Dartford's Santa's House is back at Acacia on weekends from 28 November. Tickets were £5 a child last year and are not on sale yet. Plus the fire engine tour.
Dartford Borough Council’s Santa’s House is back at Acacia on the High Street this year, on Saturdays and Sundays from 28 November to 19 December 2026. The price and session times are still “TBC” on the council’s listing, and tickets are not on sale yet: on 3 October the council’s ticket page offered only the Dartford Business Awards. (Dartford Borough Council)
Santa will also tour the borough again on a vintage red fire engine, free and with no ticket, from 6 December. The route has not been published. (Dartford Borough Council)
The quick answer
- Santa’s House: Acacia Mansion House, High Street, DA1 1DJ. Saturdays and Sundays, 28 November to 19 December 2026. Price and times TBC; tickets not on sale on 3 October.
- Last year’s price: £5 a child, every child including babes in arms, with a gift and entertainment. Two adults per booking went free.
- When tickets are likely: last year the council put the booking page up between 17 and 24 October.
- Santa on Tour: free, no ticket, Santa on a vintage fire engine, from Sunday 6 December. Stops and times not yet published; last year’s are below.
Santa’s House: what is confirmed for 2026
The council’s own listing gives these facts and no more:
| 2026 listing | |
|---|---|
| Where | Acacia Mansion House, Acacia, High Street, Dartford DA1 1DJ |
| When | Weekly on Saturday and Sunday, 28 November to 19 December |
| Price | TBC |
| Times | Not published |
It says only: “Step into a winter wonderland in Dartford this Christmas. We’ll share more details here closer to the time.”
The dates do not quite add up. Saturdays and Sundays from 28 November to 19 December make seven days (28 and 29 November, 5 and 6 December, 12 and 13 December, and Saturday 19 December). The council’s own procurement notice for the event describes it as “6 days held over 3 weekends late November and into December”, which is what it ran in 2024 and 2025. Until the booking page goes live, treat the exact days as unconfirmed. (Find a Tender, Santa’s House 2025-2028)
What it was like last year
The council’s 2025 page, preserved by the Internet Archive, set out the whole offer. (Dartford Borough Council, Santa’s House 2025, archived 24 October 2025)
- Six days: Saturday 29 and Sunday 30 November, Saturday 6 and Sunday 7 December, Saturday 13 and Sunday 14 December 2025.
- Sessions from 9.30am to 4.30pm.
- £5 per child, including “a gift and entertainment”. “ALL children require a ticket including babes in arms.”
- Two adults per family booking free, with no adult ticket. If you need an extra carer, the council asked families to email leisure.services@dartford.gov.uk with the booking reference.
- A quiet session at 9.30am each Sunday for children with special educational needs and disabilities.
- Non-refundable, and dates and times could not be changed after booking.
The 2024 event ran on the same terms at the same price, £5 a child, over six days from 23 November to 8 December. (Dartford Borough Council, Santa’s House 2024, archived 2 November 2024)
The event is delivered for the council by a contractor that plans it, decorates the house and staffs it, with children working through “a number of activities ending with a visit to Santa”. The council’s 2025 tender called it “now in its ninth year”, which makes 2026 the tenth. (Find a Tender, notice 2025/S 000-037712)
When tickets go on sale
The council has not said. The best guide is last year. An archived copy of the council’s Santa’s House page from 17 October 2025 still showed the 2024 event; by 24 October 2025 it had been replaced with the 2025 event and a “Get your tickets” link. (17 October capture) That puts last year’s release in the week of 20 October. That is our reading of the archive, not a council announcement. Sessions are popular, so check the council’s events page from mid-October.
Santa on Tour: the fire engine
The 2026 listing describes Santa travelling “across all of Dartford this December” on board a vintage red fire engine, with free giveaways. It is listed as free, 10am to 7pm, recurring on Sundays from 6 to 19 December, and the council says it will “share full details of Santa’s Tour later on this year”. (Dartford Borough Council)
Do not read too much into “Sundays”. The 2025 listing carried the same “recurs weekly on Sunday” line, and the route it then published included Thursday, Tuesday and Monday evening stops as well. Last year’s full route was on the council’s page by early November.
| Day | Time | Stop |
|---|---|---|
| Sunday 7 December | 10.30am | Temple Hill Square, DA1 5HY |
| 12pm | Wilmington Memorial Hall, High Road, DA2 7DW | |
| 1.30pm | Stone Pavilion, Hayes Road, Stone, DA9 9EF | |
| 3.30pm | Swanscombe Town Council Offices, The Grove, DA10 0GA | |
| Thursday 11 December | 5pm | Tree Estate Community Centre, Cedar Road, DA1 2RS |
| 6.30pm | Dartford Cricket Club, Hesketh Park, Pilgrims Way, DA1 1QZ | |
| Sunday 14 December | 10.30am | Greenhithe, Ingress Park, junction of Ingress Park Avenue and Prioress Crescent, DA9 9GE |
| 12.30pm | The Bridge Estate, Spirits Rest Horse and Animal Sanctuary, Binnie Road, DA1 5RB | |
| 2pm | Castle Hill tennis courts, Castle Hill, Ebbsfleet, DA10 1BU | |
| Tuesday 16 December | 5pm | St Anselm's Church, 89 West Hill, DA1 2HJ |
| 6.30pm | Fleet Estate, Fleetdale Parade, Fleet Avenue, DA2 6JB | |
| Sunday 21 December | 11.15am | Temple Hill, Phoenix Quarter, Central Road, next to River Mill Primary School, DA1 5XR |
| 12.30pm | Hawley Pavilion, Hawley Road, DA4 7RN (listed as venue TBC) | |
| 1.45pm | Southfleet Village Hall, Dale Road, DA13 9NX | |
| 3pm | Darenth Hall, Ladywood Road, DA2 7LL | |
| Monday 22 December | 10.30am | The Railway pub, 2 Station Road, Longfield, DA3 7QD |
| 11.30am | The Black Horse pub, High Street, Bean, DA2 8AS | |
| 1pm | The Growler pub, Westgate House, Spital Street, DA1 2EH |
(Dartford Borough Council, Santa on Tour, archived 8 November 2025)
Many of the 2025 stops repeated 2024’s, including Temple Hill Square, Stone Pavilion, Ingress Park, the Tree Estate, Hesketh Park, St Anselm’s on West Hill, Southfleet, Darenth, the Railway at Longfield, the Black Horse at Bean and the Growler. If your area was on the route last year, it is a fair bet, but wait for the council’s 2026 list before planning around it. (Santa on Tour 2024, archived 2 November 2024)
Dartford Lions Club’s sleigh
Dartford Lions Club, which runs the Central Park fireworks, has toured its own Santa’s Sleigh in past years. Its last write-up, for 2023, describes the sleigh covering East Dartford, the Fleet Estate, the Tree Estate and North Road, with the final stop at the CopperHouse Green estate on 18 December, handing out free gifts. The club has posted nothing about a sleigh since, so we cannot say whether it will run in 2026. (Dartford Lions Club, 2023)
Getting there and parking
Santa’s House is at Acacia, beside Acacia car park (DA1 1DJ), the council’s ticketless car park, entered from Darenth Road. Charges and the alternatives are on our parking in Dartford page. For road and rail disruption on the day, see Dartford roadworks and travel.
The rest of Dartford’s Christmas
- Big Christmas Switch On: Saturday 14 November, Brewery Square, free. Details on our switch-on page.
- Carol Concert: Wednesday 9 December, 6.30pm to 7.30pm, Central Park Outdoor Theatre, free on the council’s listing.
- Cinderella: the pantomime reopens the Orchard Theatre on 12 December. Prices and dates on our pantomime page.
- Winterland: back in Bluewater’s West Car Park from 7 November; see our Winterland report.
What we will update
- Santa’s House price, session times and the booking link, as soon as the council publishes them.
- Which seven or six days Santa’s House actually runs.
- The 2026 Santa on Tour route, stop by stop.
- Any Lions Club sleigh dates.
Check the council’s events page before you set out.
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