On Friday, Nov. 27, at 3 p.m., the Saratoga Chamber of Commerce office at 14460 Big Basin Way becomes Candy Cane Village. There will be Santa photos, horse-carriage rides, and craft tables for kids. By 9 p.m. the last wine pour of the night is done. Those six hours are every holiday event the City and Chamber have scheduled for Historic Saratoga Village this year.
Up Montalvo Road, things move much more slowly. Montalvo Arts Center's holiday programming begins Sunday, Nov. 15, with workshops. It goes on through a Thanksgiving-week market, an afternoon tea, a string of December concerts, and a theater run that ends Dec. 20. Saratoga's season works best when you treat the Village Friday as the one date that can't move and fit the hill around it.
Six hours on Big Basin Way
The City of Saratoga's event calendar lists all three Village events on the same Friday, packed so close together that the last two overlap:
- 3:00 to 5:00 p.m., Candy Cane Village at the Chamber, 14460 Big Basin Way. It's free, with photos with Santa and his elves, horse-carriage rides, holiday crafts for kids, and live sing-along music.
- 5:30 to 6:30 p.m., the Annual Holiday Tree Lighting at Blaney Plaza. The City asks people to come early and stop into Village shops and restaurants.
- 6:00 to 9:00 p.m., the Saratoga Holiday Wine Stroll Experience, hosted by the Chamber with Village merchants and restaurants. Kurt & Johnny play live music. According to the Saratoga Chamber of Commerce, check-in opens at 14460 Big Basin Way at 5 p.m. and advance tickets are $50.
The tree lighting ends at 6:30 and the stroll starts at 6:00, so for half an hour both are happening on the same few blocks. The Candy Cane Village crowd heads toward Blaney Plaza right as stroll ticket holders are checking in at the Chamber. The City's listing for the stroll is direct about what that does to parking:
"Free parking is available throughout the Historic Saratoga Village (check the map for locations). To ensure you get the best parking, you may also consider making a late lunch or early dinner reservation at one of our fabulous restaurants."
That same listing says tickets are limited, the event often sells out, and it goes ahead rain or shine. In practice, a household that wants both the kids' events and the stroll should plan to be in the Village from midafternoon through the evening. Parking doesn't allow dropping in for only the 5:30 lighting.
The Saratoga Library is closed that Friday and on Thanksgiving, so it won't work as a warm stop before the lighting.
Montalvo starts 12 days earlier, and its big weekend comes before Thanksgiving
The Village has its single night after the holiday. Montalvo's busiest stretch falls the weekend before it.
The Yuletide Boutique is a free holiday market in the historic Villa, organized by the Montalvo Service Group. Hours are Friday, Nov. 20, and Saturday, Nov. 21, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. On Sunday, Nov. 22, it runs 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., and everything left in the Vintage Treasures area is half off. Registration is free, and Montalvo asks for it so it can plan parking. The 2026 vendor list is local and specific. It includes Anita Clemetson Pottery, Redwood Soaps, Roxanne's Biscotti, Whiskey Oak Seasonings, Mango Blossom Apiary, Scandinavian Form & Design, Kavita Painted Silks, and Totes by Clydesdale, among others.
The Yuletide Holiday Teas are that same Sunday, with seatings at 11:30 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. Reservations are $70 per person plus a $5 service fee, for tables of up to six booked under one name. Champagne is available to buy. If you book the 11:30 seating, you'll finish in time to browse the clearance sale before the boutique closes at 3.
Montalvo's season starts even before that weekend. On Sunday, Nov. 15, there's a Super-Secret Holiday Gift-Making Workshop for Youth at 10 a.m. for ages 5 to 8 and at 3 p.m. for ages 7 to 10. The Wild-Foraged Wreath-Making Workshop has sessions the same day at 10 a.m. and 3 p.m., plus one on Wednesday, Dec. 2, at 6 p.m. All of the wreath sessions were showing as waitlist-only.
December belongs to the hill
Once the Village tree is lit, Saratoga's December programming happens almost entirely at Montalvo. Here is the lineup posted on Montalvo's events calendar, along with the Silicon Valley Shakespeare run on the grounds:
| Date | Event | Time |
|---|---|---|
| Thu., Dec. 3 | Top of the World: A Carpenters Tribute | 7:30 p.m. |
| Dec. 4 to 20 | A Christmas Carol, Silicon Valley Shakespeare | Varies by date |
| Sat., Dec. 5 | Charo: Have Yourself a Cuchi Little Christmas | 7:30 p.m. |
| Thu., Dec. 10 | Irish Christmas in America | 7:30 p.m. |
| Fri., Dec. 11 | David Benoit Christmas Tribute to Charlie Brown | 7:30 p.m. |
| Sat., Dec. 12 | Fezziwig's Yuletide benefit, Silicon Valley Shakespeare | See SVS listing |
A Christmas Carol is a roving production, and its schedule is the main reason Montalvo's season lasts as long as it does. Silicon Valley Shakespeare lists performances at 7:30 p.m., but Montalvo's ticketing shows a 6 p.m. start for opening night, Dec. 4, so check the time printed on your ticket.
November has concerts as well. SOLAS plays Friday, Nov. 6. The Smithereens play Thursday, Nov. 12, and Marc Broussard plays Friday, Nov. 13, with Cristina Vane opening. On Saturday, Nov. 14, Amjad Ali Khan performs with Amaan Ayaan Ali Bangash and Ayaan Ali Bangash in The Sarod Trilogy. Pablo Cruise plays Friday, Nov. 20, which lines up with the boutique's opening day. All of these shows start at 7:30 p.m.
The fixed points between the two calendars
Some parts of a Saratoga week keep their usual schedule no matter what the Village or Montalvo has going on, and they help fill the gaps:
- Hakone Estate and Gardens switched to winter hours on Oct. 31 and now closes at 4 p.m. That's an hour and a half before the tree lighting starts on Nov. 27, so a garden visit needs to come early in the day. The Omote-senke School's Tea Ceremony Demonstration returns Sunday, Dec. 6, at noon or 1 p.m., ticketed separately from garden admission. Chris Sicat's UMI exhibit is in the Cultural Exchange Center through December.
- The Saratoga Farmers' Market runs every Saturday of the year from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. in West Valley College Parking Lot 3, at Fruitvale Avenue and Career Way. The California Farmers' Markets Association operates it.
- Aegis Gallery of Fine Art, at 14531 Big Basin Way, is showing Bhawna Seth's Wild Hearts, Gentle Bonds through Nov. 29. A free artist reception is Saturday, Nov. 7, from 3 to 6 p.m. That puts a second Village date on the calendar three weeks ahead of the tree lighting.
- Saratoga Library at 13650 Saratoga Avenue is closed Nov. 11 for Veterans Day, Nov. 26 and 27 for Thanksgiving, and Dec. 25. It closes early, at 5 p.m., on Dec. 24 and Dec. 31.
The Saturdays where everything overlaps
Because the two calendars are run separately, a few Saturdays end up crowded from morning to night. The City's November and December calendars show where things cluster:
- Saturday, Nov. 14. The Let's Work Saratoga! Quarry Park Clean-Up runs 9 a.m. to noon at 22000 Congress Springs Road. Mayor's Office Hours are at the farmers market from 10 a.m. to noon. The Sarod Trilogy plays Montalvo at 7:30 p.m.
- Saturday, Nov. 21. The Yuletide Boutique is open 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on the same morning as the farmers market, and both close by mid-afternoon.
- Saturday, Dec. 5. Mayor's Office Hours return to the farmers market from 10 a.m. to noon, and Charo plays Montalvo that night.
- Saturday, Dec. 12. A second Quarry Park clean-up runs 9 a.m. to noon, and Silicon Valley Shakespeare's Fezziwig's Yuletide benefit is at Montalvo that evening.
Put together, the season looks like this. Montalvo has a full weekend Nov. 20 to 22. The Village gets its one long Friday on Nov. 27. December weekends are back up the hill, and the Saturday farmers market at West Valley College runs throughout. If you're working out the summer side of the same arrangement, our earlier guide to how the Village, Montalvo, and the Mountain Winery fit together covers the venues in warmer months, and the Saratoga neighborhood page has more on the town.
If you'd like a local opinion on which Saratoga streets make it easy to walk to Blaney Plaza on tree-lighting night, or which put Montalvo a short drive away, Aaron Buntin knows how this town's calendar works and is glad to talk it through. Start Your South Bay Home Search.
