The first holiday shopping in Saratoga this year happens in the historic Villa at Montalvo Arts Center, on Friday, November 20. The Village's tree comes a week later. The Montalvo Service Group runs the market inside the Villa. It is a volunteer auxiliary that has supported the arts center since 1954, and its fundraising and volunteer hours go toward the property's upkeep and its educational programs.
The rest of the season follows that order. It opens on the Montalvo grounds, comes down to Big Basin Way for one crowded Friday after Thanksgiving, then goes back up to the Villa in December for a play that has its audience walking the courtyards. Hakone Estate and Gardens, farther up Big Basin Way, has already switched to winter hours and keeps its own schedule. Once you know that order, you know which weekends need a reservation and which ones you can decide the morning of.
The Villa Goes First, November 20 to 22
Montalvo's Yuletide Boutique is free, but the arts center asks visitors to register ahead so it can plan parking. Inside the Villa you'll find handmade gifts, holiday décor, specialty foods and vintage pieces. The listed hours:
- Friday, November 20: 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
- Saturday, November 21: 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
- Sunday, November 22: 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., with everything left in the Vintage Treasures area marked half off
The 2026 vendor list includes Anita Clemetson Pottery and Eden & Zoe, which makes clothing for children and adults. Some of what's for sale comes from the Service Group itself. Its sewing group meets every week and sells what it makes at the summer luncheons and at Yuletide. The market has been around for a long time. The Mercury News covered it back in 2009.
Sunday, November 22 is the one part of the weekend that needs planning. Montalvo holds Yuletide Holiday Teas that day at 11:30 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. They cost $70 a person plus a $5 service fee, and you reserve through Montalvo's Yuletide page. The boutique is a casual stop with free registration. The tea has two seatings, so book it ahead.
One Friday Carries the Village
Five days after the boutique closes, the season moves down to Big Basin Way. The Village's whole holiday kickoff fits into a single evening, Friday, November 27, and the tree lighting overlaps the first half hour of the wine event:
- 3 to 5 p.m.: Candy Cane Village at the Saratoga Chamber of Commerce office, 14460 Big Basin Way. It's free and open to everyone.
- 5 p.m.: Check-in opens at the same Chamber address for the evening's wine event.
- 5:30 to 6:30 p.m.: The City of Saratoga's Holiday Tree Lighting at Blaney Plaza in the Historic Saratoga Village.
- 6 to 9 p.m.: Saratoga's Holiday Wine Experience, a tasting walk through the Village with live music from Kurt & Johnny.
The tree lighting belongs to the city, and the events around it come from the Chamber and Village businesses. A City of Saratoga newsletter describes that split, and for the 2024 ceremony it listed performances by the Saratoga Union School District 4th Grade Holiday Choir and the Redwood Middle School Choir. The 2026 program details are on the city's event listing.
The Wine Experience is the only ticketed part of the evening. Advance tickets are $50. Tickets at the door are $60 and sold at the Chamber until 7:30 p.m. A group of eight costs $375. None of those prices include processing fees or tax. Every attendee's ID gets checked, so bring a valid photo ID along with your ticket confirmation. At check-in you get a wristband, a wine glass and a brochure that lists every tasting location. Tickets are on the Saratoga Chamber of Commerce site.
A new place to eat on the same block
Dinner options along the Village's tasting route have changed since last November. The Saratoga News column published September 22 reported that Sultan's Kebab had opened at 14554 Big Basin Way. The menu covers beef kebabs, lavash, rice, hummus, falafel and vegetarian dishes, and takeout is available at 408-740-8021. The restaurant's own website still lists the Saratoga location as coming soon, so call before you plan a meal around it.
The same column said Negeen Persian Cuisine plans a second location in the former Mere Michelle space. Its first restaurant is in Campbell, where it has been open for more than 20 years. The column gave no opening date, so it may or may not be serving by November 27.
Back Up the Hill for Scrooge, December 4 to 20
In December the calendar goes back to Montalvo. Silicon Valley Shakespeare brings its roving A Christmas Carol to the arts center's 175-acre property from December 4 to 20. Tickets range from $45 to $200 and are sold through Silicon Valley Shakespeare.
There are no seats. The scenes move through the historic Villa and its courtyards, and audience members walk about 1,000 steps over the course of the show. In its 2024 feature on the production, the Mercury News described the audience following Scrooge from one site-specific scene to the next, with groups capped at 60. The play goes on rain or shine. If it rains, the route shifts to the indoor and covered parts of the grounds.
This year's version has two changes from past seasons:
- The cast. For the first time since the production premiered, a female- and nonbinary-led cast is performing it.
- The benefit night returns. Fezziwig's Yuletide is on Saturday, December 12, with an open bar, buffet-style bites and photos with the actors.
Richard T. Orlando adapted Dickens's story, and Angie Higgins and Doll Piccotto direct. The show is rated E for Everyone. Montalvo's event page lists performance days and matinee times that don't all agree with each other. Check the specific date you want on the ticketing page before you buy, especially if you're looking at a matinee.
Hakone Runs on Its Own Schedule
Farther up Big Basin Way, Hakone Estate and Gardens at 21000 Big Basin Way doesn't stage a holiday event. It changes its hours for the season. Winter hours started October 31 and run through March 15, 2027: 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on weekdays and 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. on weekends. With a 4 p.m. close, a winter visit needs to be a morning or early-afternoon trip.
Hakone has one more public tea ceremony demonstration on the 2026 calendar, on Sunday, December 6, at noon or 1 p.m. The exhibit UMI by Chris Sicat is up at the Cultural Exchange Center through December. December 6 is also the first Sunday of the A Christmas Carol run. One road, Big Basin Way, links the tea ceremony at Hakone and the Village's restaurants, and Montalvo is a short drive away.
Putting the Weekends in Order
Here's the full sequence from now through December:
- October 31 through March 15, 2027: Hakone is on winter hours.
- November 20–22: Yuletide Boutique at the Montalvo Villa. Registration is free. Teas on Sunday require a reservation.
- November 27: Candy Cane Village, the tree lighting at Blaney Plaza, and the Holiday Wine Experience, all in the Village.
- December 4–20: A Christmas Carol on the Montalvo grounds, with the Fezziwig's Yuletide benefit on December 12.
- December 6: Tea ceremony demonstration at Hakone.
Montalvo hosts two of the three main events, and a volunteer group that has been around since 1954 runs the first one. The Village gets the Friday after Thanksgiving, and the Chamber packs everything it does into those six hours. For more on how Saratoga's civic calendar and its commercial strip run on different schedules, see our fall look at the Village and our Saratoga neighborhood page.
If time with family over the holidays has you thinking about what your Saratoga home is worth before spring, Bill Lister and his team can prepare an appraisal-based valuation now, so you have accurate numbers when the new year starts. Schedule a free home valuation & consultation.
