The December Oak Creek Sports Card Show fills the Salvation Army Community Center on Saturday, December 5, 2026, and it is the last big first-Saturday gathering of the year on the Milwaukee south side. Holiday shopping is in full swing, the Packers are in the thick of a playoff push, and dealers bring their best giftable inventory knowing that a meaningful share of the room is buying for someone else. Sponsored by Fat Daddy's Sports, it closes the year the same way it has run all along: low door price, deep boxes, and dealers who know their regulars by name.
Expect the full range. Baseball tables carry 1950s and 1960s Topps and Bowman vintage, complete 1970s and 1980s sets that make excellent gifts, junk-wax commons boxes priced for kids with a few dollars, and modern Panini Prizm, Optic, Select, Mosaic and Topps Chrome. Football is at maximum heat in December — Green Bay Packers material spans Lombardi-era Bart Starr and Ray Nitschke through Favre, Rodgers, Love and the current rookie class, and every other NFL team has representation as the postseason picture sharpens. Basketball dealers stock Milwaukee Bucks plus league-wide modern product, hockey is mid-season, and UFC, boxing, soccer and racing specialists work the floor. Wisconsin Badgers and Marquette Golden Eagles inventory is consistently available. Trading card game vendors bring Pokemon from vintage WOTC through current Scarlet and Violet, plus Magic: The Gathering, Yu-Gi-Oh!, One Piece and Disney Lorcana, with sealed product — booster boxes, elite trainer boxes and holiday tins — front and center for gift buyers. Locked cases hold PSA, SGC, BGS and CGC slabs across every price tier, and the room's edges carry autographed memorabilia, signed helmets and baseballs, framed pieces, team programs, comics, Funko Pops and hobby supplies.
Hours run 9:00 AM to 4:00 PM Central in one block. Admission is a one-dollar donation to the Salvation Army, children are admitted free with an adult, and there is no VIP tier, no early entry and no advance ticket to buy. In December, with the Salvation Army in the middle of its own season, most regulars put more than a dollar in.
The Salvation Army Community Center is at 8853 South Howell Avenue in Oak Creek, roughly fifteen minutes south of downtown Milwaukee, close to Interstate 94 and Mitchell International Airport. Parking is free and on-site with plenty of capacity. The hall is level, heated, climate-controlled and ADA-accessible, which matters in a Wisconsin December, and the aisles stay navigable even when the room fills mid-morning.
Gift shoppers, families, first-timers, set builders and dealers restocking all fit here. If you are buying for a young collector, the dollar boxes and inexpensive sealed packs beat retail badly and the dealers are patient about letting kids dig. If you are buying something significant, December sellers are often motivated. Practical guidance: be there at 9:00 AM for the best raw material, take a full lap before spending, bring cash first with Venmo or Zelle as backup, and carry a want list sorted by sport, player and set. Pack penny sleeves, top loaders and a hard case, and if you are selling into the holiday market, arrive with your cards sorted and priced. Updates post to the Fat Daddy's Sports Facebook page.
