Braselton's tree lighting moves to its own night in 2026. The tree goes up on Friday, Nov. 20, and the parade and festival follow on Saturday, Nov. 21. Both are free and both are open to anyone who walks up. One date comes earlier than either of them. On Sunday, Nov. 1 at 10 a.m., tickets go on sale for the Holiday Lights Trolley Tours, and that tour sold out last year.
So the season runs on two tracks. The downtown events cost nothing and need no planning. A smaller set of events has ticket sales, price increases or RSVP windows that close weeks before December. If you only watch for the festival, you can miss most of them.
The Dates That Come Before the Celebrations
Here are the ticket and registration dates for Braselton's 2026 season, in the order they come up:
- Sunday, Nov. 1, 10 a.m. Tickets for the Holiday Lights Trolley Tours go on sale at $12 per person plus online fees, with a limit of eight per order.
- Sunday, Nov. 15. Last day to register for the Braselton Mistletoe Run 5K at the $30 rate. After that the fee goes up to $40.
- Before Dec. 4. Château Élan asks guests to RSVP for its free Grand Illumination Christmas Tree Lighting.
- Still to be announced. Brunch with Santa at the Braselton Civic Center on Nov. 28 lists its ticket details as "Coming Soon."
The trolley is the one with a sell-out history.
Why the Trolley Goes First
The Holiday Lights Trolley Tours started in December 2019 with five ticketed tour dates. By 2024 the visitors bureau had expanded to 34 tours, according to Mainstreet News, which reported 806 tickets for that season at $10 each. In that same article, Nikki Perry, trolley manager for the visitors bureau, described how demand had gone:
"These tickets sell out very quickly. Last year one buyer compared it to getting Taylor Swift tickets."
Even with more tours, the 2025 season page on Explore Braselton was labeled "SOLD OUT" for its Dec. 7 to 23 run. The town's 2022 holiday announcement also listed the tours as sold out. Tours have sold out even as the town added more of them, so it pays to be ready when sales open on Nov. 1.
Here is what the 2026 Holiday Lights Trolley Tours listing covers. Tours run Sunday through Thursday, Dec. 6 to 23, with departures at 6, 7:15 and 8:30 p.m. Each ride lasts about an hour. The trolley leaves from 6322 Grand Hickory Dr. in the Mulberry Walk shopping center, where parking is free. The trolley is enclosed and climate-controlled, and riders stay on board for the whole tour. It is fully accessible to people using mobility devices, and tours run rain or shine.
The route goes through what the listing calls "two of the brightest neighborhoods in the area." It doesn't name them. The listing also suggests ending the night with hot cocoa, ice cream, dinner or a drink within walking distance of the stop. Tickets are sold through the TicketLeap reservation page. Larger groups can see the private tour information, since the eight-ticket limit applies to every public order.
The Tree Lighting Gets Its Own Night
For the past several years, the tree lighting closed out the Saturday festival. In 2025 the festival ran Nov. 15 from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. and ended with the lighting. The Nov. 16, 2024 event followed the same pattern and ran until 7:30 p.m.
The 2026 parade listing now says the annual tree lighting "has been rescheduled." The new Tree Lighting Celebration is set for Friday, Nov. 20, from 6 to 8 p.m. on the Braselton Town Green at 9924 Davis St. The town calls it an inaugural event.
Splitting the two isn't new for Braselton. Mainstreet News has written that the town once held its parade and tree lighting on separate November Saturdays before combining them on the third Saturday. The 2026 schedule keeps the festival on the third Saturday and moves the lighting to Friday evening.
For Friday night, parking is available at the downtown deck at 40 E. Lake Dr. and at the Municipal Complex at 4982 Hwy 53. The free Braselton Trolley runs its regular route from 5 to 11 p.m. So far the listing doesn't include a performer lineup or a food schedule.
Saturday Ends Earlier
With the lighting moved, the Celebrate the Holidays Parade & Festival on Nov. 21 runs from 10:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. That's an hour shorter than in 2025, and the day ends before full dark. Admission is free. Holiday vendors and food are available for purchase. The 2026 theme is "Magic of the Holiday Season."
The parade starts at 10:30 a.m. on Hwy 53 at the Braselton TechCenter entrance. From there it heads south through downtown, turns right on Henry Street past Town Hall, runs along Harrison Street by Braselton Park, passes the Braselton Library on Davis Street and finishes on Hwy 124 at Free Chapel. The town posts a Google event map with the route, activity locations and parking. Road closure times for Hwy 53 and Hwy 124 haven't been posted yet, so check the festival listing the week of the parade if your usual route crosses either highway that morning.
After the parade, the holiday marketplace on the Town Green runs from 11 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. The festival also has Santa, live reindeer and community performers. The Braselton Welcome Center in the historic Enterprise Roller Mill is open 10:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. that day, with a market of locally made gifts and a museum on the early 1900s mill. On Saturday the free town trolley runs from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m.
The Rest of the Calendar, From Thanksgiving to Dec. 17
The rest of the season is a mix of free walk-up nights downtown and a few events that need tickets or an RSVP.
| Date | Event | Where | Cost or entry |
|---|---|---|---|
| Thu., Nov. 26, 11:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. | Thanksgiving Day Brunch Buffet | Versailles Restaurant, Château Élan | $140++ adults, $58++ ages 5 to 12, free for 4 and under |
| Sat., Nov. 28, 9:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. | Brunch with Santa | Braselton Civic Center | Tickets not yet released |
| Thu., Dec. 3, 5 to 9 p.m. | Cravin' Bacon Walk | The Mill, 16 Frances St. | $35 Squealer, ages 16+; $65 VIP, ages 21+ |
| Fri., Dec. 4, 6 to 7 p.m. | The Grand Illumination Christmas Tree Lighting | Château Élan Inn Atrium, 100 Rue Charlemagne Dr. | Free, RSVP requested |
| Sat., Dec. 5, 8:30 a.m. | Braselton Mistletoe Run 5K | Braselton Brother's Department Store, 9924 Davis St. | $30 through Nov. 15, then $40 |
| Thu., Dec. 10 and 17, 5 to 8 p.m. | Merry & Bright Nights in Braselton | Historic Downtown, 40 E. Lake Dr. | No admission listed |
| Sat., Dec. 12, noon to 5 p.m. | Christmas at Countryside | Countryside Antiques, 115 Harrison St. | No admission listed |
A few dates line up in useful ways. The Merry & Bright Nights are both Thursdays, Dec. 10 and 17, which means they fall on trolley tour nights. If you have a 6 p.m. departure, you can be back at Mulberry Walk in time to drive downtown before the 8 p.m. close. Château Élan's Grand Illumination on Friday, Dec. 4 is two weeks after the town's own lighting. Christmas at Countryside brings 50 vendors, food trucks, music and Santa to Harrison Street, a block that's also on the parade route.
You can also see the wine-bottle Christmas tree at the Château Élan Winery, which the Braselton Visitors Bureau describes as a yearly tradition. It isn't tied to a single date. The town's holiday page also describes the white lights strung through downtown for the season.
If December fills up, a handful of dates matter most, and only one of them falls this week. At Georgia Real Estate Depot, Gary and Trevor Nix keep track of community calendars like this one as closely as the market, because they're part of what makes these towns home. If you have questions about Braselton, from how the season works to anything else, Contact Us.
