santa john pittsburgh | It's Christmas 365

Pittsburgh’s favorite Santa returns to the Heinz History Center in 2022!

The history center will host Santa in the Great Hall on select days beginning Nov. 25.

Get a photo with Old Saint Nick sitting in an exact replica of the chair from Kaufmann’s old Santaland. And then check out artifacts celebrating the Pittsburgh region’s region’s holiday traditions.

Free with admission to the history center.

Santa at the History Center:

Friday, Nov. 25: 10:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.
Saturday, Nov. 26: 10:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.
Saturday, Dec. 10: 10:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.
Saturday, Dec. 17: 10:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.
Saturday, Dec. 24: 10 a.m. to noon

While there, be sure to visit their gift shop for a lot of great Pittsburgh-specific gifts for others (and yourself, of course). They’ve got all sorts of books, toys, games, magnets, stickers, apparel, jewelry, etc.

Find more details here.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Bobby Cherry (@bobbycherry)

Take a step back in time when Downtown Pittsburgh was full of retailers, festive window displays and so much holiday cheer.

Heinz History Center’s “A Very Merry Pittsburgh” exhibit is back this holiday season. The exhibit opens Nov. 20 and continues through Jan. 17.

The special exhibit features a variety of holiday-themed artifacts, images and keepsakes showing how people across the region have celebrated the holidays, including Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, Diwali, Christmas and more.

As the history center notes, the exhibit “will transport you back to the bustling holiday season in Downtown Pittsburgh” with amazing window displays from Kaufmann’s, Horne’s and other department stores of Pittsburgh past.

No holiday trip to town was complete without a visit with Santa! And the Heinz History Center has Pittsburgh’s own Santa in a replica of the famous Kaufmann’s chair.

Santa will appear from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. on the following days:

Saturday, Nov. 20
Friday, Nov. 26
Saturday, Nov. 27
Saturday, Dec. 4
Saturday, Dec. 11
Saturday, Dec. 18

This is a great experience to see how Pittsburghers celebrate a variety of holidays throughout the season.

Make time to see:

Objects from Kaufmann’s Santaland — including Santa’s original chair
See the mailbox where thousands of Pittsburgh children mailed their Christmas wish lists to the North Pole.
Check out retro toys including Rock ‘Em Sock ‘Em Robots and Mr. Potato Head