Where to see Father Christmas and a torchlit descent on Christmas Eve in the Alps

What a French resort's Christmas Eve usually includes

In the French resorts we checked, Father Christmas arrives in the late afternoon, often by sleigh, carriage or parade. The ESF instructors ski down in a line of torches, and many resorts finish with fireworks. Most start between 17:00 and 18:30, and the ones listed here are free to watch.

Where the 2026/27 programme is not out yet, we give 2025/26. Last winter's times show a resort's usual pattern, not this year's.

Resorts at a glance

Resort	What happens	Programme
Val d'Isère	Father Christmas arrives 17:00 on 24 Dec; ESF torchlit descent 18:00 on 22 Dec	2026/27
Megève	Santa's office 21–24 Dec; sleigh parade 17:30 on 24 Dec	2026/27
Serre Chevalier	Father Christmas at Chantemerle from 18:00 on 24 Dec	2026/27
Les Menuires	Torchlit descent and fireworks from 17:30 on 24 Dec; Father Christmas from 11:00 on 25 Dec	2026/27
Samoëns	Father Christmas, parade, torchlit descent and fireworks on 24 Dec	2026/27 (times not yet out)
La Clusaz	Surprise arrival of Father Christmas on 24 Dec	2026/27
Les Deux Alpes	Ski show, torchlit descent and fireworks from 18:30 on 24 Dec	Listed with 2026
Les Gets	Father Christmas's village 20–24 Dec 2026; parade, torches and fireworks on 24 Dec 2025	2026/27 and 2025/26
Méribel	Father Christmas arrives 17:30 on 24 Dec; torchlit descent and fireworks on 25 Dec	2025/26
Tignes	Parades, lantern and torchlit descents, fireworks on 24 Dec	2025/26
Chamonix	Christmas parade with Father Christmas 17:30 on 24 Dec; torchlit descents on 25 Dec	2025/26
Morzine and Avoriaz	Parades, torchlit descent and fireworks from 18:15 on 24 Dec	2025/26
Verbier	Santa and two elves in the streets, 15:30–17:00 on 24 and 25 Dec	2026/27
Lech	The Christkind arrives on 20 Dec; Santa Claus visits Zürs at 14:30 on 25 Dec	2025/26
Courmayeur	Rhémy de Noël arrives on 24 Dec afternoon	2025/26

France

Val d'Isère

For 2026, the tourist office lists Father Christmas's arrival at 17:00 on Thursday 24 December, on the square outside the tourist office. The ESF torchlit descent down the Face de Bellevarde is on Tuesday 22 December 2026 at 18:00, weather permitting, so check the date if you want to see both. At the ESF Christmas show, hot chocolate and mulled wine cost €2 with a cup deposit.

Megève

Megève's Village de Noël runs from 21 to 31 December 2026, 10:00–12:00 and 15:00–18:30, and closes on 25 December. From 21 to 24 December children can visit Father Christmas in his office. On 24 December at 17:30 he parades through the village in his sleigh. Elf workshops for children aged four and over cost €5, booked online.

Serre Chevalier and Les Deux Alpes

In Serre Chevalier, Father Christmas arrives on 24 December 2026 from 18:00 on the square at the Chantemerle cable car. ESF instructors put on a torch display at the foot of the Luc Alphand slope. In Les Deux Alpes, the resort's Christmas Eve ski show starts at 18:30 on the Lutins slope, with the ESF torchlit descent, ski demonstrations and fireworks. The page gives the date as "Wednesday 24 December" next to 2026, and 24 December 2026 is a Thursday, so check the date nearer the time.

Christmas Eve in Les Menuires, Samoëns, La Clusaz and Valloire

• Les Menuires: on 24 December 2026, a parade, sound and light show, torchlit descent and fireworks at Les Bruyères from 17:30. On Christmas Day Father Christmas visits La Croisette from 11:00.
• Samoëns: the Christmas village opens daily from 19 December 2026 to 3 January 2027, from 14:00, and is free. On 24 December it adds Father Christmas, a parade, a torchlit descent and fireworks. Times were not yet published.
• La Clusaz: the free Pestacles street-theatre festival runs from 20 December 2026 to 2 January 2027. How Father Christmas arrives on the 24th is kept secret until the evening.
• Valloire: from 20 to 25 December 2026 the Town Hall square has a 5-metre snow sculpture of Father Christmas, his life-size house and a small market. The 2026 programme had not been announced.

Christmas Eve in the Portes du Soleil resorts

In Les Gets, Father Christmas's village runs from 20 to 24 December 2026. On Christmas Eve 2025, the Haute-Savoie tourist board listed the parade at 17:30, the ESF torchlit descent at 18:15 and fireworks at 18:30. In Morzine the parade welcoming Father Christmas started at 18:15, with fireworks from the Pléney snowfront. In Avoriaz the Christmas show started at 18:15 on the Dromonts slope, with an ESF torchlit descent, a sound and light show and fireworks.

Méribel and Tignes

Méribel ran its festivities from 21 to 25 December 2025. Father Christmas arrived at 17:30 on the 24th, by carriage in Méribel Centre. On Christmas Day at 17:30 a torchlit descent and fireworks at La Chaudanne marked his departure. In Tignes, on 24 December 2025, both Val Claret and Le Lac had a parade with Father Christmas, a children's lantern descent, an instructors' torchlit descent and fireworks. Val Claret's parade started at 17:00. On Christmas Day there were sleigh rides with Father Christmas in Val Claret, 17:00–18:30.

Chamonix valley and Courchevel

The Chamonix tourist office's 2025/26 programme had Father Christmas in Les Houches on 22 December and in Argentière on 23 December. The grand Christmas parade left the Place du Triangle de l'Amitié at 17:30 on 24 December, with Father Christmas in the procession. On Christmas Day there were torchlit descents in Les Houches and Vallorcine. In Courchevel, the ESF describes its instructors' torchlit descent at 1850 on Christmas Eve and a photo session with Father Christmas the same evening, but gives no times.

Switzerland and Austria

In German-speaking Switzerland, the Samichlaus visits on 6 December and the Christkind brings the main presents at Christmas, according to the Swiss National Museum. In the programmes we found, Father Christmas appears less often than in France.

• Verbier: Santa and two elves walk the streets on 24 and 25 December 2026, and 15:30 to 17:00 is the time to meet them.
• Lech: in 2025 the Christkind arrived on the Kirchplatz in Lech at 18:00 on 20 December. In Zürs, Santa Claus visited the Edelweissplatz at 14:30 on Christmas Day.
• St Anton: the 2025/26 winter press release lists no event between the Christmas Adventure Trail on 21 December and 30 December.

We did not find a public Christmas Eve event for children in the official programmes for Zermatt, Saas-Fee, Obergurgl or Ischgl. For their Advent events, see our guide to Christmas markets in ski resorts.

Italy

In the Italian resorts we checked, the torchlit descents were at New Year. Courmayeur is the exception for children. On 24 December 2025 a children's workshop at 15:00 in the Jardin de l'Ange led to a story and the arrival of Rhémy de Noël, a Father Christmas dressed as a mountaineer. At 16:30 the children walked him to the Alpine Guides Society to light his lantern. The instructors' torchlit descent was on 30 December in 2024.

In Ortisei, Val Gardena, Christmas Eve 2025 brought choirs at 18:00 in Piazza Stetteneck, and the ski school's torchlit descent was on New Year's Eve.

Choosing a resort for Christmas Eve with children

If Father Christmas and a torchlit descent on the 24th are the priority, the French resorts above give you more choice. In resorts with several villages, such as Tignes and Méribel, check which village's event is nearest your chalet. Our family Christmas chalets and catered Christmas chalets collections cover these resorts. In 2026 the usual chalet week runs from Saturday 19 to Saturday 26 December, so Christmas Eve falls on the Thursday of your week.

Sources

• Val d'Isère Tourisme — Val d'Isère, Santa's arrival 2026
• ESF Val d'Isère — Val d'Isère, torchlit descent 2026
• Val d'Isère Tourisme — Val d'Isère, ESF Christmas show
• Megève Tourisme — Megève, Village de Noël 2026
• Les Gets Tourisme — Les Gets, Father Christmas's village 2026
• Haute-Savoie tourist board — Christmas Eve fireworks in Haute-Savoie 2025
• Avoriaz Tourisme — Avoriaz, Christmas Eve (2024 listing)
• Serre Chevalier Vallée tourist office — Serre Chevalier, Father Christmas 2026
• Les Menuires tourist office — Les Menuires, end of year 2026
• Samoëns tourist office — Samoëns, Christmas village 2026/27
• La Clusaz tourist office — La Clusaz, Pestacles 2026/27
• Valloire tourist office — Valloire, Noël magique 2026
• Les 2 Alpes tourist office — Les 2 Alpes, end-of-year celebrations
• Méribel Tourisme — Méribel, end-of-year programme 2025
• Mairie de Tignes — Tignes, Christmas 2025
• Chamonix-Mont-Blanc Valley tourist office — Chamonix valley programme 2025/26
• ESF Courchevel — Courchevel, Christmas week at the ESF
• Verbier Tourisme — Verbier, Santa Claus and his elves 2026
• Swiss National Museum — Christkind or Samichlaus?
• Lech Zürs Tourismus — Lech Zürs Advent dates 2025
• St. Anton am Arlberg tourist board — St Anton winter 2025/26 press release
• Courmayeur Mont Blanc tourist office — Courmayeur, Rhémy de Noël 2025
• Comune di Courmayeur — Courmayeur, instructors' torchlit descent 2024
• Nadel Urtijëi (Ortisei) — Ortisei events 2025/26