On Thanksgiving night in 2023, hundreds of families came to Uptown with lawn chairs and refreshments and waited for the Uptown Holiday Lighting to start. According to ABC13, nothing happened. A few weeks earlier, the district had put one italicized line on its own 2023 holiday season page: "Please note the Uptown Holiday Lighting event will no longer occur."
For more than three decades, that one evening opened the holiday season for the neighborhoods around Uptown. No single event has taken its place. The season now opens in pieces across four venues, all within a short drive of Afton Oaks, and the first of them falls almost two weeks before Thanksgiving.
Why Post Oak Went Quiet
ABC13 reported that the 2023 cancellation was what district officials called a "financial decision," and that the event usually cost between $200,000 and $250,000 a year. It wasn't the first gap. The lighting was called off in 2017 and 2018 because of construction, and the pandemic disrupted it in 2020.
In 2024 it was canceled again. The district gave no reason, and an official told ABC13, "We are not having an event this year and have already turned on the trees for the holidays." That sentence describes how things work now. The lights still go up, but the gathering that used to come with them is gone.
Here is how the rest of the calendar has filled in for 2026.
| When | What | Where | Confirmed for 2026? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Early November, date not yet announced | Post Oak Boulevard trees switch on | West Loop to Richmond Avenue | Pattern only; 2025 switch-on was Sunday, Nov. 2 |
| Friday, Nov. 13, 6 p.m. | Holiday Tree Lighting | Ice at The Galleria | Yes |
| Saturday, Nov. 21, 4–7 p.m. | Tree Lighting | River Oaks District, 4444 Westheimer Road | Yes |
| Thursday, Dec. 3 | Holiday in the Park | Bellaire | Yes, time and venue not listed |
| Saturday–Sunday, Dec. 5–6, 11 a.m.–5 p.m. | Holiday Festival | Levy Park | Yes |
| Friday, Dec. 11, 7–9 p.m. | Party at the Pavilion with Thunderpants | Bellaire Great Lawn, 7008 S. Rice Ave. | Yes |
The Boulevard Lights Come On With No Crowd Waiting
The trees are still the biggest light display in the area. KHOU reported that in 2025 more than 300 trees, each 20 feet tall with 250 LED light units capable of more than 16 million color combinations, lined the two miles of Post Oak Boulevard from the West Loop to Richmond Avenue. Pedestrian lighting, stainless steel rings and more than 1,000 stars complete the boulevard.
The timing tells you more than the size does. In 2025 the lights came on Sunday, Nov. 2, timed to the end of Daylight Saving Time, and stayed lit through the New Year. Two young sisters pressed the button. That is more than three weeks before the Thanksgiving date the old ceremony owned. The district's events page has no 2026 date posted. If Uptown repeats last year's schedule, the boulevard could light up on Sunday, Nov. 1, when Daylight Saving Time ends. Until the district announces a date, treat that as a pattern and not a promise.
That leaves the boulevard as a display to drive past, and the actual ceremonies have moved to the venues on either side of it.
The Galleria Moves the Countdown Indoors, Nov. 13
The first 2026 ceremony with a confirmed date belongs to The Galleria. Its Holiday Tree Lighting is Friday, Nov. 13, at 6 p.m. at Ice at The Galleria, with live entertainment, professional figure skating and the tree lighting. No RSVP is needed.
The rink's schedule shows the work behind it. The public session calendar closes the ice on Monday through Wednesday, Nov. 2–4, to install the tree. It also blocks off Friday, Oct. 30, and Sunday, Nov. 1, for Nutcracker performances. Tickets for Nutcracker on Ice 2026 are $70 each and sold by phone. The rink runs all year in the Center Food Court, so families who skate there regularly will see the tree go up a week and a half before it's lit.
Santa's schedule at The Galleria, 5085 Westheimer, also starts Nov. 13. The first bookable slot is the next morning at 11 a.m., and the booking page says walk-ups are welcome daily until closing.
River Oaks District Claims the Saturday Before Thanksgiving
A week later, on Saturday, Nov. 21, River Oaks District holds its annual Tree Lighting from 4 to 7 p.m. at 4444 Westheimer Road. The program has a live performance by Breakfast at Tiffany's, then the arrival of Saint Nicholas and the lighting of the tree.
The 2026 format is different from the one many neighbors may remember. The 2024 ceremony ran from 3 to 7 p.m. and was billed as free and open to the public. It had Fashion Santa, Santa photos and cocoa, and the lighting itself was set for 5 to 6 p.m. This year's announcement gives a shorter window, a named musical act and a more traditional Saint Nicholas, and it says nothing about admission or tickets. If you plan to bring a group, check the District's page closer to the date.
The Galleria on the 13th and River Oaks District on the 21st are now the two evenings closest to what Post Oak used to offer, a crowd waiting for a switch to flip. Both are on Westheimer, and both happen before the turkey.
Levy Park Turns December Into a Full Weekend
With Thanksgiving behind it, the calendar moves to Upper Kirby. Levy Park's 2026 Holiday Festival runs Saturday and Sunday, Dec. 5–6, from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. It offers free photos with Santa, a holiday market, a craft station, live music throughout the park and a performance by River Oaks Dance. In 2025 the festival was a single Saturday on Dec. 6. This year it fills the whole weekend.
The market lineup names its vendors and which day each one is there. The Book Dragon, SLG Leather, Houston Skateboards, Fluff Mallow and Twilight Candle Company appear on the list. La Lydia Garden Boutique and De Colores For Kids are listed for Saturday only, and Native Skincare and The Frenchie Candle Co. for Sunday only. The craft station also has Hanukkah and Kwanzaa coloring pages and letters to Santa. For food, Gaspachos Mexican Bites serves tortas, flautas and tacos and has treats for dogs. Hearsay Levy Park offers a sit-down menu, and Kind Ice Cream handles dessert.
Parking follows the park's usual setup. There is parking next to the park and along Eastside Street and Wakeforest Avenue, and the Kirby Grove garage at Richmond and Wakeforest has paid public parking.
The Smaller Dates Down South Rice
For a quieter December evening, the City of Bellaire's calendar lists Selfies with Santa on Wednesday, Dec. 2, and Holiday in the Park on Thursday, Dec. 3. Times and venues for both are still to be announced. The last Party at the Pavilion of the year, with the band Thunderpants, is Friday, Dec. 11, from 7 to 9 p.m. on the Great Lawn at 7008 S. Rice Ave. Bellaire also lists Santa Sightings for Dec. 14–18.
What Thanksgiving Night Looks Like Now
Lay the 2026 dates side by side and Thursday, Nov. 26, is the one evening that doesn't appear. The Galleria lights its tree two weeks earlier. River Oaks District goes five days earlier. Levy Park waits until the following weekend. If the boulevard keeps its 2025 schedule, Post Oak's trees will have been on for weeks by then, and they will stay on through the New Year. If you drive down Post Oak after Thanksgiving dinner, you'll see all two miles of trees lit.
If a house you're preparing to sell will be photographed or shown this season, holiday timing affects the presentation as much as the calendar. JD Adamson can help you plan the schedule so the listing photos and the lights are ready together. Schedule your confidential consultation and complimentary home valuation.
