Last December, Santa reached Thomas Park on a Tuesday evening, riding in on a Locust Valley Fire Department truck while the LVHS Jazz Band and Chamber Singers played. The Million Dollar Deli handed out frankfurters, and G. Willikers brought candy canes. It was a school-night event, and it had been one for a while.
This year the Locust Valley Chamber of Commerce has set the Annual Tree Lighting in Thomas Park for Saturday, November 28, 2026, from 5 to 7 p.m. That is two days after Thanksgiving. With the lighting on a weekend, the hamlet's three Chamber holiday events now begin on a Saturday, pass through a Thursday and end on a Sunday, which spreads them across four weeks.
Three Tuesdays, Then a Saturday
The Chamber's own event pages show the pattern the 2026 date breaks.
| Year | Tree lighting date | Day of week | Listed time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | December 6 | Tuesday | 5:30 p.m. |
| 2024 | December 3 | Tuesday | 5 to 7 p.m. |
| 2025 | December 2 | Tuesday | 5 to 7 p.m. |
| 2026 | November 28 | Saturday | 5 to 7 p.m. |
For 2022, 2024 and 2025, the tree went up in the first week of December, on a weeknight, after the Thanksgiving weekend had already ended. In 2026 it comes while the long weekend is still going, when out-of-town family may still be staying in the guest room and the week's school schedule doesn't apply.
The Saturday after Thanksgiving already meant something on Forest Avenue. In 2025 the Chamber promoted November 29 as Small Business Saturday, with shopping from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. and a short message on its Small Business Saturday listing: "Shopping small is a big deal to this little town!" Last year that afternoon ended at 5. This year 5 p.m. is when the tree lighting starts. The Chamber hasn't announced any joint program for the two, but the calendar puts them back to back on the same day, a few blocks apart.
What November 28 Looks Like at 10 Elm Street
The 2026 listing promises Santa's arrival at 6 p.m., giant inflatables, music, hot cider, hot cocoa and cookies. As in past years, the Locust Valley Chamber of Commerce and the Matinecock Neighborhood Association are producing it together.
The 2026 page does not repeat the fire truck, the school ensembles or the deli frankfurters from 2025. Those were last year's details, and this year's program has its own headliners. In 2024 the Chamber listed food, cider and cocoa, and entertainment by the LVHS Band & Chorus. The 2022 lighting had a French Flower Truck where children could leave letters for Santa, sponsored by Sunday Best and M&A Landscaping. Every year has looked a little different, and the 2026 inflatables are the newest change.
On Saturday the timing also works differently for families. Santa arrives at 6, an hour into the event. With no school the next morning, a family can stay for the whole two hours.
A Park the Neighbors Rebuilt
Thomas Park sits at 10 Elm Street, and the Chamber's 2024 tree lighting listing described it simply as "Thomas Park by LIRR." Much of what stands there now was paid for by local groups. In June 2021 the Town of Oyster Bay announced that the Locust Valley Rotary Club would pay the full $56,795 cost of a new gazebo. It replaced the one destroyed in Tropical Storm Isaias, which had hosted many park functions over the years. The same notice reported that the Matinecock Neighborhood Association had paid $400 for a giant spruce to be planted next to the new gazebo.
In that announcement, Supervisor Joseph Saladino called Thomas Park "a beautiful site in the center of Locust Valley." Councilwoman Michele Johnson described it as "a gathering place for many residents and organizations in our neighborhood," and she thanked the two groups' presidents, Kathleen Ray Smith and Kaye Weninger. The Matinecock Neighborhood Association that planted the spruce is the same group whose name now appears next to the Chamber's on the tree lighting listing each year.
December 10: The Weeknight That Stayed
The Holiday Champagne Stroll has stayed where it was. The Chamber has scheduled it for Thursday, December 10, 2026, from 5 to 7 p.m., promising "holiday cheer and bubbly while you shop for gifts throughout town." The listing also advises: "Be certain to make your dinner reservations so you can drop after you shop!"
It has been a Thursday event for years. The Chamber listed it for Thursday, December 7, 2023, and Thursday, December 11, 2025, which was billed as the Champagne Stroll & Late Night Shopping. The 2024 listing placed it at Birch Hill Road and Forest Avenue, with complimentary bubbly and treats. Now that the tree lighting has moved to the end of November, the stroll falls roughly halfway through the season instead of a week or so after it opens.
The 2026 participant list hasn't been published. The Chamber's member directory does show what lines the two streets where the stroll takes place.
Birch Hill Road
- Karmic Grind, 2 Birch Hill Road. This is the original shop of co-owners Regina Smith and Alicia Zarou Scanlon. Greater Long Island reported in November 2025 that they had opened a second location in Oyster Bay after seven years in Locust Valley.
- Locust Valley Bookstore, 8 Birch Hill Road, which the directory describes as locally owned and independent.
- Curds & Whey, 20 Birch Hill Road.
- Interstyle Fashion & Home, 28 Birch Hill Road.
- Marquis Wines & Spirits, 29 Birch Hill Road.
- Chocolicious Chocolatier, 74 Birch Hill Road, which has made handcrafted chocolates since 1991.
Forest Avenue
- The Spot, 23 Forest Avenue.
- The Royal Native, 27 Forest Avenue, where Hilary Star de Roy is the designer.
- R. Jabbour & Sons, 108 Forest Avenue, a family business based in Locust Valley since 1989.
Interstyle, The Spot and The Royal Native were also among the boutiques that dressed students for the Locust Valley High School fashion show, according to a Herald feature from April 2025.
For the dinner the Chamber keeps recommending, The Brass Rail at 107 Forest Avenue is close to where the stroll ends. It appears among Locust Valley's participants on Long Island Restaurant Week's Nassau page, which links to a fall 2026 menu. The stroll runs on a Thursday in mid-December, so the 7 p.m. reservations are likely to go first.
December 20: The Rides That Hold Their Date
The Winter Festival closes the season. The Chamber has posted Horse & Carriage Rides for Sunday, December 20, 2026, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., and invites people to "take a nostalgic ride through our picturesque hamlet all decorated for the holidays!"
The tree lighting moved, but the carriage rides kept the same calendar date. The Chamber listed the 2025 rides for December 20 with the same 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. window. In 2025 that date fell on a Saturday. In 2026 it is a Sunday, the last one before Christmas week.
The 2026 listing doesn't give a starting point. In 2018, a Newsday holiday preview placed that year's free horse-and-buggy rides at the Plaza shopping center on Birch Hill Road. That is useful history, but the Chamber's page is the place to check for this year's details.
The Four Weeks on One Page
With the new tree lighting date, here is the full 2026 holiday calendar.
| Date | Day | Event | Time | Where |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| November 28 | Saturday | Annual Tree Lighting, Santa at 6 p.m. | 5 to 7 p.m. | Thomas Park, 10 Elm Street |
| December 10 | Thursday | Holiday Champagne Stroll | 5 to 7 p.m. | Shops throughout the hamlet |
| December 20 | Sunday | Winter Festival Horse & Carriage Rides | 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. | Through the decorated hamlet |
The season now starts with a Saturday evening in the park, has a Thursday evening of shopping and dinner in the middle, and ends with a Sunday midday carriage ride. In 2025 the tree lighting and the stroll were nine days apart, both on weeknights. In 2026 there are twelve days between them, and the first now falls on a holiday weekend. Anyone hosting family over Thanksgiving can bring the whole group to the lighting this year. The other two dates are worth putting on the calendar now, before December fills up.
Cottie has spent many holiday seasons in the hamlet, and she's always glad to talk about the village center, or about how a particular street and its seasonal routines fit the way you want to live. When the time is right, Cottie Maxwell would welcome the chance to sit down with you. Schedule a private consultation with Cottie.
