Southlake's holiday season starts at 6 p.m. on Saturday, November 21, when the trees light up at Town Square. That's only the first night. The Holiday of Lights trail at McPherson Park opens the same evening and stays lit every night through January 3, 2027. Santa's Village opens that night too and has hours on most days until Christmas Eve. Two more December dates are already on the calendar.
The tree lighting packs the most into one evening, so it draws the biggest crowd. The other 43 nights are where you can plan an outing around your own week. Because the hours are already published, that planning can start now.
Opening night, stage by stage
Home for the Holidays, billed as Christmastime in Southlake, runs from 4:30 to 8:30 p.m. on November 21 at 1400 E. Southlake Blvd. Admission is free. The official event page lists photos with Santa, a three-lane snow hill, and fireworks after the tree lighting.
There are two stages, and each one lights its own tree at 6 p.m. Choosing a stage early makes sense, since the lineups are different. According to the published schedule:
| Time | Rustin & Family Park | Frank Edgar Cornish, IV Park |
|---|---|---|
| 4:30 p.m. | Southlake Community Band | Artistry in Motion |
| 4:45 p.m. | Community Performances | |
| 6:00 p.m. | Tree Lighting Ceremony | Tree Lighting Ceremony |
| 6:15 p.m. | NTPA | |
| 6:30 p.m. | Walnut Grove Elementary | Covenant Christian Academy |
| 6:45 p.m. | Carroll Elementary | Dragon Youth Dazzlers |
| 7:00 p.m. | Johnson Elementary | |
| 7:15 p.m. | Old Union Elementary | Cantare Performance Choir |
| 7:30 p.m. | Rockenbaugh Elementary | |
| 7:45 p.m. | WC Youth Ensemble | |
| 8:15 p.m. | WC Adult Ensemble |
If you're coming to see one particular group, the table tells you which stage to stand near. The Rustin & Family Park lineup wraps up with its last elementary choir at 7:30. The Cornish Park stage goes until its 8:15 slot, close to the 8:30 end of the event.
Parking is free in the East Garage at 1451 Federal Way and the West Garage at 351 State Street. Accessible parking is on Main Street in front of Bath & Body Works and Mi Cocina, and you can reach it from both the east and west ends of Main Street.
The trail that keeps going: Holiday of Lights
The Holiday of Lights is what turns opening night into a season. This free walking trail at McPherson Park, 1297 Division St., runs from November 21 through January 3, 2027, and it's open every day from 5 to 10 p.m.
That works out to 44 nights in a row, five hours each night. The trail stays lit past Christmas and into the first weekend of the new year. Visit Southlake describes light tunnels, a giant polar bear, glowing gift boxes, and views of the lake along the route.
Food vendors set up only on Fridays and Saturdays. That makes it easy to choose your kind of visit:
- Friday or Saturday: dinner from the vendors and a walk on the trail, all in one evening.
- Sunday through Thursday: the same lights and the same 5 to 10 p.m. hours, with no vendors, so eat before you go or plan a stop somewhere on Town Square.
This is the trail's second season. It first opened alongside Home for the Holidays in 2025, according to Community Impact, so families who walked it last year already know the route.
Santa keeps a schedule, and it has gaps
Santa's Village at the Rustin Pavilion opens on November 21, from 4:30 to 8:30 p.m., during the tree lighting. Its hours change from day to day through Christmas Eve. According to Southlake Town Square's listing, prices start at $19.99. If you're budgeting for photos, ask about packages at the pavilion.
Most of the planning comes down to knowing which days Santa is not there. Here's the full 2026 schedule by week:
- Thanksgiving week: 11:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. from Sunday, November 22, through Wednesday, November 25. Closed Thanksgiving Day, November 26. Open 10:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. on Friday and Saturday, November 27 and 28, and 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Sunday, November 29.
- Monday, November 30, through Thursday, December 3: no hours listed.
- First weekend of December: 3:30 to 7:30 p.m. Friday, December 4. Then 10:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. Saturday, December 5, and 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday, December 6.
- Following week: 3:30 to 7:30 p.m. on Monday and Tuesday, December 7 and 8. No hours on Wednesday and Thursday, December 9 and 10. Back at 3:30 to 7:30 p.m. on Friday, December 11.
- Second weekend: 10:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. Saturday, December 12, and 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday, December 13.
- Final stretch: 3:30 to 7:30 p.m. from Monday, December 14, through Wednesday, December 16. Then 11:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. most days from December 17 through December 23, except 10:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, December 19. Christmas Eve hours are 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Santa also takes a milk-and-cookie break from 2:30 to 3:30 p.m. on the days marked with longer hours. On Christmas Eve the break is shorter, from 2 to 2:30 p.m. A visit planned for mid-afternoon on a weekend can run straight into that hour, so arriving before 2:30 or after 3:30 saves waiting.
The weekday 3:30 p.m. openings in early and mid-December fit an after-school visit. Every one of those evenings ends at 7:30, so you can fit in a Santa visit and still have most of the 5 to 10 p.m. Holiday of Lights window left over.
December 5: the most packed day after opening night
Saturday, December 5, has the most going on of any day after the tree lighting. Southlake Town Square hosts the Holly Jolly Sip & Shop that morning, with tastings, promotions, and activities. VIP entry runs from 9 a.m. to noon and general admission from 10 a.m. to noon. Tickets are reserved in advance.
Santa's Village opens at 10:30 a.m. that day and stays open until 7:30 p.m. Because it's a Saturday, the Holiday of Lights food vendors are out once the trail opens at 5. You could start with the morning shopping event, visit Santa in the early afternoon before his 2:30 break, and finish on the light trail with dinner from the vendors, all without leaving Town Square.
Ten days later: a concert off the Square
One event takes place a short drive from Town Square. The Sounds of the Season Holiday Concert is set for Tuesday, December 15, at 7 p.m. at White's Chapel Methodist Church, 185 S. White Chapel Blvd. Santa's Village closes at 7:30 that evening. If you want to fit in both, go to Santa's Village first, after it opens at 3:30, then head to the concert.
New stops on the walk between events
Several storefronts are new since last year's tree lighting, and two of them sit on State Street, a short walk from the stages and the West Garage.
Ascension Coffee opened October 9 at 100 State St., Ste. C1. Community Impact reports a full espresso bar, seasonal coffee flights, lattes, cold brews, and teas, plus pastries, sandwiches, wraps, and salads. It's an easy place to warm up before the 6 p.m. tree lighting, or to stop for a meal on a weeknight trail visit when the food vendors aren't there.
BYLT Basics opened October 8 at 214 State St., Ste. B48, according to Community Impact. This will be its first holiday season on Town Square, and the Sip & Shop morning is a natural time to stop in.
East on Southlake Boulevard, Hudson House is at Park Village, 1131 E. Southlake Blvd., per Southlake Style. It's on the same road as the tree lighting site, at 1400 E. Southlake Blvd.
More is coming next year. Southlake Style reports that Maman is aiming for an early-2027 opening at 1161 E. Southlake Blvd. Lupe Tortilla is also aiming for early 2027, at 2701 E. State Highway 114. Neither one is part of this season. If those openings stay on schedule, the trail's final weekend in early January will fall shortly before them.
A season calendar at a glance
- Sat., Nov. 21: Home for the Holidays, 4:30 to 8:30 p.m., trees light at 6 p.m. Holiday of Lights and Santa's Village both open.
- Thu., Nov. 26: Santa's Village closed for Thanksgiving.
- Nov. 30 to Dec. 3, and Dec. 9 to 10: no Santa's Village hours.
- Sat., Dec. 5: Holly Jolly Sip & Shop in the morning, Santa from 10:30 a.m., trail vendors in the evening.
- Tue., Dec. 15: Sounds of the Season at White's Chapel Methodist Church, 7 p.m.
- Thu., Dec. 24: Santa's last day, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.
- Sun., Jan. 3, 2027: last night of the Holiday of Lights.
Our team at BlueFuse Group serves Southlake families all year, and the holiday calendar is one of our favorite things about this community. If friends or family are coming to Southlake for the holidays and you'd like suggestions on where to take them between the light trail and Santa's Village, we're glad to share what we know. Schedule Your Consultation, and let's talk about how your family can make the most of the season here.
