For 46 years, the Grand Christmas Tree Lighting in Old Town Spring was one evening on the calendar. In 2026 that evening opens a season. Hometown Holidays runs from November 14 through December 24, with six Signature Saturdays between the first and the last weekends. For Bender's Landing Estates households, the change reaches beyond the historic district. The Woodlands now holds Friday fireworks on the same December weeks, and City Place takes the Sunday after Thanksgiving, so most of the season's big dates now come in weekend pairs.
The first of those weekends is this Saturday.
One evening became a six-week season
According to the Old Town Spring Hometown Holidays packet, the tree lighting "becomes the beginning of something even bigger": six Saturdays of live entertainment, family activities, holiday lights, décor and special programming, spread across the district's roughly 150 local businesses. The packet says plainly what the format is for. It is meant to give visitors "a reason to return again and again."
Hello Cypress reports that the season is hosted by the Old Town Spring Improvement District & Visitors Bureau. Randall Reed's Planet Lincoln is the presenting sponsor, with support from Wunsche Bros. and Union Pacific.
A season built for return visits works differently from a single crowded night. If you miss the lighting, you have not missed Christmas in Old Town Spring. Each Saturday has its own theme, and you can choose one or several.
The six Saturdays, in order
- November 14: Grand Christmas Tree Lighting. This kicks off the season at the Spring Historical Museum, 403 Main Street, according to Hello Cypress. The Old Town Spring app listing places the event in the evening and the lighting itself at dusk. The app is the place to check the final schedule and the entertainment lineup before you leave.
- November 21: Charity Give Back Weekend.
- November 28: Small Business Saturday.
- December 5: Christmas Movie Night.
- December 12: Christmas Drone Show.
- December 19: Christmas Extravaganza.
The season runs past the final Saturday to December 24. That leaves the last few days before Christmas open for gift shopping in the district without an event crowd.
The lighting opens the season in mid-November, and the drone show falls a week before the Extravaganza. Old Town Spring's performer application expects most community performances between about 11 a.m. and 6 p.m., with each act's time assigned after selections and subject to change. If you plan on being there for a daytime set, check the schedule a few days ahead.
November 21 is the Saturday with two calendars
The second Signature Saturday falls on the same day as The Woodlands' Lighting of the Doves, Saturday, November 21. Holiday on The Waterway also begins that day and runs through January 3, 2027. The Woodlands Ice Rink opens the evening before, on Friday, November 20, and stays open through January 18, 2027.
That Saturday means making a choice. Charity Give Back Weekend in Old Town Spring has a community theme. The Waterway marks the start of its own season the same night. Families who want both can split them across the weekend. The ice rink is already open on Friday, Old Town Spring has its Saturday, and Holiday on The Waterway keeps going long after its opening night.
The Sunday after Thanksgiving belongs to City Place
Old Town Spring has Small Business Saturday on November 28. The next afternoon, Sunday, November 29, City Place holds its free Oh, What Fun! Holiday Tree Lighting Celebration from 3 to 7 p.m. at City Place Plaza, 1250 Lake Plaza Drive, Spring, TX 77389. The evening ends with a countdown and a lighting after dusk at the center of City Place Lake.
The City Place lineup is aimed at younger children:
- A Real Snow Play Area
- Live reindeer
- Holiday train rides
- A Gingerbread Village to walk through
- Photos with Santa, plus Letters to Santa
- Balloon artists, face painting and festive crafts
- A holiday market and live music
City Place notes that attendees may appear in photos and video captured at the event and later used in its publicity.
With City Place on Sunday, Thanksgiving weekend has two separate outings. Saturday covers the historic district's shops, and Sunday afternoon brings snow, reindeer and a second tree lighting. Out-of-town guests staying through the holiday weekend get a different evening each day without going back to the same place.
December weekends start Friday on the Waterway
In December the weekly rhythm is easiest to see. The Woodlands' Waterway Winter Nights fireworks run on three Fridays, from 7 to 9 p.m. Each one falls the night before an Old Town Spring Signature Saturday.
| December weekend | Friday on The Woodlands Waterway | Saturday in Old Town Spring |
|---|---|---|
| December 4–5 | Waterway Winter Nights fireworks, 7–9 p.m. | Christmas Movie Night |
| December 11–12 | Waterway Winter Nights fireworks, 7–9 p.m. | Christmas Drone Show |
| December 18–19 | Waterway Winter Nights fireworks, 7–9 p.m. | Christmas Extravaganza |
On December 11 and 12, that means fireworks over the Waterway on Friday and a drone show in Old Town Spring on Saturday. Of the three December weekends, this is the one to keep clear if you are hosting visitors.
December 19 brings the last Signature Saturday, the Christmas Extravaganza. The Waterway's final Friday fireworks fall the night before. After that weekend, Holiday on The Waterway runs into early January and Old Town Spring's season continues to Christmas Eve.
Small Business Saturday can start on Rayford Road
Small Business Saturday on November 28 is the Signature Saturday about the district's independent shops. A stop that fits that theme sits closer to home. Jovi Roasters Café opened on August 3 at 602 Rayford Road, Suite B, and Community Impact reports that it serves coffee and pastries alongside food items sourced from small businesses.
A Saturday that begins with a pastry on Rayford and continues through the shops around Main Street keeps the day local from start to finish, and Thanksgiving weekend is a good time for that kind of outing. Jovi Roasters works equally well as a morning stop before the December 12 drone show, when the main event is after dark and the day is free until then.
A season planner for Bender's Landing Estates
On one calendar, the season breaks down like this:
- Saturday, November 14: Grand Christmas Tree Lighting, 403 Main Street, Old Town Spring, in the evening with the lighting at dusk
- Friday, November 20: The Woodlands Ice Rink opens, through January 18, 2027
- Saturday, November 21: Charity Give Back Weekend in Old Town Spring, with Lighting of the Doves and the start of Holiday on The Waterway in The Woodlands
- Saturday, November 28: Small Business Saturday in Old Town Spring
- Sunday, November 29: Oh, What Fun! at City Place Plaza, 3–7 p.m., free
- December 4–5: Waterway fireworks, then Christmas Movie Night
- December 11–12: Waterway fireworks, then the Christmas Drone Show
- December 18–19: Waterway fireworks, then the Christmas Extravaganza
- Through December 24: Hometown Holidays continues in Old Town Spring
For the opening night, the Old Town Spring app listing is where more activity and entertainment details are being shared as November 14 approaches.
Some homeowners spend these weekends thinking about where the family will gather next December. At Janet Chavez Realty Group, we would be glad to give you a clear, discreet picture of your Bender's Landing Estates home's value, so the plans you sketch over the holidays start from real numbers. Request your confidential home valuation.
