In Brookhaven, most of the 2026 holiday calendar falls between Wednesday, Dec. 2, and Sunday, Dec. 13. In those twelve days, events move from Town Brookhaven to Blackburn Park, then to Oglethorpe University and Brookhaven City Centre, and finally to Woodley Plaza on Dresden Drive and Plaza Fiesta. Holidays in the 'Haven at Brookhaven Park is the city's longest-running seasonal event, and it doesn't open until Dec. 19. By then nearly everything else has come and gone.
So the season works like two calendars. The first is a run of single-evening and single-weekend events, each at a different address. The second is a 17-day stretch in one park. If you plan for both, it's easy to catch everything.
The Park Gets Decorated Before the Festival Arrives
The first thing you'll see goes up at Brookhaven Park weeks before the festival does. Explore Brookhaven and the City of Brookhaven run the Brookhaven Holiday Tinsel Trail. Residents, businesses, organizations and community groups each decorate an assigned holiday tree. This year's trees are installed between Nov. 16 and Dec. 1, from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. each day, and Brookhaven Park is the listed display location. Every participant decorates only their assigned space, so the trail fills in gradually through late November. If you walk the park on a weekday morning, you'll likely see it at different stages.
Town Brookhaven starts its season around the same time. Bloom & Branch is hosting a Friendsgiving pumpkin centerpiece workshop on Saturday, Nov. 21, from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m., in Town Brookhaven Suite 1150, and the listing notes free parking. The next day, Nov. 22, Plaza Fiesta holds a Thanksgiving Day event from 2 to 4 p.m. with giveaways, music, contests and prizes. Small Business Saturday falls on Nov. 28, two days after Thanksgiving.
All of this is preparation. The main calendar starts the following Wednesday.
Twelve Days, Six Addresses
Here's the run in order. It moves between Brookhaven's main civic, retail and campus locations:
- Wednesday, Dec. 2, Town Brookhaven. Town Brookhaven says its Merry Makers Market returns starting Dec. 2.
- Thursday, Dec. 3, Blackburn Park, 3501 Ashford Dunwoody Road. Light Up Brookhaven runs from 6 to 9 p.m. Santa arrives by helicopter, courtesy of Children's Healthcare of Atlanta.
- Friday, Dec. 4, Conant Performing Arts Center, 4484 Peachtree Road NE. Oglethorpe University holds its 82nd annual Boar's Head Concert and Celebration from 8 to 10 p.m.
- Saturday and Sunday, Dec. 5 and 6, Brookhaven City Centre, 4001 Peachtree Road NE. The Brookhaven Farmers Market holds its first indoor holiday market.
- Saturday, Dec. 12, Woodley Plaza, 1382 Dresden Drive NE. Dresden District Jingle & Mingle runs from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
- Sunday, Dec. 13, Plaza Fiesta. The Posada Navideña runs from 2 to 4 p.m. with dancing, piñatas, clowns and food.
Dec. 3 through 6 is the busiest stretch, with something on four days in a row. Each event has its own date or weekend at a single place, so if you miss one, it won't come around again this season.
Blackburn Park's Night
Light Up Brookhaven is the city's biggest one-night family event, and it's set up that way. After Santa lands, children can visit him for photos, and there are bouncy houses, inflatables, train rides, a petting zoo and hands-on crafts. Holiday giveaways go to the first people in line. The event runs three hours on a Thursday evening, so plan around the school night.
The park itself got news this fall. Brookhaven City Council voted 3 to 1 on Oct. 13 to approve a 50-year intergovernmental agreement with DeKalb County for a new fire station at Blackburn Park, according to Rough Draft Atlanta. Under the deal, the city leases about 1.35 acres at 3493 Ashford Dunwoody Road to the county for $1 a year. DeKalb County will build, own, operate and maintain the station. Rough Draft reported that the revised agreement includes lighting standards meant to reduce effects on nearby homes, reasonable efforts to limit nighttime siren use when conditions allow, extra landscape screening, tree replacement and about 50 public parking spaces to replace those affected by the project. The city's announcement also lists a multi-use path and a community room as part of the project.
Mayor John Park, City Manager Christian Sigman and DeKalb Safety Director Darnell Fullum called the agreement a first step and said they would work with residents to refine the plan. This December's Light Up Brookhaven takes place in the park as it is now. The plan approved in October is still being refined.
City Centre Moves the Market Indoors
The Brookhaven Farmers Market's Holiday Bazaar is the newest event on the calendar. The market calls it its first indoor holiday market. It's at Brookhaven City Centre, 4001 Peachtree Road NE, on Saturday, Dec. 5, from 9 a.m. to noon, and Sunday, Dec. 6, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. More than 20 vendors are signed up, and most of them will be there both days.
The two days run on different hours. Saturday matches a regular market morning, and Sunday starts later and runs into early afternoon. Since most vendors are there both days, you can choose the time that suits you without missing many of them.
City Centre is already on the calendar this season. The city held its Veterans Day ceremony there on Nov. 11. The Holiday Bazaar makes the building a weekend shopping stop in December, between Blackburn Park on Thursday and Dresden Drive the next Saturday.
Dresden Drive Gets One Saturday
The farmers market also organizes Dresden District Jingle & Mingle, so the same group puts on back-to-back Saturdays at two different addresses. On Dec. 12 the market sets up at Woodley Plaza, 1382 Dresden Drive NE, with vendors, live music and performances. The day's lineup:
- 10 a.m.: Ashford Park Elementary School Choir
- 11:45 a.m.: Chamblee Cluster Band, with students from Ashford Park, Montgomery and Huntley Hills
- 2 to 4 p.m.: Jimmy White
The organizer lists offers along the corridor that day.
- Brookhaven Wines: a free Japanese Christmas tasting and a small artisan market with light snacks
- Hol+ and Hol+ Spa: free chair massages at the spa, free B12 injections at the clinic, discounted appointments booked on Dec. 12, and a prize wheel
- Savi Provisions: 10 percent off six or more bottles of wine
- Solis Dresden Village: letters to Santa and free Santa hats
With the event at Woodley Plaza, the day uses the whole corridor. The music is on the plaza and the offers are in shops along the street, so you'll spend the day moving between them. The Dec. 12 date also works for gifts. It comes a week after the Holiday Bazaar and a week before Holidays in the 'Haven opens, so you can still pick up wine or a spa gift certificate in time for the holidays.
Brookhaven Park Takes Over When the Rest Ends
On Saturday, Dec. 19, the season settles in one place. Holidays in the 'Haven runs at Brookhaven Park through Monday, Jan. 4, 2027. Explore Brookhaven's listing describes these attractions:
- Rudolph's Rink: ice skating
- Santa's Village: arts and crafts
- Festive Food Lane: food trucks and concessions with seasonal food
- Grinch Games: family lawn games
The festival opens about three weeks after the Tinsel Trail trees finish going up, in the same park, so the trees are already in place when it opens. Its timing follows the school calendar, not the shopping calendar. Last season the city ran it from Dec. 20, 2025, through Jan. 4, 2026, to line up with the DeKalb County School District's winter break, and closed it on Dec. 24, Dec. 25 and Jan. 1.
Brookhaven Park also hosted the International Festival in October. For that festival, the city asked visitors to take MARTA and use free shuttles from Apple Valley Road behind the Brookhaven/Oglethorpe station. Updates for Holidays in the 'Haven are posted on the city's special events page, and the City of Brookhaven takes questions at 404-637-0500.
Here's how it adds up. Light Up Brookhaven, the Boar's Head celebration, the Holiday Bazaar and Jingle & Mingle each happen once, between Dec. 3 and Dec. 12. Holidays in the 'Haven runs 17 days. You can do the first group of events around a few December evenings and Saturdays, and save Holidays in the 'Haven for the school break.
Shanna treats the Brookhaven calendar the way she treats a listing. The details, like which addresses are busy on which weekends and how the parks are changing, are what clients want from someone who follows the area closely. If you're thinking about your own plans in Brookhaven or nearby, Shanna Smith would be glad to talk through them. Request a private consultation.
