Starting Nov. 27, the Calf Barn at the Rochester Hills Museum at Van Hoosen Farm fills with scale-model train modules. According to the museum's All Aboard! event listing, the Stoney Creek Model Railroad Club spent years planning the modules, and they show "locations near and far." The trains run from noon to 3 p.m., admission is $5 for adults, and you can just walk in.
That same Friday, Meadow Brook Hall opens its holiday season on the Oakland University campus. This year it has two new ticketed events on the calendar. OU's own campus map shows the 1,441-acre campus spreading across both Auburn Hills and Rochester Hills.
Put the two calendars side by side and they overlap more than you'd expect. Candlelight tours, a holiday tea and Santa visits all show up at both estates. Several even fall on the same Saturdays. The prices are where they split.
The same traditions at two price points
Meadow Brook's 2026 holiday announcement lists the Holiday Soiree and Candlelight Tours as "New this year." Returning events include Holiday Tea & Tour, Tannenbaum Teas, Santa Saturdays and Family Nights. Van Hoosen Farm is run by the City of Rochester Hills and sells tickets for its own December events through Eventbrite.
| Tradition | Meadow Brook Hall | Van Hoosen Farm |
|---|---|---|
| Candlelight tour | Dec. 1, 15 and 16, $40 | Dec. 10, 6 to 9 p.m., $8 to $10 |
| Holiday tea | Select November and December dates, $95 | Dec. 9 at 10 a.m. or 2 p.m., from $15 |
| Santa visit | Nov. 28, Dec. 5, 19 and 20, $25 adults, $12 children | Dec. 5, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., from $7 |
| Self-guided holiday walk-through | Holiday Walk, Nov. 27 to Dec. 30, $22 adults, $9 youth | Old Fashioned Christmas, Dec. 19, noon to 4 p.m., $0 to $5 |
The gap is widest on the candlelight tour. One adult ticket at Meadow Brook costs as much as four tickets at the top Van Hoosen price. The tea gap is wider still. A $95 Meadow Brook seat covers about six seats at Van Hoosen's starting price.
What each ticket actually buys
Meadow Brook's prices pay for a staffed evening inside the mansion. Van Hoosen's pay for programs spread across the museum's grounds, barns and 1840s farmhouse.
Meadow Brook's events take place inside an 88,000-square-foot Tudor-revival mansion. Matilda Dodge Wilson and her second husband, Alfred Wilson, built it between 1926 and 1929, and it was named a National Historic Landmark in 2012. Its new Candlelight Tours are self-guided. They light the house with candles, fireplaces and "thousands of twinkling lights," and add a cash bar, a hot cocoa bar and live music. Members pay $36. Holiday Tea & Tour is served in the mansion's Dining Room. The ticket includes admission to Holiday Walk and a limited-edition ornament. Meadow Brook also says it is fully self-supporting and depends on its holiday events to fund preservation of the estate.
Van Hoosen's candlelight event is a one-hour guided tour spread across the museum grounds. Stops include historical vignettes, historic campfire cooking, a cappella Christmas carols and the decorated 1840s Van Hoosen Farmhouse. Some stations are outdoors, so the listing tells guests to dress in layers. The Santa visit has its own routine. You check in at the Dairy Barn, ride a wagon to the farmhouse, and can use your ticket to see the train exhibit while you wait. Old Fashioned Christmas is self-guided, with live music, crafts, chestnuts and the train display.
Meadow Brook's top tier has no Van Hoosen counterpart. The Holiday Soiree on Wednesday, Dec. 2, costs $175 per person, or $157.50 for members. It includes live carolers, an open bar, a strolling dinner, valet parking and music from Ben Sharkey with a five-piece band. Tannenbaum Teas, on Mondays, Dec. 7 and 14, cost $125. They take place while the mansion is otherwise closed to the public. They include the only guided Holiday Walk tour, a professional group portrait and valet parking.
Meadow Brook does have a lower-cost option of its own. On Family Nights, kids 12 and under get into Winter Wonder Lights free, up to four youth tickets per booking, with the promo code FAMILY. Those nights are Sunday, Nov. 29, and Dec. 6, 13 and 27. On any other night, Winter Wonder Lights costs $23 for adults and $13 for youth. It runs 6 to 9:30 p.m. most nights and includes hot cocoa, selfie stations and bonfires.
The season in date order
With both estates and the rest of the city's calendar in one list, the busiest days stand out quickly.
- Fri., Nov. 20, 6 to 9 p.m.: Light the Village at The Village of Rochester Hills opens the season. It promises more than 800,000 lights, fireworks, Santa's first 2026 appearance and Jay Towers of FOX 2 and WNIC as emcee. The center says all programming depends on the weather.
- Fri., Nov. 27: Meadow Brook's Holiday Walk and Winter Wonder Lights open, and Van Hoosen's trains start running.
- Sat., Nov. 28 and Sun., Nov. 29: Meadow Brook's first Santa Saturday and first Family Night. The trains run both days.
- Tue., Dec. 1 and Wed., Dec. 2: Meadow Brook's first Candlelight Tour, then the Holiday Soiree.
- Sat., Dec. 5: The busiest day of the season. Van Hoosen hosts Santa and Mrs. Claus, Meadow Brook holds a Santa Saturday, and the Rochester Hills Public Library runs a free Holiday Cookie Decorating Workshop from 2 to 4 p.m.
- Wed., Dec. 9 and Thu., Dec. 10: Van Hoosen's Holiday Tea in the Farmhouse, then its Candlelight Walking Tours.
- Sat., Dec. 12: A free talk at Van Hoosen, "Model Railroading: More Than Just A Hobby," runs 10 to 11 a.m., and the train exhibit opens at noon.
- Wed., Dec. 16, 1 p.m.: The city's Holiday Hike at Innovation Hills, from $6. That evening is also Meadow Brook's final Candlelight Tour.
- Sat., Dec. 19: A second double-booked Saturday, with Old Fashioned Christmas at Van Hoosen and a Santa Saturday at Meadow Brook.
- Sun., Dec. 20: Meadow Brook's Santa visit on a Sunday, which is new this year.
- Dec. 26 to 30: Van Hoosen's trains run every day from noon to 3 p.m., and Meadow Brook's season ends Wednesday, Dec. 30.
Dec. 5 and Dec. 19 matter to Van Hoosen's own pricing as well. The train exhibit's admission rules list exceptions for exactly those two dates, the days when the trains are part of the larger Santa and Old Fashioned Christmas events.
The dates that come before the dates
Most of these events have a booking date that arrives well before the event itself.
- Meadow Brook: Tickets for every holiday event have been on sale since Oct. 12, and the venue says "all events are expected to sell out." That matters most for the four Candlelight Tour and Soiree nights.
- Van Hoosen Santa and Mrs. Claus: Eventbrite sales opened Oct. 31 at 12 a.m.
- Library cookie workshop: It's free, but registration is required. It opens Nov. 5 at 9 a.m.
- Van Hoosen trains: No booking needed. The 1 p.m. guided museum tour that comes with admission takes 15 people, first come, first served.
The city's museum programs page says the train exhibit runs on select weekends through January. The 2026 holiday date list currently ends on Dec. 30. Venues can change event details, so check the official ticket pages before you go.
If your December plans also include a home sale or a move, Showtime Realty can help you set a schedule that leaves room for these dates. Talk to Joseph Sinishtaj at Showtime Realty and schedule a consultation.
