Goodlettsville calls its season Hometown Holidays, and the City packs the big moments into one weekend: a Friday night tree lighting with Candy Cane Village and a Santa party, then a Saturday parade followed by Yulefest at Historic Mansker's Station. Here are the 2026 times from the City's own pages, along with events in Nashville, Hendersonville and Gallatin. The organizers can still move a time, so look at the linked page before heading out.
Tree lighting and Candy Cane Village: Friday, December 4, 6:00 pm
- Date:
- Friday, December 4, 2026
- Time:
- 6:00 pm
- Place:
- City Hall grounds, 105 S. Main Street
- Cost:
- Free
The Goodlettsville tree lighting starts at 6:00 pm on Friday, December 4, 2026, on the City Hall grounds at 105 S. Main Street. The Mayor and special guests flip the switch on the giant tree out front and on the tiny houses of Candy Cane Village, with entertainment by Wanette Turner. Attending is free, and parking is available at City Hall and the Delmas Long Community Center.
Candy Cane Village is a cluster of small houses, each about 4 by 4 by 7 feet and painted by a sponsor, set around City Hall. It opens that night, stays aglow through the end of December, and needs no reservation for a walk through.
Santa's Holiday Party: Friday, December 4, 6:30 pm
- Date:
- Friday, December 4, 2026
- Time:
- 6:30 to 8:30 pm
- Place:
- Delmas Long Community Center, 200 Memorial Drive
- Cost:
- Free
From the tree, guests wander past the village houses to the Delmas Long Community Center at 200 Memorial Drive for Santa's Holiday Party, 6:30 to 8:30 pm. Guests can visit Santa and make a holiday craft, there are cookies and hot chocolate, and live entertainment plays throughout. There is no fee.
Goodlettsville Christmas Parade: Saturday, December 5, 4:00 pm
- Date:
- Saturday, December 5, 2026
- Time:
- 4:00 pm
- Place:
- Delmas Long Community Center to Goodlettsville Plaza, Rivergate Parkway
The Goodlettsville Christmas Parade gets going at 4:00 that Saturday afternoon, December 5, 2026, under the theme "Dolly's All-American Christmas!" Entries leave the Delmas Long Community Center, head up Memorial Drive, swing right on Main Street and finish at the Goodlettsville Plaza on Rivergate Parkway. Spectators can park at City Hall, Goodlettsville Middle School, Goodlettsville Cumberland Presbyterian Church, Goodlettsville Church of Christ or First Baptist Church Goodlettsville.
Yulefest at Historic Mansker's Station: Saturday, December 5, 5:00 pm
- Date:
- Saturday, December 5, 2026
- Time:
- 5:00 to 8:00 pm
- Place:
- Historic Mansker's Station, Moss-Wright Park
An hour after the parade steps off, Yulefest opens on the grounds of Historic Mansker's Station in Moss-Wright Park, from 5:00 to 8:00 pm. The night recreates the holidays of the 1780s. Mansker's Fort and the Bowen House are open free, Olde World Santa sits in his workshop at the Visitor's Center, and there is music, storytelling, carriage rides and refreshments. Apart from 2020, it has run every year since 1988.
Lights a short drive from Goodlettsville
- Gaylord Opryland's A Country Christmas: on from November 6, 2026, with the last day January 2, 2027. See the resort's Christmas site.
- Date:
- November 6, 2026 to January 2, 2027
- Place:
- Gaylord Opryland
- Hendersonville's HolidayFest parade: the afternoon after Yulefest, a 2:00 pm parade on Main Street on December 6, 2026, with the tree at Memorial Park lit once the parade ends. See HolidayFest's parade page, and the Hendersonville holiday lights guide for that whole weekend.
- Date:
- December 6, 2026
- Time:
- 2:00 pm
- Place:
- Main Street, with the tree at Memorial Park
- Gallatin Christmas Parade: noon on Saturday, December 12, 2026, run by the Gallatin Area Chamber of Commerce. See the Chamber's parade page.
- Date:
- Saturday, December 12, 2026
- Time:
- noon
- Place:
- Main Street and the center of town
For the rest of the season around Nashville, the Nashville-area holiday lights calendar sorts every confirmed parade, tree lighting and light show by date.
A weekend that runs into the dark
Friday's tree lighting and Saturday's Yulefest both happen after dark or close to it. A house on a sunset schedule is already lit when families get home from the tree lighting on Friday and from Yulefest on Saturday, and it stays that way through the end of the year without a timer to fiddle with.
Home from Yulefest
Goodlettsville homes get their own write-up on the Goodlettsville permanent lighting page, and you can fill in the quote request as the first step toward a roofline already glowing when you get back from Yulefest.