By Kyle Frazier, Broker Associate, Imagine Marin | Compass - November 12, 2026
Quick Answer: Novato's main holiday weekend in 2026 runs Friday, December 4 through Sunday, December 6. The Holiday Crafts Faire is Friday from 6 to 9 p.m. and Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Margaret Todd Senior Center, 1560 Hill Road. Photos with Santa are Saturday from 10 a.m. to noon in the same building, $5 per family, by reserved time slot. The Community Tree Lighting Festival is Saturday from 4 to 7:30 p.m. in Old Town. The Grand Menorah Lighting is Sunday at 5 p.m. in front of Novato City Hall, 901 Sherman Avenue.
On Saturday, December 5, Santa Claus has two stops in Novato. In the morning he sits for $5 family photos booked in advance at the Margaret Todd Senior Center on Hill Road. That evening he rides into Old Town on a firetruck for the downtown tree lighting.
Three organizers are behind this weekend. The City of Novato's Parks, Recreation and Community Services department runs the Hill Road events. The Downtown Novato Business Association runs the tree lighting, which the City co-presented in 2025. The Chabad Jewish Center of Novato hosts the menorah lighting at City Hall on Sunday. Each one posts its own calendar, but together the dates make one plan from Friday night to Sunday evening. Most of what needs a reservation, a stamp or cash has to be handled before the weekend starts.
I live in Novato. All dates and times below were checked against the organizers' own listings on November 12, 2026.
The weekend, in order
Here is the full sequence as the organizers have posted it for 2026:
- Friday, December 4, 6 to 9 p.m. The Holiday Crafts Faire opens at the Margaret Todd Senior Center, 1560 Hill Road. The same day is the last day to use the Letters to Santa mailbox.
- Saturday, December 5, 10 a.m. to noon. Photos with Santa at the senior center, in reserved time slots.
- Saturday, December 5, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. The crafts faire's second and final day.
- Saturday, December 5, 4 to 7:30 p.m. The Community Tree Lighting Festival in Old Town, with downtown streets closed to cars.
- Sunday, December 6, 5 p.m. The Grand Menorah Lighting in front of Novato City Hall, 901 Sherman Avenue.
The crafts faire closes at 4 p.m. Saturday, the same minute the downtown festival opens. A family can spend the morning on Hill Road and go straight to Old Town that afternoon.
Photos with Santa and the Holiday Crafts Faire on Hill Road
Saturday morning's Santa visit has the most rules of anything that weekend. Photos run from 10 a.m. to noon in time slots. The cost is $5 per family, and every photo comes with a goodie bag from the North Pole. Registration opened November 2, and only one person per family needs to sign up. The City says time slots are limited, and registration goes through the City's sign-up link.
The crafts faire is in the same building. The listing counts more than 50 artisans selling jewelry, ceramics, specialty foods, wreaths, ornaments, and bath and body products, with entertainment and food during the event. Admission is free both days. Bring some cash in case a vendor does not take cards.
Parking starts in the senior center's main lot. Overflow parking is at the Hill Education Center lot and in the Hill Recreation Area parking by the bocce and pickleball courts. With Santa photos and the faire both drawing crowds Saturday morning, the overflow lots are the more likely place to park in the late morning. Friday's 6 to 9 p.m. session has no Santa schedule competing for parking, so it is likely the easier time to shop the faire.
For questions about the faire, the City lists 415-899-8290 and [email protected].
The Novato tree lighting in Old Town on Saturday evening
At 4 p.m. the weekend moves to Old Town. The Downtown Novato Business Association describes its 2026 Community Tree Lighting Festival as the evening when the streets in Old Town become pedestrian only for live performances, artisan vendors, food and drink, craft projects for kids and the tree lighting. Santa arrives by firetruck so he and his elves can hear the kids' wishes. The DNBA says parking for its events is free.
The association has not posted a Santa arrival time or a lighting time for 2026. Last year gives a sense of the schedule. The City's 2025 calendar listing placed the festival at Grant and Sherman Avenues. The City's 2025 announcement listed live music, community dance performances, kids' art and craft activities, cookie decorating, and vendors along Grant Avenue, with Santa and his elves taking photos in Santa's Village. In 2025, the Novato Fire District brought Santa on the ladder truck at 5 p.m., and the tree was lit at 5:30 p.m. Those times are from 2025. If the 2026 festival keeps a similar schedule, families coming from Hill Road would have about an hour downtown before Santa arrives.
Saturday's two Santa visits work differently. The Hill Road visit is a reserved, paid photo in a time slot. The downtown visit is part of the street festival, and in 2025 it centered on Santa's Village. Families who missed the morning slots still have the evening, and families with a morning photo can treat the evening as the festival itself.
The Grand Menorah Lighting at City Hall on Sunday
The Chabad Jewish Center of Novato's Grand Menorah Lighting takes place Sunday, December 6 at 5 p.m. in front of Novato City Hall, 901 Sherman Avenue. Chanukah (also spelled Hanukkah) runs from the evening of December 4 through December 12 this year, so the lighting falls on the third night. Chabad's event page lists a fire truck gelt drop, a fire show, donuts, hot latkes, crafts for children, a raffle and music. The event is sponsored in part by the City of Novato, and Chabad takes RSVPs on its event page.
Sherman Avenue was also one of the two cross streets for the 2025 tree lighting. One evening apart, both lightings happen on the same downtown street, and a fire truck plays a part in each.
What to book or handle before December 5
The parts of the weekend that need preparation all have deadlines before Saturday:
- Santa photo slots. Registration opened November 2, slots are limited, and one family member registers for the household.
- Letters to Santa. The City's North Pole mailbox at the Novato Gymnastics Center, 950 Seventh Street, takes letters November 9 through December 4, with a mail slot open 24 hours a day. A letter only gets a reply if it includes a self-addressed, stamped envelope. The mailbox closes on Friday, December 4, the day the crafts faire opens on Hill Road.
- Cash for the faire. Small bills make the craft tables easier.
- Gingerbread kits for the following Saturday. Registration is at novato.gov/regforfun.
Getting there: parking and Novato Boulevard
Parking is free at DNBA events downtown, and the Hill Road lots are listed above.
Novato Boulevard has new construction this season. The City's Novato Boulevard Improvements project between Diablo Avenue and Grant Avenue was anticipated to begin in late October or early November 2026 and to take 18 to 24 months. The work includes a new parallel trunk sewer built with the Novato Sanitary District, along with water, roadway, sidewalk and bike lane improvements. If your route to Hill Road or Old Town uses that stretch, allow extra time and check the City's project page for current traffic control. I covered the project in more detail in Novato Boulevard Is About to Be Dug Up Again.
The weekend after, and the last day of the year
The Margaret Todd Senior Center hosts the City's Gingerbread Build on Saturday, December 12, one week after the Santa photos. Sessions start at 9:30 and 11 a.m. with holiday music, hot chocolate and coffee. This year's 1 p.m. session is new and sensory friendly. The City describes it as designed for all ages with disabilities, sensory sensitivities or other access needs, with quiet music, a smaller group, and a space for breaks. Kits cost $20 for up to four people and $16 for each additional kit.
Downtown's season ends on Thursday, December 31 at noon with the DNBA's Bouncy Ball New Year Countdown. Thousands of small bouncy balls drop onto the street from a ladder truck 40 feet in the air. Kids get a souvenir hard hat and can keep as many balls as they can hold.
That makes three December gatherings on Novato's downtown streets with a fire truck in the program: Santa's ride to the tree lighting, the gelt drop at City Hall, and the bouncy ball drop on New Year's Eve. The Hill Road events bookend the season from the other side of town, on December 5 and again on December 12, at the same building on Hill Road.
For more on the season, see Hamilton's December caroling walk and Thanksgiving morning's Turkey Trot at the end of Ignacio Boulevard.
Common questions about Novato's holiday weekend
When is the Novato tree lighting in 2026?
The Community Tree Lighting Festival is Saturday, December 5, 2026, from 4 to 7:30 p.m. in Old Town Novato. The Downtown Novato Business Association has not posted the lighting time for 2026. In 2025 the tree was lit at 5:30 p.m.
Where can kids see Santa in Novato in 2026?
Twice on Saturday, December 5. Photos with Santa run from 10 a.m. to noon at the Margaret Todd Senior Center, 1560 Hill Road, by reserved time slot. Santa then arrives by firetruck at the downtown tree lighting festival, which runs from 4 to 7:30 p.m.
How much are photos with Santa in Novato?
$5 per family. Each photo comes with a goodie bag. Registration opened November 2, only one person per family needs to register, and the City says time slots are limited.
Is the Novato Holiday Crafts Faire free?
Yes. Admission is free on both days, Friday, December 4 from 6 to 9 p.m. and Saturday, December 5 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., at the Margaret Todd Senior Center.
When and where is the Novato menorah lighting in 2026?
Sunday, December 6, 2026 at 5 p.m. in front of Novato City Hall, 901 Sherman Avenue. The Chabad Jewish Center of Novato hosts it, with a fire truck gelt drop, a fire show, donuts, hot latkes, crafts, a raffle and music.
How do Letters to Santa work in Novato?
Drop a letter in the North Pole mail slot at the Novato Gymnastics Center, 950 Seventh Street, between November 9 and December 4. The slot is open 24 hours a day. Include a self-addressed, stamped envelope to get a reply.
Is parking free at the Novato tree lighting?
The Downtown Novato Business Association says parking for its events is free. Old Town streets are closed to cars during the festival.
Sources
- City of Novato Parks, Recreation and Community Services: Events
- Downtown Novato Business Association: Events
- Chabad Jewish Center of Novato: Grand Menorah Lighting
- City of Novato: 2025 Holiday Tree Lighting Festival announcement
- City of Novato Public Works: Novato Boulevard Improvements
Our team at Imagine Marin follows these local calendars closely because they shape what Novato feels like from one week to the next. If the holidays have you starting to think about a move within Novato or elsewhere in Marin, start with our Novato guide and current listings. If you want a data-driven second opinion on value, we are here to help.
