contact for questions. If 2026 follows the last two years, the route PDF and tracker link will be posted on the Three Chopt and Tuckahoe event page. That page is worth bookmarking now.

The fixed dates you can plan around

The parade is the one date that depends on the route. The rest of the calendar has set times and places.

Short Pump Town Center, starting in November. Photos with Santa happen in the mall's Clubhouse, and booking goes through Short Pump Town Center's events page. The booking system at WhereIsSanta already shows time slots in mid-November. It says walk-ups are welcome every day until closing, and that several families are scheduled into each 15-minute slot. The mall hasn't posted holiday hours yet. Its regular hours are 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Sunday.

West Broad Village, Saturday, Nov. 28, 4 to 8 p.m. The Holiday Tree Lighting Celebration at 2250 Old Brick Road is free. It includes a visit from Santa, hot chocolate, music, lit-up photo spots and the lighting of the tree. It falls on the Saturday after Thanksgiving, which makes it the first big holiday gathering of the season on the Broad Street corridor.

Short Pump Park, Saturday, Dec. 12, 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Santa Paws 2026 is back at Short Pump Park, 3329 Pump Road. Dogs get a free photo with Santa, and the county's elves take it on your own phone or camera. Vendors will be there, and concessions are for sale. Henrico's own events list shows two kinds of December events from Recreation and Parks, the three Holiday Express nights and Santa Paws, and the Short Pump area hosts the Three Chopt and Tuckahoe tour as well as Santa Paws.

The season, start to finish

Virginia Cliffe Inn is a short drive northeast in Glen Allen, and it's the one stop on this list that runs most of the season. Its Christmas at the Inn opens with a free Grand Kick-Off on Friday, Nov. 27, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. That day brings a holiday market, plus a tree lighting and caroling in the evening. The market continues through Sunday, Nov. 29.

So the season runs from mid-November Santa photos at Short Pump Town Center to the last days of Christmas at the Inn on Dec. 23. Between the tree lighting at West Broad Village and dogs posing with Santa at Short Pump Park comes a Tuesday-night parade on streets the county hasn't announced yet. When Henrico posts the 2026 route, find the nearest stretch and plan a curb spot, or head to Deep Run by 7:30 for the finale.

At Moving For Good, we love that the biggest night of Short Pump's holiday season happens on neighborhood streets, put on by the county's own crews. If the Holiday Express rolls past your door this December and you start wondering what your home is worth heading into the new year, Adam Carpenter can give you a clear, local answer. Get Your Instant Home Valuation, and enjoy the parade.