How many of Southlake's holiday events can one household fit into a single evening? On Saturday, November 21, it can fit all of the big ones. The Christmas tree lighting, the first day of Santa's Village and the opening night of Holiday of Lights all fall inside the same four hours at Southlake Town Square. After that night, the three run on separate schedules. One runs nightly into January. One has weekday hours and a few dark days. One is gone by 8:30 p.m. Plan by those schedules and the second half of November and all of December fill in on their own.
Three Openings Inside Four Hours
Home for the Holidays, billed by the city 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 listing says the event is held every year on the Saturday before Thanksgiving. It includes photos with Santa and a 3-lane snow hill, with local school groups performing on stage. The tree lights at 6 p.m., and the city's tree lighting page also lists fireworks.
The other two attractions open the same evening. Here is how each one runs after Saturday.
| Attraction | November 21 hours | Where | After opening night |
|---|---|---|---|
| Home for the Holidays tree lighting | 4:30 to 8:30 p.m., tree at 6 p.m. | 1400 E. Southlake Blvd. | One night only |
| Santa's Village | 4:30 to 8:30 p.m. | Rustin Pavilion, Town Square | Select days through December 24 |
| Holiday of Lights | Opens at 5 p.m. | McPherson Park, 1297 Division St. | Every day, 5 to 10 p.m., into January 2027 |
The Southlake Public Library is also arranged around that Saturday. Its calendar shows the library closing at 2 p.m. on November 21 and points visitors to Home for the Holidays in the Square. If you want something seasonal before then, the library's Adult Crafternoon on November 12 makes Honeycomb Bauble Ornaments from noon to 2 p.m. at Parkwood Training Center.
Picking a Stage Before You Pick a Parking Spot
Lighting night has two stages, and each has its own lineup. The official schedule of events divides them this way.
Rustin & Family Park stage
- Southlake Community Band opens at 4:30 p.m.
- Tree lighting at 6 p.m.
- After the lighting, in order: Walnut Grove Elementary, Carroll Elementary, Johnson Elementary, Old Union Elementary and Rockenbaugh Elementary
Frank Edgar Cornish IV Park stage
- Artistry in Motion and community performances before the lighting
- After the lighting: NTPA, Covenant Christian Academy, Dragon Youth Dazzlers, Cantare Performance Choir, and the White's Chapel youth and adult ensembles
If your child sings with one of these groups, the stage decides where your evening happens, so the parking plan follows from it. Parking in Town Square is free that night in both garages. The East Garage is at 1451 Federal Way and the West Garage is at 351 State Street. Accessible parking is on Main Street in front of Bath & Body Works and Mi Cocina, reached from the east and west ends of Main Street.
The elementary school sets come after the 6 p.m. lighting on the Rustin & Family Park stage. A family with a performer there will be in the square for the second half of the event. That leaves time to walk the lights loop at McPherson Park once the stage wraps, since Holiday of Lights stays open until 10 p.m.
The Lights Loop Keeps Evening Hours Into January
Holiday of Lights is in its second season. Community Impact covered its debut as a new addition to Home for the Holidays in November 2025. That first season ran from November 22, 2025, to January 4, 2026, with the same 5 to 10 p.m. daily hours.
This year's run starts November 21 and goes into January 2027. It is open every day from 5 to 10 p.m. at McPherson Park, 1297 Division St. The walk is a loop of about a third of a mile around the lake, with light tunnels and large photo pieces, including a giant polar bear and lit gift boxes. No ticket or reservation is needed.
The loop is short and the hours are long, so a visit fits into an ordinary evening. A third of a mile works as an after-dinner walk on a Tuesday. The schedule changes in one way during the week. The Holiday of Lights page lists food vendors on Fridays and Saturdays only. Go on a weekend if dinner is part of the plan, and on a weeknight if the lights are the whole plan.
Santa's Calendar Has Dark Days
Santa's Village runs on the most detailed schedule of the season, and it is not open every day. The Southlake Town Square schedule puts Santa at Rustin Pavilion on these days.
- Thanksgiving week. Opening night runs 4:30 to 8:30 p.m. on Saturday, November 21. From Sunday, November 22, through Wednesday, November 25, hours are 11:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. Santa's Village is closed on Thanksgiving, November 26. It reopens from 10:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. on November 27 and 28, then 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Sunday, November 29.
- The first December stretch. No hours are listed for Monday, November 30, through Thursday, December 3. Santa returns Friday, December 4, from 3:30 to 7:30 p.m., then runs 10:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, December 5, and 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Sunday, December 6.
- The weekday pattern. Monday, December 7, and Tuesday, December 8, run 3:30 to 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, December 9, and Thursday, December 10, are not on the schedule. Friday, December 11, returns to the 3:30 p.m. start, followed by weekend hours on December 12 and 13 and afternoon hours again from December 14 through 16.
- The run-up to Christmas. From Thursday, December 17, Santa is in every day. December 17 and 18 open at 11:30 a.m., Saturday, December 19, opens at 10:30 a.m., and December 20 through 23 open at 11:30 a.m., all closing at 7:30 p.m. Christmas Eve runs 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.
On longer days, Santa takes a milk and cookie break from 2:30 to 3:30 p.m. On Christmas Eve the break moves to 2 to 2:30 p.m. Prices start at $19.99.
Plan around those gaps. A Wednesday-after-school visit in early December lands on a day with no Santa, but the same visit on Monday, December 7, works. On the 3:30 p.m. weekday openings, a visit can end just as Holiday of Lights opens at 5 p.m. on the other side of the square.
One Tuesday Lines Up Three Events
On Tuesday, December 15, three events share the same evening.
Santa's Village is open that day from 3:30 to 7:30 p.m. at Rustin Pavilion. Holiday of Lights opens at 5 p.m. at McPherson Park. At 7 p.m., the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra performs Sounds of the Season: Holiday Concert with Apex Arts League at White's Chapel Methodist Church, 185 S. White Chapel Blvd. The concert listing names selections from The Nutcracker, "Sleigh Ride" and a "Holly Jolly" sing-along.
Here is how the evening can run. See Santa after school, then walk the lake loop once the lights come on at 5. Leave Town Square in time to reach White's Chapel for the 7 p.m. concert. That covers three of the season's attractions on a single weeknight.
Where Lighting Night Fits
The tree lighting is the one part of the season with a single date. It is the right night to hear a particular school group, catch the fireworks or ride the snow hill. Everything else that opens on November 21 runs for weeks. Santa's Village keeps weekday afternoon hours through mid-December and opens daily from December 17. Holiday of Lights stays open every evening until 10 p.m. into January 2027. The concert at White's Chapel is on a weeknight in the middle of it all.
Holiday plans are often the first thing on the calendar when family visits from out of town. If you are hosting guests this season and want help getting around Southlake beyond Town Square, Andrea Miranda is happy to share the local details that make a visit easier. Get Exclusive Access to our neighborhood notes, and enjoy the lights.
