On the evening of Saturday, November 28, snow will fall from the rooftops at One Paseo while a 26-foot tree lights up at 6:30 p.m. Across the neighborhood, another Santa is already in place for the season. He rides a surfboard across the roof above Sky Deck at Del Mar Highlands Town Center, overlooking Jimbo's Naturally, and is lit for viewing after sunset.
Each center has its own idea of what a holiday season should look like. One Paseo has put its effort into a few separate gatherings, each one an outing on its own. Del Mar Highlands has built a schedule that repeats on the same weekdays at the same hours all through December. Taken together, the two calendars barely overlap. Between them, plus one evening at the Carmel Valley Library, a household in 92130 has something nearby to go to in almost every week from Thanksgiving weekend to the week before Christmas.
One Paseo Treats Each Date as an Occasion
One Paseo's holiday calendar has three entries, and they all fall within an eleven-day stretch.
The first is the Tree Lighting Ceremony & Holiday Band on Saturday, November 28, from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. The tree is lit at 6:30. A holiday band plays all evening, decorations go up across the center, and snow falls from the rooftops. Admission is free. If you plan to bring the whole family, aim to arrive before 6:30. The tree lighting is the moment the evening builds toward, and the band is already playing by then.
Eight days later, One Paseo moves the holidays outdoors and into daylight with the Jingle & Mingle Holiday Photo Moment. It runs Sunday, December 6, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. on the OP Lawn, with photos with Santa and seasonal décor set up for family pictures. The center pitches the day as a chance to fold holiday shopping and a meal into the visit.
The third is the Menorah Lighting at One Paseo on Tuesday, December 8, from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. It's free, and the program includes traditional blessings, festive music and a community gathering.
Each of these is a single event, held once. Miss the tree lighting and there's no second date. That makes the One Paseo dates the ones worth putting on the family calendar now, especially the Saturday evening tree lighting, which falls on Thanksgiving weekend.
If you're shopping at One Paseo in the meantime, KREWE, the New Orleans eyewear brand, opened a limited-time pop-up there on November 1 with sunglasses and optical frames.
Del Mar Highlands Repeats the Same Mornings
Del Mar Highlands runs its season under the name 'Tis the SeaSun, and its calendar works on a different principle. The anchor is Visits with Santa, who sits in a 10-foot red sleigh near Jimbo's on December 3, 5, 10, 12, 17 and 19, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. each day. Those six dates fall on three Thursdays and three Saturdays in a row, so missing one week costs very little. The same visit happens again two days later.
The Thursdays carry a second event. Party at the Pop Jet, a free holiday sing-along with Kathryn the Grape, starts at 10 a.m. on December 3, 10 and 17 at the Pop Jet Fountain in the lower plaza. Santa's visits start at 11 a.m. on those same three Thursdays, so a family with young children can do the sing-along downstairs and walk over to the sleigh near Jimbo's in one morning. The center's website has been showing a notice that the Pop Jet fountain is undergoing maintenance, with the hope of having it back "soon." Check the center's Facebook and Instagram at @delmarhighlands before planning a Thursday around the fountain.
The rest of the 'Tis the SeaSun program stays up all season with no date attached:
- Santa and his reindeer surfing on the roof above Sky Deck, overlooking Jimbo's Naturally, best seen after sunset
- Candy cane palm trees, sparkling starbursts and lighted displays across the center
- The 'Tis the SeaSun starfish, a set of holiday-dressed photo props near Ralphs Fresh Fare
Because these stay up, an ordinary grocery run or an evening movie becomes a chance to see the décor. One Paseo puts its holiday into particular hours on particular days. Del Mar Highlands puts its holiday into the building for the whole season.
Two Menorah Lightings on Back-to-Back Nights
The two calendars come closest during Hanukkah, which this year includes a Tuesday and Wednesday in early December. One Paseo's Menorah Lighting is Tuesday, December 8, from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Del Mar Highlands holds its own Hanukkah Menorah Lighting the next evening, Wednesday, December 9, from 6 to 7 p.m. in the upper plaza near Cinépolis. Chabad's Hanukkah 2026 calendar places the sixth night on Wednesday, December 9, so the two lightings land on the fifth and sixth nights of the holiday.
The center posts any weather cancellations on its Facebook and Instagram at @delmarhighlands. Families who want to attend both lightings can do so on consecutive evenings without leaving the neighborhood.
A Tuesday Evening at the Library
The most low-key date of the season is at neither shopping center. On Tuesday, December 15, from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m., the Carmel Valley Library hosts a Holiday Concert with Pacific Sound Brass. It's part of the library's Family Concert Series, which brings in a different artist each month. Admission is free, no registration is required, the concert is listed for ages 7 and up, and the program is sponsored by the Friends of the Carmel Valley Library.
The series usually meets on the fourth Tuesday of the month, with exceptions in November and December. That's why the holiday concert falls a week earlier than the usual pattern. It also fills a gap. The shopping centers' calendars have nothing dated that week except Del Mar Highlands' Thursday sing-along and the Thursday and Saturday Santa visits.
The Season, Date by Date
Laid out in order, the two centers and the library alternate across nearly a month. One Paseo's dates come early and close together. Del Mar Highlands' dates start after them and keep repeating. The library concert falls between the last two weeks of Santa visits.
| Date | Event | Where | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sat, Nov 28 | Tree Lighting Ceremony & Holiday Band, tree lit at 6:30 | One Paseo | 5:30–7:30 p.m. |
| Thu, Dec 3 | Party at the Pop Jet with Kathryn the Grape | Del Mar Highlands, lower plaza | 10 a.m. |
| Thu, Dec 3 | Visits with Santa | Del Mar Highlands, near Jimbo's | 11 a.m.–2 p.m. |
| Sat, Dec 5 | Visits with Santa | Del Mar Highlands, near Jimbo's | 11 a.m.–2 p.m. |
| Sun, Dec 6 | Jingle & Mingle Holiday Photo Moment | One Paseo, OP Lawn | 11 a.m.–2 p.m. |
| Tue, Dec 8 | Menorah Lighting at One Paseo | One Paseo | 5:30–7:30 p.m. |
| Wed, Dec 9 | Hanukkah Menorah Lighting | Del Mar Highlands, upper plaza near Cinépolis | 6–7 p.m. |
| Thu, Dec 10 | Party at the Pop Jet, then Visits with Santa | Del Mar Highlands | 10 a.m.; 11 a.m.–2 p.m. |
| Sat, Dec 12 | Visits with Santa | Del Mar Highlands, near Jimbo's | 11 a.m.–2 p.m. |
| Tue, Dec 15 | Holiday Concert with Pacific Sound Brass | Carmel Valley Library | 6:30–7:30 p.m. |
| Thu, Dec 17 | Party at the Pop Jet, then Visits with Santa | Del Mar Highlands | 10 a.m.; 11 a.m.–2 p.m. |
| Sat, Dec 19 | Visits with Santa | Del Mar Highlands, near Jimbo's | 11 a.m.–2 p.m. |
The first weekend of December has back-to-back Santa photo chances, at Del Mar Highlands on Saturday the 5th and on the OP Lawn at One Paseo on Sunday the 6th.
Local events like these are part of what I share with clients settling into Carmel Valley, from the evening the One Paseo tree lights up to the Thursday mornings at Del Mar Highlands. If you're new to the neighborhood this season, or hosting family who'd enjoy a December evening out, I'm glad to pass along what I know. Let's Connect with Sue Otto-Calkins.
