It’s getting into that time of year where there’s a lot going on. Sometimes it can be hard to choose which holiday events you have time for.
Christmas tree lightings are a fun, family-friendly way to spend an evening in the holiday spirit. Most come alongside community events, often including visits with Santa Claus, hot cocoa, and other winter favorites.
So get your calendars out and get ready, because it’s officially the holiday season!
Here are this season’s dates, pulled from each organizer’s own event page. Easton goes first on November 13th, and most of the suburbs light up between December 3rd and 6th. The big walk-through displays are in the Christmas lights guide.
| Date | Event | Where | Tree lit |
| Friday, Nov. 13th | Easton’s Grand Illumination | Town Square, Easton | Around 7 p.m. |
| Not posted yet | Capital University Tree Lighting | Capital University, Bexley | Not posted yet |
| Sunday, Nov. 22nd | New Albany Holiday Tree Lighting | Rose Run Park, New Albany | 5 p.m. program |
| Sunday, Nov. 22nd | Gahanna Holiday Lights Celebration | Creekside District, Gahanna | By 6 p.m. |
| Sunday, Nov. 29th | Worthington Tree Illumination | Village Green, Worthington | 5:30 p.m. |
| Tuesday, Dec. 1st | Holiday in the Heights | Pierce Field, Grandview Heights | 7 p.m. |
| Thursday, Dec. 3rd | Dublin Tree Lighting Ceremony | Coffman Park, Dublin | 6:15 p.m. |
| Thursday, Dec. 3rd | Ohio Statehouse Holiday Festival | Statehouse Atrium | 5:30 to 5:45 p.m. |
| Friday, Dec. 4th | Pickerington Holiday Gathering | Olde Pickerington Village | Not posted yet |
| Friday, Dec. 4th | Westerville Holiday Celebration | Uptown Westerville | 7 p.m. |
| Friday, Dec. 4th | Upper Arlington Winter Festival | Mallway Park, Upper Arlington | Not posted yet |
| Friday, Dec. 4th | Grove City Christmas Parade | Town Center, Grove City | After the 7 p.m. parade |
| Friday, Dec. 4th | Delaware First Friday Tree Lighting | William and Sandusky streets, Delaware | 7 p.m. ceremony |
| Saturday, Dec. 5th | Reynoldsburg Tree Lighting | Senior Center, Reynoldsburg | Not posted yet |
| Saturday, Dec. 5th | Holidays in Powell | Village Green Park, Powell | 6 p.m. |
| Sunday, Dec. 6th | Hilliard Tree Lighting | Downtown Hilliard | 6:15 p.m. |
| Sunday, Dec. 6th | Village Lights | German Village | Luminaries, 4 to 8 p.m. |
| Sunday, Dec. 6th | Bexley Tree Lighting | Drexel Circle, Bexley | During the 5 to 7 p.m. event |
Friday, November 13th
Easton opens the season. The Mistletoe Market runs around the Town Square from 5 to 8 p.m., with local makers and small businesses selling gifts, and the Salvation Army Band plays during the evening. Around 7 p.m., Santa helps light the 56-foot tree and the two million lights strung across Easton.
Date not posted yet
Capital hadn’t posted a 2026 date for its campus tree lighting in Bexley when this went up.
Sunday, November 22nd
New Albany moves its tree to Rose Run Park this year. The program starts at 5 p.m. with carols from a children’s choir and a countdown led by Santa and the mayor, and the hot drinks and donuts are free. Earlier that afternoon, the outdoor rink at Hinson Amphitheater hosts a Santa Skate from noon to 4:30 p.m.
Sunday, November 22nd
Gahanna’s Holiday Lights Celebration takes over the Creekside District from 3 to 6:30 p.m., and it’s free. There’s live music and dancing on the Holiday Stage at Creekside Plaza, trackless train rides, a petting zoo, a giant snow globe for photos, and a silent disco. Santa arrives by 6 p.m. to light the tree and set off the fireworks.
Sunday, November 29th
Old Worthington lights its tree on the Village Green at High Street and 161 at 5:30 p.m., with Santa and hot chocolate on the green. The Holiday Open House runs through downtown from noon to 5 p.m. the same day, so the shops are open before the tree goes on.
Tuesday, December 1st
Grandview Heights holds Holiday in the Heights at Pierce Field, 1080 W. First Ave., from 5 to 8 p.m., and it’s free to attend. The iceless rink opens at 3 p.m. The Grandview Heights Band and Choir play on Big Pierce Field before the 7 p.m. tree lighting, and there’s a free hot cocoa bar for the first 200 guests.
Thursday, December 3rd
Dublin holds its free Tree Lighting Ceremony at Coffman Park, 5200 Emerald Pkwy., from 6 to 8 p.m. Santa and Mrs. Claus light the tree at 6:15 p.m. and stay for photos afterward. There’s caroling, dance performances, a trackless train, a petting zoo, and letters to Santa, and Dublin police collect new, unwrapped toys for their Fill a Cruiser drive.
Thursday, December 3rd
The Statehouse lights its tree the same night as Dublin. Santa and a lineup of dignitaries light the Atrium tree between 5:30 and 5:45 p.m., and the festival runs until 7:30 with free cookies and activity tables.
Friday, December 4th
Olde Pickerington Village hosts its Holiday Gathering and Christmas Tree Lighting from 5 to 8 p.m., put on by the Pickerington Village Association and the city. It’s free. The city hadn’t posted the lighting time or the activity list when the schedule went up, so check the page before you go.
Friday, December 4th
Westerville’s Holiday Celebration and Tree Lighting is on State Street in Uptown from 5:30 to 8 p.m., with a holiday market, city vehicles covered in lights, a mechanical riding reindeer, and a jumbo Santa chair for photos. The library’s Uptown Star gets lit and rededicated at 6:30 p.m., Santa lights the tree at 7 p.m. at City Hall, 21 S. State St., and the Uptown shops and restaurants stay open late.
Friday, December 4th
Mallway Park, 2096 Arlington Ave., hosts Upper Arlington’s Winter Festival from 6 to 8:30 p.m. An ice sculptor works live and there’s a bonfire with s’mores. Santa visits, and the city lights the community tree during the festival.
Friday, December 4th
Grove City’s Christmas Parade steps off at 7 p.m. and ends with the tree lighting at Town Center. The Mistletoe Market runs at Town Center Park, 3359 Park St., from 4 to 9 p.m. that night and again Saturday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., and Nutcracker Lane is open before the parade.
Friday, December 4th
Downtown Delaware lights its tree at William and Sandusky streets, with the ceremony starting at 7 p.m. and First Friday running from 6 to 9. There’s free ice skating behind the Welcome Center at 20 E. William St. and free horse-drawn carriage rides all evening.
Saturday, December 5th
Reynoldsburg’s Tree Lighting Ceremony is a Saturday afternoon this year, from 3 to 6 p.m. at the Senior Center, 1520 Davidson Dr. There are pictures with Santa, crafts, stilt walkers, and mechanical reindeer rides, and parking is at Huber Park or the YMCA.
Saturday, December 5th
Village Green Park hosts Holidays in Powell from 4 to 7 p.m. at no charge, with an iceless skating rink and a bonfire with free s’mores. The tree goes on at 6 p.m. Photos with Santa need a reserved time slot; registration for non-residents opens November 17th.
Sunday, December 6th
Hilliard spreads its free Tree Lighting across Hilliard’s Station Park and the Historical Village from 3:30 to 6:30 p.m., with the tree lit at 6:15 p.m. School and community choirs sing at the park all afternoon, and there’s a holiday train, a petting zoo, carriage rides from 4 to 6:30, and live reindeer over at the Historical Village. A trolley runs from the Chase lot to Weaver Park.
Sunday, December 6th
German Village’s Village Lights runs from 4 to 8 p.m. It isn’t a tree lighting so much as a whole neighborhood lit by luminaries, thousands of them in Schiller Park alone. Local choirs sing at Frank Fetch Park, and Opera Columbus performs at the Meeting Haus alongside food trucks and local vendors.
Sunday, December 6th
Bexley lights its tree at Drexel Circle, at Drexel Avenue and East Broad, from 5 to 7 p.m. It starts with performances by the Bexley 8th grade Choir and the High School Vocal Ensemble Choir. There’s hot chocolate, cookies, and candy canes before Mayor Kessler lights the tree with Santa Claus, and Santa stays afterward to meet the kids.
The post Every Christmas Tree Lighting Around Columbus, With This Year’s Dates appeared first on Columbus Navigator.
