Allen's Holiday Season Starts at the Edges and Ends on Main Street

If you could only get to one of Allen's tree lightings this year, which one should it be? It depends on whether you want fireworks, an early afternoon that ends before the little ones melt down, or a 5K with a drone show at the finish. Allen gives you all three over about two weeks, and each happens in a different part of town.

The season opens at Watters Creek Village, moves to The Village at Allen the day after Thanksgiving, and ends on Saturday, December 5, when the City of Allen lights its own Christmas tree downtown. You go from a shopping center's party to a lifestyle center's family afternoon to a free civic street festival. The last one sits on Allen Drive, the same street as the block the city has picked for its next downtown district.

Three trees, two weeks

Here's how the 2026 season lines up.

Each event is built for a different crowd. The first is about retail, the second is about families with small children, and the third is a community event the city runs on the street.

November 21: Watters Creek opens the season with fireworks

Watters Creek Village goes first, and it goes loudest. According to Visit Allen's listing for Light the Night, the evening brings live music and caroling throughout the center, hot cocoa, wagon rides, face painting and balloon animals. A Tree Lighting Concert starts at 6 PM, then the tree lighting and fireworks follow at 6:30 PM. The same listing invites people to stay afterward for special offers from participating businesses. That tells you whose party this is. It's a shopping center launching its busiest season, and it does that very well.

It's also a start date as much as a single night. The Watters Creek events calendar has Santa visits running November 21 through December 24, Kringle's Corner and the Art of Giving Holiday Bazaar from December 1 to 29, an Ugly Sweater Wine Walk on Thursday, December 3 from 4 to 8 PM, and Merry Tuba Christmas on December 12. Santa Cares runs on December Sundays and Santa Paws on December Mondays, which means the dog finally gets a photo too.

For dinner, The Melting Pot is the newest sit-down choice at the center. Community Impact reported that it opened at 935 Watters Creek Blvd. N. this summer and held its ribbon cutting on August 19. Fondue after fireworks on a cold night is hard to beat, but book ahead. If Vaqueros Texas Bar-B-Q was part of your usual Watters Creek evening, it closed its Garden Park Drive restaurant on October 28.

Same weekend: the Allen Americans play at the Credit Union of Texas Event Center on Friday, November 20 and Saturday, November 21, with 7:10 PM puck drops on the Event Center calendar. The Saturday game starts 40 minutes after the Watters Creek fireworks, so on November 21 you'll have to pick one.

November 27: The Village at Allen keeps it early and small

Six days later, the season moves south to Stacy Road and gets more relaxed. The Village at Allen holds its Holiday Tree Lighting on Friday, November 27, from 4 to 6 PM at The Grove. The center lists Santa, a Mrs. Claus storytime, character photos, a trackless train, a bounce house, crafts, music, games and giveaways.

The schedule is the real draw. Watters Creek lights its tree at 6:30 PM and Holly Jolly at 6 PM, while The Village wraps up its whole event by 6 PM. That makes it the one for families whose evenings end at bath time. Falling on the day after Thanksgiving, it also works as an outing for visiting relatives who've had enough of the sofa.

You'll have plenty of dinner options when it lets out. Thai Sushi Crush, at 190 E. Stacy Road, Ste. 1410, is the newest. Community Impact reported it opened February 21, 2026, with Thai basil stir-fry, lo mein and sushi on the menu. The center's tenant directory also lists Kelly's at The Village for burgers, barbecue and cocktails, Uncle Julio's, BJ's Restaurant & Brewhouse, and First Watch if you'd rather do breakfast before the event.

Thanksgiving week has a second family option across town. Disney On Ice plays the Credit Union of Texas Event Center from November 25 to 29, with a 7 PM show on Wednesday, November 25 and three shows on Friday, November 27 at 11 AM, 3 PM and 7 PM. Pair the 11 AM show with The Village's 4 PM start and the day after Thanksgiving is fully booked, with time for lunch in between.

December 5: the city's tree, on the city's street

The season ends downtown, where it changes character. Holly Jolly, presented by Credit Union of Texas, is the City of Allen's event, and the city's community calendar lists it for Saturday, December 5, from 4 to 8 PM. Entry is free for all ages, and it starts at Allen Drive and Main Street, where the city says "you'll find blocks of fun."

The evening has a timetable, and it pays to plan around it:

1. 3 PM: Shuttles start running from Allen ISD Lowery Freshman Center.
2. 4 PM: The festival opens and the one-mile fun run begins.
3. 4:35 PM: Timed 5K starts.
4. 4:40 PM: Untimed 5K starts, for anyone happy to cover 3.1 miles without a clock.
5. 6 PM: The City of Allen Christmas tree is lit and the drone show begins.
6. 6:15 PM: Race awards.
7. 8 PM: Event ends; shuttles keep running until 8:30 PM.

Around that schedule, the city lists inflatables and games, train rides, a sensory space, gourmet food trucks, photos with Santa, holiday market vendors and live performances. Race registration starts at $20 through the Holly Jolly 5K and Fun Run page.

This is the one event of the three that the city puts on in its own downtown, and it has been there for a while. The Allen American's photo coverage of the 2023 festival puts it in Downtown Allen with a drone show that year. The Dallas Morning News listed the 2025 edition at the same Allen Drive and Main Street starting point. Downtown is where Allen holds its own holiday, and it is also where the city is spending its next big effort.

The block next door is next

In March, the city council approved the Downtown Catalyst Project, according to the City of Allen's downtown revitalization page. The city's project announcement places it on a block near Allen Drive and McDermott Drive. Plans include restaurant and retail space, a public pocket park with a performance stage, and new uses for the historic fire station and the Blue House. The city says construction is anticipated to begin by the end of 2026, with the district expected to open in 2028.

A pocket park with a performance stage is exactly the sort of permanent home a festival like Holly Jolly currently builds out of food trucks and street closures. For now, the December 5 festival happens on Allen Drive while the planned district waits further along the same street for its construction start.

There's already a little more to eat downtown during the day than there was a year ago. Mom's Cafe at 602 E. Main St. reopened under new ownership on July 3, Community Impact reported, with pancakes, eggs Benedict, fried catfish and burgers. It's a breakfast and lunch spot, so it suits the morning after more than the night of.

After the last tree

December brings two new openings that could fit around the season. Cookie Society is slated to open in December at 906 W. McDermott Drive, Ste. 120, per Community Impact. Flat Grounds Coffee, which pairs coffee and food with vintage clothing, has announced a December 14 opening at 790 Waverly Drive, Ste. 200, in Sloan Corners, Community Impact reported. And the Allen Americans keep playing home games through December, on the 3rd, 4th, 5th, 12th and 16th. The December 5 game falls on Holly Jolly night.

If you're hosting family this year, three different evenings in three different parts of Allen make an easy itinerary: fireworks at Watters Creek on November 21, Santa at The Grove on November 27, and the city tree with a drone show on Main Street on December 5.

Whichever tree you end up under, I'd love to hear which one your family picks. And if all this has you wondering what your own Allen home is worth before the new year, Mike Farish is happy to put the numbers together over a hot cocoa. Get your free home valuation.