Who pays for the cookie at Santa in the Village? It comes from Doodle Art Studio, the hot cocoa comes from Great Harvest Bread Company, and both shops are tenants on the same blocks where Santa sets up. Rockbrook Village calls itself "Home Grown & Locally Owned," and its holiday calendar works that way. The shops host the season. That's why it runs over two particular Saturdays: Small Business Saturday on Nov. 28, and the Saturday after it, Dec. 5, when a wine shop in the village does the pouring.

If you live near 108th and West Center, you're a little over two weeks out from the first one. The plan below follows the shops, since they're the ones putting on the events.

Nov. 28 is Small Business Saturday, and the village picked that day on purpose

Rockbrook Village's homepage lists Santa in the Village for Saturday, Nov. 28, from noon to 3 p.m., as a free event. Family Fun in Omaha's November 2026 Santa roundup lists the same date and time.

Here's how the village's event page explains the reason for the day:

"This is our way of saying thank you for supporting Small Business Saturday and shopping local this holiday season."

So the visit with Santa is a thank-you from the merchants for that day's shopping. Everything on the program comes from inside the village:

1. Noon to 3 p.m.: Kids visit Santa and share their wish lists.
2. After the visit: Families get a free horse-and-carriage ride around the village.
3. For kids: A free cookie at Doodle Art Studio.
4. Also for kids: Free hot cocoa at Great Harvest Bread Company.
5. At dusk: The village's Christmas lights come on.

Look at the timing. Santa leaves at 3 p.m., and the lights don't come on until dusk. Thanksgiving falls on Nov. 26 this year, so the late-November sun will set well before dinner. Families who stay for the lights end up with an hour or two to spend in the shops while the carriage rides wind down.

One shop opens earlier and runs a longer day

Santa runs for three hours, and at least one merchant has planned a full day around it. Frame & Focus Optical, at 10914 Elm St., lists a Small Business Saturday event on Nov. 28, 2026, from 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., with 30% off store-wide and free personalized styling.

Frame & Focus is new to the village this year. Grow Omaha reported in June that the boutique had planned its grand opening at the Elm Street address for June 23. That makes this its first holiday season in Rockbrook. Its events page also lists a year-end sale from Dec. 1 through Dec. 31, 2026, with 30% off purchases. If you miss Saturday, the same discount comes back on Dec. 1.

Frame & Focus's day covers the Santa window with a couple of hours on each side. That's the pattern across the whole season. The village-wide event lasts a few hours, and the individual shops extend it on their own schedules.

A week later, Corkscrew does the pouring

The second Saturday works the same way, for adults. Rockbrook Village's homepage lists the Winter Wine Walk for Saturday, Dec. 5, from noon to 3 p.m., as a free event. It's the same three-hour window as Santa, one week later.

Here's how the village describes the Wine Walk:

• Who can join: It's 21 and over, and it's free.
• How it starts: Show your ID at any participating store to get a wristband.
• What's poured: Wines sampled from Corkscrew Wine & Cheese.
• At each stop: Snacks at each participating store, plus holiday flash sales.

The wine comes from Corkscrew, a shop in the village. The snacks and flash sales come from whichever stores sign up. Like Santa day, the event is built from what the tenants already sell. Before you go, check the Rockbrook Village events page to see which stores are giving out wristbands this year.

A smaller version of the village's biggest weekend

Rockbrook Village already shows what its shops can draw. The 55th annual Rockbrook Village Art Fair ran Sept. 12 and 13, 2026. According to the village's Art Fair page, 115 artists took part and the fair drew more than 40,000 visitors.

The holiday Saturdays are smaller: three hours each, centered on the village's own shops. The Art Fair brings in artists from outside the village. The November and December Saturdays rely on the businesses that are open in Rockbrook every week. So the shop list matters more in winter than it does in September.

What's in the village this season

Rockbrook Village's directory is the current tenant list. Here it is sorted for a holiday visit.

Gift shopping

• Alletti Jewelry & Gifts
• Four Sisters Boutique
• Foxy Squirrel Bead & Boutique
• Hearts & Fire
• Old World Oil & Vinegar
• Savory Spice Shop
• Wild Birds Unlimited
• Blooms
• Rossi Clothiers
• The Clothier's Daughters
• Label Omaha
• Corkscrew Wine & Cheese

Eating and drinking after the carriage ride

• Pasta Amore
• Don Carmelo's Pizzeria
• Rizin Japanese Ramen
• Jaipur Brewing Company
• Public House
• Rebel Rise GF Bistro & Bakery
• Great Harvest Bread Co.
• Scooter's Coffee

For kids, beyond the cookie

• Doodle Art Studio
• iSkate Omaha
• Strike Zone

If you haven't been through the village in the past year, two changes are worth knowing about before Nov. 28.

Rebel Rise GF Bistro & Bakery, at 11039 Elm St., serves a fully gluten-free menu. The Omaha World-Herald reported that the restaurant opened its Rockbrook Village location in November 2025. This Santa Saturday comes almost exactly a year after it opened. If someone in your group eats gluten-free, it's an easy stop on a day that otherwise runs on cookies and cocoa.

Brownie Bar Bakery is no longer in the directory. Grow Omaha reported in February that the bakery planned to close its storefront at 10922 Prairie Brook Road on Feb. 28. It planned to keep offering party packs, shipping, and onsite catering. If brownies were part of your Rockbrook holiday stop, ordering ahead is the way to get them now.

Planning the two Saturdays

To fit both Saturdays into one plan, take the kids on Nov. 28, starting with Santa and the carriage, then the cookie and cocoa stops, and stay in the village until the lights come on. Come back without them on Dec. 5 for the Wine Walk, and use Corkscrew's pours as a guide to the gift shops you skipped the first time. Frame & Focus offers 30% off on Small Business Saturday and again from Dec. 1 through Dec. 31, so the Wine Walk Saturday falls inside its December sale too.

Both events last only three hours, and both depend on the shops that host them. Before you head over, check the Rockbrook Village events page for any changes to times or participating stores.

We love living near a shopping center where the stores put on the holiday events themselves. If you'd like to talk about the streets around 108th and Center, or about anything else on your mind about Omaha real estate this winter, Renada Kelly and Sean Kelly would be glad to hear from you. Work with SK & Ren.