Cedar Park Spreads the Holidays Out. Leander Saves Them for One Saturday in Old Town.

At 5:30 a.m. on Saturday, Dec. 5, street closures begin in Old Town Leander. The streets are scheduled to be fully open again by midnight, and the organizers say towing is strictly enforced. In between, Leander packs most of its holiday season into one day and a few blocks around Brushy Street. Cedar Park, a few miles south, does it the other way. It gives each event its own date and its own park, and its calendar runs from mid-November to mid-December. For anyone who lives in either city, Dec. 5 is the day to plan the rest of the season around.

Leander's season happens in one day on a few Old Town blocks

The City of Leander's calendar says Old Town "comes alive with Christmas joy" every first Saturday of December. The Leander Chamber of Commerce and the city host it together. This year that Saturday is Dec. 5. The 2026 festival listing on Eventeny runs it from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. The day goes like this:

1. 9 a.m. Check-in opens for the Old Town Rudolph Run.
2. 10 a.m. The Rudolph Run 5K starts, according to its RunSignup registration page. The race is listed as ending at 11:30 a.m.
3. 11 a.m. The Christmas Marketplace opens.
4. 1 to 2 p.m. The Holiday Community Parade. The parade organizers say the route is one block from the festival.
5. 6:30 to 9 p.m. Tree lighting and a holiday movie in the park.

The city's listing also mentions pictures with Santa, live performances, and local food and craft vendors. One event covers the town's race, parade, market and tree lighting, and it runs about 11 hours.

Parking is tight because the event closes the streets people would normally park on. The organizers point visitors to any Old Town street that isn't marked for closure and to Leander ISD lots around Old Town. They ask people not to park on or in front of residents' lawns. The parade page also lists Camacho Elementary School as a place to park. Streets open and close through the day as activities change, so a street that's blocked at the parade may be open by the tree lighting.

Cedar Park gives each event its own night

Cedar Park's city events are spaced out on purpose. Last year the city scheduled the Heritage Oak Tree Lighting for a Wednesday, Dec. 3, 2025. The city's calendar said the date was chosen "to make room for more holiday fun at our newest event - A Jolly Bright Lakeline Night." The 2026 calendar works the same way. The tree lighting is again on a Wednesday, and Lakeline Park gets its own festival nine days later.

At Heritage Oak, the city lights its largest live oak with more than 30,000 lights, plays holiday music and offers photos with Santa under the tree, according to Visit Cedar Park. Community Impact describes Light Up Lakeline as a festival with music, food and drink vendors, Santa visits, a holiday market and family activities. It quotes the Cedar Park Parks and Recreation Department's promise of a night that's "merry, bright and full of delight."

Lakeline Park hosts twice this season. On Nov. 14 it holds NightMarket.fun, the Central Texas Asian Pop Culture Festival, with more than 100 vendors, music, dance and martial arts performances, film screenings and eating competitions. It hosts the city's holiday festival four weeks later. The Holiday Makers Market at The Bell District on Nov. 15 has free on-site parking, DIY gift-wrap and ornament stations, and holiday music from 2 to 4 p.m. If you finish your gift wrapping there, you won't have to do it the week of Dec. 5.

The smaller Cedar Park dates are spread out too. The public library is showing The Land Before Time at its free DINO-vember Matinee Family Movie on Nov. 14 from 2 to 3:15 p.m. Space is limited. The Turkey Day 5K starts at 9 a.m. Thanksgiving morning, Nov. 26, at 200 Gupton Way. Entry is $30 for the 5K and $23 for the shorter races. The next night, Haute Spot at 1501 E. New Hope Drive hosts a Longhorns–Aggies watch party presented by the University Co-op. Doors open at 4:30 p.m. and kickoff is at 6:30. Tickets are $31.65 for adults and $19.85 for children under 16.

Dec. 5 is the one day the two cities' events overlap

Cedar Park keeps its own city events apart, but that doesn't stop them from landing on Leander's big Saturday. On Dec. 5, three things in Cedar Park run alongside Old Town:

• Breakfast with Santa at the Cedar Park Recreation Center, 1435 Main St., runs in two sessions, 8:30 to 10 a.m. and 10:45 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. It's for children ages 2 to 5 and a parent or guardian and includes a catered breakfast, stories, a photo with Santa and a free ornament. Tickets are sold online.
• Outer Limits Winter Ice Show, a space-themed show by Ice & Field skating students at The Crossover, 1717 Scottsdale Drive, Ste. 100, plays at 2 and 6 p.m. Dec. 5 and at 4 p.m. Dec. 6. Tickets start at $25.
• Old Town Christmas Festival runs in Leander from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m.

The early Breakfast with Santa session ends at 10 a.m., before the Old Town marketplace opens at 11 and well before the 1 p.m. parade. The real conflict comes in the evening. The 6 p.m. ice show and the 6:30 p.m. Old Town tree lighting overlap. Families who want both should look at the Dec. 6 ice show at 4 p.m., which has nothing else scheduled against it.

Leander's quieter dates come before and after Old Town

Leander's other holiday dates are hosted by smaller organizations, and they're on either side of the festival. The earliest is Holidays at the Homestead on Saturday, Nov. 21, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Mason Homestead, 1101 S. Bagdad Road. Organizer Leander Heritage lists the date as Nov. 21 and says this is the market's fourth year. Live music sets are at 10:15 and 11:45 a.m. and at 1:15 and 2:45 p.m. Parking is free on the grassy area in front of the homestead. Adults get in by donation, and anyone under 18 is free. Community Impact lists about 50 vendors.

The week after Old Town, Open My World Therapeutic Riding Center at 5300 County Road 279 hosts Holidays with the Horses on Dec. 12 and 13 from 7 to 10 p.m. Admission is free. Visitors can meet the center's horses, take photos with Cowboy Santa and his mini horses, walk an illuminated trail and bid in a silent auction. That puts a Leander event on the same weekend as Cedar Park's library sale and a day after Light Up Lakeline.

New places for the nights between the big events

The open weeknights are when out-of-town guests usually need something to do, and both cities have new options this fall.

In Cedar Park, InteractX opened Oct. 15 at 850 N. Bell Blvd., Ste. 104. It has 11 challenge rooms and more than 45 games. Dog Haus at 3101 E. Whitestone Blvd., Bldg. G, Ste. 200, reopened under new ownership, and Chipotle opened a location with a drive-through at 1521 Juliette Way on Oct. 21. Mouton's Bistro at 1821 S. Lakeline Blvd., Ste. 104, has been closed for cleaning and repairs. Its founder told Community Impact he planned to reopen in late November or early December.

In Leander, Crave Cookies and Soda opened Oct. 10 at 19397 Ronald Reagan Blvd., Ste. 120. Pet Bar scheduled a soft opening for Nov. 13 at 8481 W. Hwy. 29, Ste. 140. Wren's Landing is a board-game café and bar at 1561 Hero Way, Ste. 120. It was aiming to open in December 2026, according to Community Impact's September roundup. If it opens on time, it's one more indoor option for a cold weeknight with guests in town.

Every event on these calendars is subject to change. Check the organizer's link the week of the event, especially for Dec. 5 street closures and Light Up Lakeline details.

If you're trying to fit Dec. 5 around a family visit or a closing date, the team at Better Broker, Texas Realty can help you lay out the month. We're glad to talk through which Cedar Park and Leander weekends are busy and which are quiet, with no pressure attached.