Carmel Valley has no main street, so its Christmas trees go up in three different places on three different schedules. One Paseo, the Village at Pacific Highlands Ranch and Del Mar Highlands Town Center each publish their own holiday calendar, and in 2026 those calendars fit together with very little overlap. The first tree lighting is the Saturday after Thanksgiving. The second is a week later, a couple of miles inland. The third center has no tree lighting on its calendar this year. It schedules Santa visits instead, on six separate days.
So the Carmel Valley season works more like a series than a single big night. Below is the order it runs in and what each center contributes.
The Saturday after Thanksgiving goes to One Paseo
One Paseo starts the season on Saturday, Nov. 28, two days after Thanksgiving. Its Tree Lighting Ceremony & Holiday Band runs from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m., and the 26-foot tree is lit at 6:30. A holiday band plays live all evening and the center releases snow from its rooftops. The event is free.
One Paseo goes first, and it is also the only center with programming on both sides of the first week of December. On Sunday, Dec. 6, its Jingle & Mingle Holiday Photo Moment puts Santa and seasonal photo sets on the OP Lawn from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Families who want something more formal than a phone snapshot can book holiday mini sessions with Diana Rose Photography on select dates. Each session lasts 15 minutes, costs $325 and includes 15 edited images, and reservations are required in advance.
One Paseo also has a new dinner option for tree-lighting night. Goop Kitchen opened there on Aug. 31, and the San Diego Union-Tribune reported that it is the brand's first dine-in location, open daily from 10:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. That means it is still serving well after the tree comes on at 6:30.
A week later, Pacific Highlands Ranch gets its own Saturday
The Village at Pacific Highlands Ranch holds its Annual Tree Lighting & Photos with Santa on Saturday, Dec. 5, from 5 to 7:30 p.m. Coming a week after One Paseo's, it gives the inland side of the community its own lighting night.
The Village also runs the season's longest single event. Holiday Train Rides start at 10 a.m. on Dec. 5 and run until 8 p.m., so the train is still going after the tree is lit. The rides come back on Dec. 6, 12 and 13, each starting at 10 a.m. On the last date, Sunday, Dec. 13, they end at 6 p.m.
That puts the Village's train days on two weekends in a row. It is the only center whose main holiday attraction runs for a full weekend day, twice.
Del Mar Highlands skips the tree and puts Santa on a schedule
Del Mar Highlands Town Center, at 12925 El Camino Real, has no tree lighting on its November or December calendar. It concentrates on Santa instead. Santa visits by Jimbo's run from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Dec. 3, 5, 10, 12, 17 and 19, and the Dec. 5 listing says photos are taken in Santa's sleigh. Saturday, Dec. 19, is listed as the last day.
The timing matters here. Santa is at One Paseo on a single afternoon, and at the Village for one evening during the tree lighting. Del Mar Highlands has him on three Thursdays and three Saturdays. That covers the first three weeks of December, including the stretch after the other two centers have finished their main events.
The center also keeps its Thursday morning family series, "Party at the Pop Jet," on the calendar for Dec. 3, 10 and 17 from 10 to 11 a.m. It is free entertainment at the Pop Jet Fountain in the lower plaza, and on those Thursdays it runs right before Santa arrives at 11. The same calendar says the fountain is undergoing maintenance, so check the center's posts before planning a fountain morning around it.
Bluemercury at Del Mar Highlands is also running an all-day Holiday Shopping Party promotion from Nov. 19 through Dec. 2.
Two menorah lightings on back-to-back nights
The same staggering applies to Hanukkah. One Paseo's free Menorah Lighting is Tuesday, Dec. 8, from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. on the One Paseo Lawn, with traditional blessings, music and seasonal treats.
The next night, Wednesday, Dec. 9, Del Mar Highlands holds its annual Hanukkah Menorah Lighting at 6 p.m. Congregation Beth Am leads the lighting and plays songs in the upper plaza near Cinépolis. The center posts any weather cancellations on its Facebook and Instagram accounts.
The two lightings are a day and a short drive apart, with different hosts and different settings. One is on a lawn with treats and the other is in a plaza with a congregation leading songs.
The calendar, night by night
Across the three schedules, most dates have one main event, and on the busiest day the events run at different hours.
| Date | Day | Where | What | Hours |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nov. 28 | Saturday | One Paseo | Tree Lighting Ceremony & Holiday Band | 5:30–7:30 p.m., tree lit 6:30 |
| Dec. 3 | Thursday | Del Mar Highlands | Party at the Pop Jet, then Santa by Jimbo's | 10–11 a.m.; 11 a.m.–2 p.m. |
| Dec. 5 | Saturday | Del Mar Highlands | Santa by Jimbo's, sleigh photos | 11 a.m.–2 p.m. |
| Dec. 5 | Saturday | PHR Village | Holiday Train Rides | 10 a.m.–8 p.m. |
| Dec. 5 | Saturday | PHR Village | Tree Lighting & Photos with Santa | 5–7:30 p.m. |
| Dec. 6 | Sunday | One Paseo | Jingle & Mingle Santa photos | 11 a.m.–2 p.m. |
| Dec. 6 | Sunday | PHR Village | Holiday Train Rides | From 10 a.m. |
| Dec. 8 | Tuesday | One Paseo | Menorah Lighting | 5:30–7:30 p.m. |
| Dec. 9 | Wednesday | Del Mar Highlands | Hanukkah Menorah Lighting | 6 p.m. |
| Dec. 10 | Thursday | Del Mar Highlands | Party at the Pop Jet, then Santa | 10–11 a.m.; 11 a.m.–2 p.m. |
| Dec. 12 | Saturday | Del Mar Highlands | Santa by Jimbo's | 11 a.m.–2 p.m. |
| Dec. 12 | Saturday | PHR Village | Holiday Train Rides | From 10 a.m. |
| Dec. 13 | Sunday | PHR Village | Holiday Train Rides, final day | 10 a.m.–6 p.m. |
| Dec. 17 | Thursday | Del Mar Highlands | Party at the Pop Jet, then Santa | 10–11 a.m.; 11 a.m.–2 p.m. |
| Dec. 19 | Saturday | Del Mar Highlands | Santa by Jimbo's, last visit | 11 a.m.–2 p.m. |
Dec. 5 is the fullest day, and it still runs in sequence. Santa at Del Mar Highlands finishes at 2 p.m., and the Village tree lighting starts at 5 p.m. while the trains keep running until 8. With a reasonable plan, a family could see Santa twice and a tree lit in one Saturday without having to pick between them.
Once the town centers wind down, the Fairgrounds takes over
By mid-December most of the town-center programming is done. Both trees are lit, both menorahs have been lit, and the Village's trains make their last run on Dec. 13. That is when the biggest production in the area opens, just west of the community at the Del Mar Fairgrounds, 2260 Jimmy Durante Blvd.
Coastal Christmas runs Dec. 11 through Dec. 26, from 4 to 9 p.m. each night, according to the San Diego Tourism Authority listing. Its official site lists:
- A light trail
- Skating on synthetic Glice ice
- Santa photos
- Live entertainment and a holiday market
- Food and drink, plus private igloos
- A Toys for Tots collection of unwrapped toys during operating hours through Dec. 19
Coastal Christmas fills the part of the season the town centers leave open. It opens two days after the last menorah lighting and stays open past Christmas, so the Fairgrounds covers the late-December evenings after Carmel Valley's own calendars have gone quiet. The Toys for Tots drive ends on Dec. 19, the same Saturday as Santa's last scheduled visit at Del Mar Highlands. That makes Dec. 19 the practical last day to bring an unwrapped toy and a holiday wish list in the same weekend.
The full lineup at all three centers and at the Fairgrounds is free to browse on each venue's own event pages.
In Carmel Valley, the town centers act as the community's gathering places, and the December calendar is when that is easiest to see. If your household's holiday routine is part of why you love your part of the neighborhood, and you're wondering what your home is worth heading into the new year, Modern Homes Team would be glad to help. Request a Complimentary Home Valuation.
