On the Saturday after Thanksgiving, a 26-foot tree at One Paseo lights up at 6:30 p.m., snow falls from the rooftops and a holiday band plays through the evening. It is the first big night of Carmel Valley's holiday season. It is not the only tree lighting, though. One Paseo, Del Mar Highlands Town Center and The Village at Pacific Highlands Ranch each run their own holiday calendar, and the dates hardly overlap. From the last weekend of November through Dec. 18, the season moves up and down the neighborhood in a set order.
The Season, Start to Finish
Here are the dates the three centers have posted for 2026:
- Saturday, Nov. 28: Tree Lighting Ceremony & Holiday Band at One Paseo, 5:30 to 7:30 p.m., free.
- Thursday, Dec. 3: Photos with Santa at Del Mar Highlands Town Center.
- Friday, Dec. 4: Live Music & Dinner with Roman Palacios at Amalfi, The Village at Pacific Highlands Ranch, 6 to 9 p.m.
- Saturday, Dec. 5: Annual Tree Lighting & Photos with Santa at The Village at Pacific Highlands Ranch, 5 to 7:30 p.m., with Holiday Train Rides earlier that day.
- Sunday, Dec. 6: Jingle & Mingle Holiday Photo Moment at One Paseo, plus Holiday Train Rides at Pacific Highlands Ranch.
- Tuesday, Dec. 8: Menorah Lighting at One Paseo, 5:30 to 7:30 p.m., free.
- Saturday and Sunday, Dec. 12 and 13: Holiday Train Rides at Pacific Highlands Ranch, with Photos with Santa there on Dec. 13 from 3 to 6 p.m.
- Friday, Dec. 18: Amalfi's live music and dinner with Roman Palacios returns, 6 to 9 p.m.
That is two tree lightings a week apart, Santa at all three centers on four different days, and a menorah lighting on a Tuesday night. These dates don't compete with each other. Someone who lives between El Camino Real and Camino del Sur could go to all of them.
One Paseo Opens the Season on Thanksgiving Weekend
Thanksgiving is Thursday, Nov. 26, which puts One Paseo's ceremony on the Saturday of the holiday weekend. One Paseo calls it its annual Tree Lighting Ceremony. The event runs from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. and the tree is lit at 6:30. The center promises Christmas décor throughout, snow from the rooftops and live music from the Holiday Band all evening. It is free and open to all ages.
The tree lighting comes at the end of a month of weekend music at One Paseo. Its Shop, Dine & Unwind with Live Music series has David de Alva on Saturday, Nov. 14, and Jolene on Saturday, Nov. 21. Those two Saturdays and the tree lighting a week later fill three weekends in a row.
A Week Later, Pacific Highlands Ranch Lights Its Own Tree
The Village at Pacific Highlands Ranch holds its Annual Tree Lighting & Photos with Santa on Saturday, Dec. 5, from 5 to 7:30 p.m. That puts it one week after One Paseo's. With the second lighting, the season moves to the inland side of the neighborhood.
The Village also stretches its program over more days than any other center in Carmel Valley. Holiday Train Rides run on two weekends, and the hours change from day to day:
| Date | Day | Train Ride Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Dec. 5 | Saturday | 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. |
| Dec. 6 | Sunday | 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. |
| Dec. 12 | Saturday | 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. |
| Dec. 13 | Sunday | 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. |
On Dec. 5, the trains run until 8 p.m., so they are still going after the tree is lit. On Dec. 12 they stop at 5 p.m., the earliest of the four days. Santa comes back to The Village on Sunday, Dec. 13, from 3 to 6 p.m., which overlaps the last afternoon of train rides.
Santa Keeps a Schedule Across All Three Centers
Santa's 2026 dates in Carmel Valley follow the same rotation as the rest of the season. Del Mar Highlands Town Center lists a Photos with Santa visit on Thursday, Dec. 3. He appears at The Village at Pacific Highlands Ranch at the Dec. 5 tree lighting and again on the afternoon of Dec. 13. One Paseo's version is the Jingle & Mingle Holiday Photo Moment on Sunday, Dec. 6.
Del Mar Highlands' date is the only weekday one of the group, a Thursday. Every Santa date at The Village falls on a weekend. Families can choose their photo date by which day of the week works for them.
One Paseo Returns on a Tuesday
The season comes back to One Paseo on Tuesday, Dec. 8, for its Menorah Lighting, from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. The center's event page lists traditional blessings, festive music and seasonal treats, and the event is free. The Chabad Jewish Center of RSF has a 2026 page for the One Paseo menorah lighting where guests can sign up and donate to support the program.
Between Nov. 28 and Dec. 8, One Paseo has three events on three different days of the week: a Saturday, a Sunday and a Tuesday.
The Tables Around the Lightings
Each center's holiday events come with its own restaurants, and this year's choices are not the same as last year's.
At One Paseo, the biggest change is Goop Kitchen. It opened on Aug. 31 in the space Tender Greens used to occupy, as the San Diego Union-Tribune reported. It is the brand's first dine-in restaurant. The menu leans toward health-minded food: salads, bowls, wraps, soups, pizza and pasta. Across the center, North Italia has brought in its fall menu for the season. The tenant list has also lost a name. Sweetfin's One Paseo poke shop closed in August 2026, according to Eater San Diego's fall closures roundup.
At The Village at Pacific Highlands Ranch, Amalfi hosts Live Music & Dinner with Roman Palacios on Friday, Dec. 4, the night before the tree lighting, and again on Friday, Dec. 18, both from 6 to 9 p.m. The Dec. 18 dinner is the last date on The Village's posted December calendar, so the season at the inland center ends with dinner and live music.
The Errand That Got Easier This Year
Holiday shopping in Carmel Valley now has a place to handle returns and pickups. Nordstrom Local sits at One Paseo, 3725 Paseo Place, Suite 1040. It is a small service hub for online-order pickups and returns, and it also does alterations. It opened this summer, and the Union-Tribune covered the opening as a stop built for convenience. It is open the whole season. You can drop off a return on Nov. 28 and stay for the 6:30 p.m. tree lighting a few doors away. For gifts that need hemming before a December dinner, the alterations counter is in the same center as the tree.
At Appleby Family Group, we follow Carmel Valley's calendar as closely as its market, because the dates that bring neighbors to One Paseo, Del Mar Highlands and Pacific Highlands Ranch shape life here as much as any listing does. If family visiting for the holidays has you thinking about what comes next in Carmel Valley, we would be glad to talk it through with you. Request a Private Consultation.
