More of Aberdeen's holiday season is happening downtown this year, and most of it centers on one block. The Aberdeen Carolina & Western Railway's Christmas trains check in at the Wye Welcome Station, 120 S. Sycamore Street. That greenspace is also a licensed seller in the downtown social district, and the district now runs Monday through Saturday plus Sunday afternoons, where it used to open only Thursday through Sunday. The Town's own calendar fills Dec. 11 through 13. For anyone who lives here, this December mostly happens within a few blocks of the tracks.
The Railroad's Greenspace on Sycamore Street
The Wye is easy to walk past without knowing what it is. The Town of Aberdeen describes it as a greenspace at 120 S. Sycamore Street used for public events. The Pilot has reported that ACWR owns the lot bordered by Poplar, South, Sycamore and Main streets and has opened it to town events. The Town was already holding Third Thursdays events there by August 2025.
This season, the Wye is also the departure point. Every 2026 holiday train listed by The Pines Times checks in at the Wye Welcome Station. Here is the full run as of this week:
- Thanks for Giving Soiree, Saturday, Nov. 7, 4 to 8 p.m. A 21-and-over round trip from Aberdeen to Pinehurst that benefits Meals on Wheels of the Sandhills. Tickets are listed at $175 to $900.
- Holiday Mix & Mingle, Thursdays through Sundays, Dec. 10 to 20, at 5 and 7 p.m. An adults-only evening ride in a 1926 Pullman railcar with Santa, music and light hors d'oeuvres.
- Carolina Christmas Train: Sugar & Spice… and Everything Nice, Dec. 13, 19 and 20, at 9 and 11 a.m. A 50-minute family ride with hot cocoa, a holiday treat and a visit from Santa, who gives each child a wooden train keepsake. Tickets are $60.
- Holiday Tea, Dec. 13, 19 and 20, at 9 and 11 a.m. An adult-class, 50-minute round trip between Aberdeen and Pinehurst with tea food on board.
Check-in is simple. You give the last name on your booking at the Wye Welcome Station, boarding starts 15 minutes before departure, and the train's horn signals when it's time to board. The listing gives 704-266-0644 and [email protected] for questions.
The Social District Now Runs Six Days a Week
Downtown Aberdeen's social district opened in 2025 with Thursday-through-Sunday hours. In December 2025, the Town Board extended those hours. According to Citizen Portal's account of the vote, commissioners approved 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 1 to 9 p.m. on Sundays, effective Jan. 19, 2026. Town planner Lindy Lamielle told the board that police had reported no incidents since the district began.
That makes this the first holiday season when a to-go cup is allowed downtown on a Monday, Tuesday or Wednesday evening. That covers the early-week shopping nights in December that the original schedule left out. The Town's Social District page lists the permitted businesses selling district drinks:
| Seller | Address |
|---|---|
| Railhouse Brewery | 105 E. South Street |
| El Chapin 2 | 106 W. South Street |
| High Octane | 140 S. Sycamore Street |
| Mason's Restaurant & Grocery | 111 N. Sycamore Street |
| Pizzeria Grazia | 101 N. Sycamore Street |
| The Workshop Tavern | 106 W. Main Street |
| Poplar Place | 108 N. Poplar Street |
| Eloise Trading Company | 111 W. Main Street |
| Aberdeen Carolina & Western Railway | The Wye |
The Town's rules are short. Drinks stay in the designated social district cup. You can carry one into a shop only where the window sign reads "Beverages Welcome." Finish or throw away the drink before you leave the district or get into a car. The Town also says businesses don't have to participate, so if there's no sign, ask before walking in.
Two names on that list matter for a holiday evening downtown. Poplar Place is a cocktail bar that The Sway reported open in February 2026. It serves Prohibition-era cocktails, wine, nonalcoholic and CBD drinks and more than 50 bottled and canned beers. It has no kitchen, but guests may bring in food from nearby businesses. Its posted hours are Wednesday happy hour from 4 to 8 p.m., 3 p.m. to midnight on Thursday and Friday, and noon to midnight on weekends. It's closed Monday and Tuesday.
The other is Mason's Restaurant & Grocery, which stayed where it was. Owners Brian and Alison Hainley had planned to move to a larger new building in Whispering Pines near Provision Ace Hardware. In April, Sandhills Sentinel reported that the plan had stalled and that Mason's would stay at 111 N. Sycamore Street, where it opened in early 2020. The couple's statement, as the Sentinel quoted it:
"We remain hopeful that one day we'll have the opportunity to grow into a larger space. Until then, we're right where we started, and are thankful to continue serving our customers in the place that built us."
November and the First Week of December
The season starts small. Aberdeen Parks and Recreation is collecting Letters to Santa through Dec. 1 at the Aberdeen Recreation Center, 301 Lake Park Crossing. The Town asks that each envelope include a return address and be addressed to Santa Claus, North Pole. The Thanks for Giving Soiree leaves from the Wye on Nov. 7, so the first holiday-season train runs before Thanksgiving.
The Tree Lighting is on Thursday, Dec. 3, at 6:15 p.m. at the Aberdeen Library, 123 Exchange St. It's free and includes Santa's arrival, performances and light refreshments. Thursday was already a social district day under the original schedule, so it isn't a new option. The new hours do apply to the Monday through Wednesday evenings in the weeks before and after it.
Dec. 10 Through 13, Day by Day
The Town's calendar and the railroad's calendar overlap most on this weekend, starting with the first Mix & Mingle ride on Thursday.
- Thursday, Dec. 10. Holiday Mix & Mingle starts its run from the Wye at 5 and 7 p.m.
- Friday, Dec. 11. Supper with Santa runs 6 to 8 p.m. at the Aberdeen Recreation Center, with a catered dinner, holiday crafts and a movie. Registration is required by Dec. 4 or until it fills. Tickets are $5 for children, $10 for resident adults and $15 for non-resident adults. The evening train runs again at 5 and 7 p.m.
- Saturday, Dec. 12. The Christmas Parade starts downtown at 11 a.m. It's free, and parade entries must register by Dec. 4. The Town Board approved temporary road closures for the parade at its Sept. 28 meeting. From 1 to 5 p.m., Malcolm Blue Farm, 1177 Bethesda Road, holds its free Old Fashioned Christmas.
- Sunday, Dec. 13. The family Christmas Train and the Holiday Tea both leave the Wye at 9 and 11 a.m. The evening ride runs again at 5 and 7 p.m. Sunday social district hours are 1 to 9 p.m.
Saturday splits between two parts of town. The parade fills downtown in the morning, and the afternoon moves to Malcolm Blue Farm on Bethesda Road. At Old Fashioned Christmas, the farmhouse is decorated in 1800s style, the museum is open, and there's music and light refreshments. In the pack house, children can write letters to Santa with feather pens and make bird feeders. Santa will be there too. On Sunday morning, everything is back downtown, with Santa on the train at the Wye.
Where the Season Goes After the 13th
The trains keep running after Sunday. The family ride and the Holiday Tea return on Dec. 19 and 20 at 9 and 11 a.m. Holiday Mix & Mingle runs every Thursday through Sunday until Dec. 20. On those weekends, there's Santa on the train in the morning and evening rides from the Wye, and the social district is open every day except Sunday from 11 a.m., with Sunday starting at 1 p.m.
This post covers what the Town and its businesses have published. It isn't legal advice, so check the Town's posted rules and signs before taking a drink outside.
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