In 1985, a wood-sided two-story house on North Fairfield Road, just south of St. Luke Catholic Church, was condemned and set for demolition. When the siding came off, it revealed an original log house underneath. A group of local residents moved quickly to save it, and that group later became the Beavercreek Historical Society.
That house, the Philip Harshman House from around 1803 to 1807, now stands in Wartinger Park on Kemp Road. On the evening of Friday, Dec. 11, it becomes part of the backdrop for the last of Beavercreek's three Santa visits this year.
The three visits work differently. The Mall at Fairfield Commons keeps a store-hours schedule for six weeks. The Greene Town Center holds one big evening and then moves to booked time slots. The City of Beavercreek gets three free hours on one Friday night. Each one runs on its own schedule, and the order goes from the most commercial to the most local.
The first clock: six weeks of mall hours
Santa's chair at The Mall at Fairfield Commons opens on Friday, Nov. 13, from 2 to 7:30 p.m. That's a full week before Santa arrives anywhere else in town. Photos then run every day the mall is open until Christmas Eve.
The posted schedule follows weekday patterns more than holiday energy:
- Nov. 14: 10 a.m. to 8 p.m., with a break from 3 to 4 p.m.
- Nov. 15: 11 a.m. to 6 p.m., with a break from 3 to 3:30 p.m.
- Nov. 16 through 20: 2 to 7 p.m. on weekdays
- Nov. 26: Mall closed for Thanksgiving
- Nov. 30: 11 a.m. to 7 p.m., with pet photos from 4 to 7 p.m.
- Dec. 1 through 4: 11 a.m. to 7 p.m., with a break from 3 to 4 p.m.
The weekday afternoon hours make this the easiest Santa visit to fit around school pickup. The 3 to 4 p.m. break shows up on most days, so it pays to plan around that hour. The mall accepts walk-ins but strongly encourages reservations through its Santa booking page.
The mall's other holiday dates fill in around those hours. Black Friday, Nov. 27, runs from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 28, runs from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., and Sunday, Nov. 29, runs from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. On Wednesday, Dec. 2, the food court hosts the monthly Family Bingo Night, with 15 or more rounds and gift cards and prizes up for grabs. If you have a Santa slot that week, it's an easy add-on.
The second clock: one big night, then booked slots
The Greene saves its start for a single evening, Friday, Nov. 20, in Center Court at 4452 Buckeye Lane. Dayton Local's listing dates it to 2026 and gives a 5 p.m. start.
The Greene's event page lays out the evening in this order:
- At 5 p.m., a live DJ and performances by local dance teams start in Center Court.
- Around 6:30 p.m., the Santa Arrival Parade comes through.
- The 50-foot tree is lit right after the parade.
- Photos with Santa, a live reindeer petting zoo, food trucks and hot chocolate fill out the rest of the night.
The 6:30 p.m. parade is the anchor, and the tree lighting depends on it. Families who arrive at 5 get the dance teams and the reindeer before the crowd gathers for the parade. Families who arrive closer to 6:30 get the two moments the evening is built around.
The next morning, The Greene switches schedules. Santa photos move to 4382 Juniper Way, and the booking calendar opens with slots starting Saturday, Nov. 21, at 11 a.m., in 15-minute blocks. Walk-ups are welcome every day until closing. The booking page also notes that several families are scheduled in each 15-minute slot, so a reservation gets you into a window, not a private sitting.
That makes Saturday, Nov. 21, the first day Santa is booked at both shopping centers. The mall's hours that day are 10 a.m. to 8 p.m., with a break from 3 to 4 p.m.
The third clock: three free hours in a park of rescued houses
The city's event is the shortest of the three and the only one with a posted price, which is free. Winter Welcome at Wartinger Park runs Friday, Dec. 11, 2026, from 5 to 8 p.m. at 3080 Kemp Road. Beavercreek Parks, Recreation & Culture hosts it with the Beavercreek Community Library as a partner. The city's listing includes Santa and his reindeer, holiday crafts, carolers, hot cocoa and the park's decorated cabins. Questions go to the parks department at 937-427-5514.
Those cabins are what make this third visit different from the first two. The mall and The Greene hold their Santa visits in retail space. Wartinger Park holds its one night among buildings that came from farms and roadsides around Beavercreek. According to the Beavercreek Historical Society, the park includes:
- Philip Harshman House, around 1803 to 1807: the log house found under siding on North Fairfield Road in 1985. The limestone paths to its kitchen garden came from the foundation of the old Lantz Barn on Kemp Road.
- John Nicodemus Cabin, 1811: first found while weather stripping was being torn off a house at New Germany and Grange Hall roads. It was donated in 1979 and moved to the park.
- George Jarusiewic Cabin replica, around 1805: the original was found on North Fairfield Road in 1972 and rebuilt in the park. It had to be removed in 1997 because of insect damage, and only its fireplace was saved. Brady Kress of Dayton History built the replica, and its fireplace uses ten tons of stone from a cabin on Sperling Lane.
- Samuel Ankeney House, around 1828: moved from Ankeney Road and rebuilt in the park in 1993. Its fireplace was rebuilt in 1997 with bricks from the old Beavercreek High School, which burned in 1996.
- Peter Tobias-Zimmer Barn, 1858: a saltbox barn from the area known as "The Big Woods." It was destroyed by the Memorial Day tornado, then rebuilt and reopened in 2022.
Two of these log buildings, the Harshman House and the Nicodemus Cabin, were found inside later houses, under siding or weather stripping. The street names in their histories are the same ones Beavercreek residents drive every day: North Fairfield, Kemp, Ankeney, New Germany, Grange Hall, Sperling Lane.
The park also has its own December anniversary. The Greene County Commissioners named and dedicated it as "John H. Wartinger Park" on Dec. 6, 1975, in remembrance of a young Beavercreek man who worked in local parks and recreation and with area children. The Flower Trail Garden Club cared for the grounds as a bicentennial project starting in 1976, and the deed went to the City of Beavercreek in 1983. This year's Winter Welcome falls five days after the 51st anniversary of that dedication.
Lining up the three clocks
Put on one calendar, the three visits barely overlap:
| The Mall at Fairfield Commons | The Greene Town Center | Wartinger Park | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Santa starts | Fri., Nov. 13, 2 p.m. | Fri., Nov. 20, parade around 6:30 p.m. | Fri., Dec. 11, 5 p.m. |
| How long it runs | Daily through Christmas Eve, closed Thanksgiving | One evening event, then photos from Nov. 21 | One evening, 5 to 8 p.m. |
| Format | Walk-in or reservation | Walk-up or 15-minute booked slots | Community event |
| Location | Inside the mall | Center Court, then 4382 Juniper Way | 3080 Kemp Road |
| Extras | Pet photos Nov. 30, Bingo Night Dec. 2 | 50-foot tree, reindeer petting zoo, food trucks | Carolers, crafts, cocoa, decorated cabins |
| Posted cost | No price listed | No price listed | Free |
For a family that wants all three, the order is set by the dates. The mall works on a weekday afternoon in mid-November, when the hours are short and the season is just starting. The Greene's Friday on Nov. 20 is the one to plan the whole evening around, with the parade as the fixed point. Wartinger Park comes three weeks later, on Friday, Dec. 11, from 5 to 8 p.m. at 3080 Kemp Road, and costs nothing to attend.
If you're in Beavercreek this season and starting to think about what your own home might be worth by spring, Andrea Carter can put together a clear, no-pressure valuation on your schedule, between the parade and the cocoa. You can find more local coverage on our Beavercreek neighborhood page. Let's Connect: Get Your Free Home Valuation.
