Last December, the Highlands Ranch Community Association held Hometown Holiday on a Friday, from 3 to 7 p.m. at Town Center. Its listing on Live Well Douglas County shows December 5, 2025, which put the tree lighting at the end of a workday. This year the HRCA's Hometown Holiday page lists Saturday, December 12, 2026, from noon to 5 p.m.
The move puts it one weekend after the Highlands Ranch Mansion's Holiday Celebration, set for Saturday, December 5, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. So the community's two big December traditions now happen in daylight on back-to-back Saturdays. Each one has its own setting, its own host and its own way of getting there, and that difference is what's worth planning around this year.
Hometown Holiday Moves From Friday Evening to Saturday Afternoon
The 2026 version keeps the parts people know. The HRCA describes photos with Santa, a holiday gift market, live music, local food trucks and the tree lighting at Highlands Ranch Town Center. A cash bar runs alongside the food. It's free and open to the public, and admission was free in 2025 as well.
The timing is what changed. A five-hour Saturday window from noon to 5 p.m. replaces a four-hour Friday window that began at 3 p.m. Families no longer have to fit it between school pickup and dinner. It's an afternoon outing now, and you can arrive early, browse the market, and stay for the lighting.
Getting there is simple. The HRCA lists free parking nearby, and Link on Demand transportation also serves the event. If you have questions before the day, the HRCA names Carley Haupt as the contact on its event listing.
A Week Earlier, the Mansion Asks Guests to Park Off Site
The Mansion celebration on December 5 is the more traditional of the two. The Highlands Ranch Metro District co-hosts it with the Mansion, and the Mansion's event page lists horse-drawn hayrides, visits with Santa, self-guided tours of the house, reindeer games on the lawn, face painting, school choir performances, and gift and craft vendors. Every activity is free, and food trucks sell food and drinks.
Getting there takes more planning than Town Center does. The page says there is no parking at the Mansion except for vehicles with handicapped placards or license plates. Everyone else rides off-site transportation. Shuttle details will be on the Mansion's event page. The Metro District also takes questions at 303-791-0430 or [email protected]. If someone in your group uses a placard, they're the one who can drive to the door, so it helps to sort out who rides with whom before the morning.
The Mansion runs from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. and Hometown Holiday runs from noon to 5 p.m. That gives the two Saturdays different rhythms. The Mansion is a morning event built around a shuttle ride and a historic house. Town Center is an afternoon event that ends with the lights coming on.
The Weeks Around Those Two Saturdays
The big Saturdays have smaller events before and after them. Most are run by the HRCA at its recreation centers, and several fall on weekdays.
| Date | Event | Where | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sat., Nov. 14, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. | HRCA Holiday Gift Fair | Eastridge Recreation Center, 9568 University Blvd. | Free indoor admission |
| Fri., Nov. 20, 6 to 7 p.m. | Nutcracker Highlights | Southridge Recreation Center, 4800 McArthur Ranch Road | Ticketed through HRCA |
| Sat., Nov. 21, 3 to 4 p.m. and 6 to 7 p.m. | Nutcracker Highlights | Southridge Recreation Center | Ticketed through HRCA |
| Sun., Nov. 22, 3 to 4 p.m. | Nutcracker Highlights | Southridge Recreation Center | Ticketed through HRCA |
| Wed., Dec. 2, 6:30 to 8 p.m. | Holiday Jazz Music | Southridge Recreation Center | $25 listed; $28.06 with Eventbrite fee |
| Thu., Dec. 3 | Holiday House Decorating map posts | Online through HRCA | Free |
| Sat., Dec. 5, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. | Mansion Holiday Celebration | Highlands Ranch Mansion | Free activities |
| Sat., Dec. 12, noon to 5 p.m. | Hometown Holiday and tree lighting | Highlands Ranch Town Center | Free |
| Mon., Dec. 21 | Last day for decorating map submissions | Online through HRCA | Free |
The Holiday Gift Fair at Eastridge on November 14 comes first. It's the only all-day event of the season, and it falls on the second Saturday after this post goes up. If you shop early, you can finish a list there before either big December weekend arrives.
Nutcracker Highlights has four short performances across one November weekend at Southridge. The hour-long format suits younger children. On the first Wednesday of December, Holiday Jazz Music returns to the same building. It's the one adult-leaning evening on the calendar, and the HRCA page lists it at $25.
The Holiday House Decorating map goes up on Thursday, December 3, two days before the Mansion celebration. Submissions stay open through December 21, so homes decorated after the first weekend of December can still be added.
New at Town Center: Joy Batch Cookies & Coffee
Hometown Holiday on December 12 will be the first one for Joy Batch Cookies & Coffee. The small-batch bakeshop opened at 9315 Dorchester Street in Highlands Ranch's Town Center in October. As the Highlands Ranch Herald reported, owner Sarah Carlson was preparing to open the storefront on October 8.
The shop is open Tuesday through Sunday, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. That means its hours overlap with the first three hours of Hometown Holiday. If the Mansion shuttle drops you back in time on December 5, a stop for cookies fits on that Saturday too.
The menu mixes classics with flavors drawn from other desserts. The Herald lists chocolate chip, M&M's and Oreo cheesecake, along with cookies inspired by Cinnamon Toast Crunch, frosted animal cookies, and dirt and worms. The business started as Quinnie's Cookies, a home bakery Carlson launched about three and a half years ago. It grew through community pop-ups, many of them hosted by the Castle Pines Chamber of Commerce.
"I want it to be a space that people come and they're like, my day's just a little bit better because I went there," Carlson told the Highlands Ranch Herald.
Civic Green Park's New Playground Is Due Late November
One other change affects families planning their weekends. The playground at Civic Green Park, 9370 Ridgeline Blvd., closed on September 8 to replace equipment that was 19 years old. The Highlands Ranch Metro District expects construction to last through late November.
The District says the replacement was designed around community feedback. Here's what it describes:
- A larger footprint, with continuous rubber surfacing in place of wood chips
- A tall main structure with slides, tunnels and climbing elements for ages 5 to 12
- Separate play and slide structures for ages 2 to 5 and for toddlers 6 to 23 months
- Four swings under a shade awning
- A spinning rope tower
- A merry-go-round with at-grade entry, meant to encourage inclusive play
Two favorites aren't changing. The fountains and wading stream next to the playground were turned off early this season for the construction. They aren't part of the renovation and will stay as they are, and the book sculptures stay in place too. The rest of the park is open, except for the fenced-off shelter next to the work area. Reopening updates go on the District's Playground Replacement page. Until then, the District suggests Northridge Park, Foothills Park and Kistler Park as nearby options.
The District aims to replace one or two playgrounds a year, depending on budget approval and available funds. If Civic Green reopens on the projected timeline, families will have a new playground and both holiday Saturdays within about three weeks of each other.
If you're hosting family for the holidays this year and want ideas for where to take them, or if you're quietly thinking about what next December might look like in a different home, I'd love to hear from you. At Lisa Snyder Properties, we're always glad to talk about the Saturdays that make Highlands Ranch feel like home. Let's Connect.
