Granbury's Christmas Season Runs Down One Street, and This Year Santa House Opens With Breakfast
Almost every holiday event on Granbury's 2026 calendar has an East Pearl Street address. The Lake Granbury Holiday Market is at 621. The petting farm is at 201. The nativity display is at 307. The Opera House is at 133, and Santa House sits on the courthouse grounds at 100. Six blocks hold the whole season, and the parade that officially kicks it off travels down that same street. What's new this year is the timing at the start. For the first time, Santa House is throwing a free opening party the morning after the parade. Thanksgiving weekend now has two openings about 14 hours apart.
Here's the Pearl Street lineup, ordered by address rather than date:
With the addresses in place, the dates show how the season builds. The first event lands at the far end of the street this Saturday. The official kickoff happens around the Square over Thanksgiving weekend, and the busiest stretch is the first weekend of December.
The Lake Granbury Holiday Market is Saturday, November 7, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the David Southern Lake Granbury Conference Center, 621 E Pearl St. Admission is free. Santa photos are listed from 1 to 4 p.m., which is three weeks before Santa makes his official arrival on the Square.
The market is the only big holiday date before Thanksgiving. After it, the calendar stays quiet until the Friday after the holiday, when nearly everything opens within about a day.
The Night of Lights Christmas Parade steps off Friday, November 27, at 6 p.m. on the Historic Granbury Square. Visit Granbury describes lighted floats and walking groups decorated to celebrate the Birth of Christ, with music and entertainment before the parade. Santa's arrival marks the start of the season, and the city's Christmas lights come on in Shanley Park and at City Hall. Visit Granbury's 2026 holiday guide gives the route in broad terms: down Pearl Street, around the Square, then down Bridge Street.
One date mix-up to watch for: the Historic Granbury Merchants Association's annual events page still lists the parade as November 28, 2025. The 2026 parade is Friday the 27th.
Granbury Santa House has opened on the Friday after Thanksgiving since its first season in 2016. This year it's adding a morning of its own. In the words of the Visit Granbury listing:
"For the first time ever, Granbury Santa House is kicking off the season with a Grand Opening Party!"
The Grand Opening Party is Saturday, November 28, in the courthouse parking lot at 100 E Pearl St., and it's free. Scout Troop 148 is serving a free pancake breakfast. There's live music from Nin Hulett, hot drinks, games, crafts and an Elf Costume Contest. The morning runs on a short schedule:
Put the two openings together and Thanksgiving weekend works as a pair. The parade switches the lights on Friday night. Saturday morning, Santa moves into his house a block away. If you have kids in elf costumes, plan to be there before 9:30.
Two other Pearl Street events open on parade day. The Granbury Country Christmas Petting Farm runs November 27 through December 20 at Granbury Square Plaza, 201 E Pearl St. It's open Fridays and Saturdays from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. and Sundays from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m., and admission is $5.
Two blocks east, "Wisemen Seek Him" fills Gordon House at 307 E Pearl St. with more than 1,000 nativities from November 27 through December 6. Admission is free. Hours are 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday through Thursday and 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Friday through Sunday. The nativity display has the shortest run of anything on the street. It closes the Sunday after the Candlelight Tour, so the first two weekends are the only weekends to see it.
Granbury Santa House says a local couple founded it in 2015. It became a 501(c)(3) in 2024, and it runs on volunteers, donations and fundraisers, with no salaries paid. Visits are free.
In 2026 the house sits at the Hood County Courthouse Gazebo from November 28 through December 20 and is open four days a week:
| Day | Hours |
|---|---|
| Thursday | 6–8 p.m. |
| Friday | 6–8 p.m. |
| Saturday | 10 a.m.–noon, 2–4 p.m., 6–8 p.m. |
| Sunday | 2–4 p.m., 6–8 p.m. |
| Monday–Wednesday, Dec. 21–23 | 6–8 p.m. |
The listing gives December 20 as the formal end date, but its hours section also shows three weeknight sessions December 21 through 23. Those are the only Monday-through-Wednesday visits all season, so check with the organizers before counting on them. Saturdays have the most time slots by far. Thursday and Friday evenings offer only a two-hour window.
The second big weekend starts Friday, December 4, when two of the season's biggest events open on the same night.
The Historic Granbury Merchants Association's 42nd annual Granbury – A Candlelight Tour runs December 4 through 6. HGMA promises decorated homes and locations, plus a VIP Night and party. HGMA's dedicated tour page says more information is coming soon. Ticket prices, hours, the home list and the VIP night details are still to come. In late October the association was still asking for 2026 tour homes and locations, and it takes questions at [email protected].
The same Friday, Granbury Theatre Company opens Holiday Inn at the Granbury Opera House, 133 E Pearl St. It runs December 4 through 23. Performances are generally Thursday and Friday at 7:30 p.m., Saturday and Sunday at 2 and 7:30 p.m., and nightly December 21 through 23 at 7:30 p.m.
The overlap matters for scheduling. The opening weekend of Holiday Inn is also the Candlelight Tour weekend, and all of it is on top of the petting farm's hours, Santa House's Saturday sessions and the last weekend of the nativity display. If a Sunday matinee fits your plans better than a Saturday night, December 6 lands on the tour's last day.
The season also ends in the same few blocks. Holiday Inn's final shows December 21 through 23 fall on the same nights as Santa House's last listed visits, a block apart.
Pearl Street covers events, but holiday errands now have a second stop. A new retail cluster has filled in along East US Highway 377 this fall:
If the Candlelight Tour has you picturing your own house on a future tour, or you'd like to know what it's worth before the new year, Joy Michelle Realty Group would love to help. Schedule a Free Home Valuation, and we'll see you on Pearl Street this season.
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