Looking for a Christmas activity? You’re in luck.
A 70-year-old Cincinnati holiday tradition, the Shillito’s Elves window display, returns this month.
The animated elf figures, which move to look like they are hard at work on Christmas-themed activities and more, will be on display at the Carew Tower.
The location is different from last year, when the display was on Main Street. But now the elves are “at the center of Downtown’s holiday festivities,” near the UC Health Ice Rink and Fountain Square’s new Winterhaus, the release reads.
They will be on display from Thanksgiving Day, Thursday, Nov. 27, through Jan. 4, 2026, according to a release from the Cincinnati Center City Development Corp, better known as 3CDC.
You can see the beloved figures build toys, sort letters to Santa or sleep in bunk beds (not for real, of course).
The elves are free to view and visible in the windows right next to the Chase Bank on the corner, 3CDC told The Enquirer.
Kids of all ages pressed up to storefront windows to see the adored Shillito’s Elves for 40 years.
What are the Shillito’s Elves?
In the late 1950s, Shillito’s, a Downtown department store and the precursor to Macy’s in Cincinnati, ordered a custom display made in Germany of elves and other characters.
The display was made up of dozens of small mechanized figures and background dioramas, both containing thousands of moving parts, according to the Downtown Cincinnati website.
This display and future variations returned nearly every year until 1997. The elves were then given away, and handfuls have been on display in various locations in the following decades.
Which elves are on display?
Viewers will be able to see six displays and the following scenes: Mail Sorter; Little Woodshop; Pete the Painter; Lazzie Bear and Gift Wrap; Elves at Home; and the Bunkbed Elves.
Shillito’s Elves hours
The elves can be seen 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, but will be animated at the following times:
These hours may be updated. 3CDC recommends visiting the following website: downtowncincinnati.com/elves/ in a week or two to see the final hours. They added that the hours listed above are “very close to final.”
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: A 70-year-old Christmas tradition, Shillito’s Elves window display, returns to Downtown
Reporting by Bebe Hodges, Cincinnati Enquirer / Cincinnati Enquirer
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