Yorba Linda Lights Its Trees Twice This December, Once on Main Street and Once at the Nixon
October 29, 2026
October 29, 2026
Two Christmas trees go up in Yorba Linda this December, three days apart. The first is on Main Street on a Saturday evening, it's free, and parking is free too. The second is at the Richard Nixon Presidential Library & Museum on a Tuesday. A family of four pays well over a hundred dollars for that one, and it comes with an Oval Office photo with Santa.
From Veterans Day through the second week of December, the biggest dates on the town's calendar happen at 18001 Yorba Linda Blvd. Main Street gets one big night. It arrives before the two new businesses that would change what an evening downtown looks like have opened.
On Nov. 11, the City of Yorba Linda's calendar marks Veterans Day as a day when all City facilities are closed. The ceremony is up the boulevard. The Richard Nixon Foundation's Veterans Day Commemoration runs from 10:30 to 11:30 a.m. that morning. It's free, and registration is linked on the event page.
The Foundation's calendar lists remarks by Colonel Daniel Whitley and Lisa Fox, a wreath-laying, and the unveiling of a Daughters of the American Revolution plaque. The program is free, but gallery admission isn't included. If you want to see the museum afterward, budget for a regular ticket. The museum is open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily.
The same building hosts the town's major December event. The galleries also hold an exhibition that ends a few weeks after the holidays.
"America 250: A More Perfect Union" opened at the Nixon Library on Nov. 22, 2025. It runs through Jan. 31, 2027, with historic artifacts, displays and interactive pieces tied to the nation's 250th anniversary. The museum closes on Thanksgiving Day and Christmas Day. That leaves a handful of December weekends, plus January, for anyone who hasn't seen it yet.
The exhibition also explains the name of the Dec. 8 event. The Foundation calls its Christmas night "A Revolutionary Christmas." The event page opens with Washington crossing the Delaware on Christmas night in 1776, and it pitches the evening as a chance to see America 250 "before it closes."
Between Veterans Day and Thanksgiving, the smaller events happen at Yorba Linda Public Library, 4852 Lakeview Ave.
The full library events calendar is where any later December additions will show up.
Holiday on Main runs Saturday, Dec. 5, from 4 to 9 p.m. Uptown Village Market organizes it, and the listing promises Santa, a tree lighting, face painting, kids' crafts and holiday shopping from local vendors. It's listed for all ages, and parking is free.
Last year's edition was on Dec. 6, 2025, with the same 4-to-9 window. The organizer's own site, holidayonmainstreet.com, still shows that 2025 version, so the vendor list and the tree-lighting time for this year aren't posted yet. The Facebook event linked from that site is the place to check for the 2026 schedule as Dec. 5 gets closer.
Main Street on Dec. 5 won't look like Main Street a few months later. Two announced openings sit a few doors apart on the same block, and neither had opened as of the City's most recent business update.
The Artisan is planned for 4893 Main St. WhatNow reported in February that the concept would include a butcher counter, a deli, gelato, a café, artisan sandwiches, house-made pasta, breads, pastries and coffee. At the time, the team was aiming to open in mid- to late summer. The City's Sept. 8 business update still listed it as coming soon.
Broken Yolk Café is headed to 4901 Main St., and the company's locations directory still labels Yorba Linda "Coming Soon!" The chain serves breakfast, brunch and lunch, with pancakes, skillets, sandwiches, burgers and wraps.
Neither business has posted an opening date. Holiday on Main will most likely happen next to storefronts that are still being built out.
The restaurants that did open in 2026 are along Yorba Linda Boulevard, a short drive from either tree.
SHO Handroll Bar opened at 18657 Yorba Linda Blvd. sometime between the City's June 9 update, which called it coming soon, and its Sept. 8 update, which listed it as open. The menu covers Japanese hand rolls, starters, udon, grilled fish, beer and sake. It's open until 9 p.m. Thursday through Saturday and until 8 p.m. Sunday through Wednesday. That makes the Saturday of Holiday on Main the easier night for a late dinner there. On the Tuesday of the Nixon event, the kitchen closes an hour before the event ends.
Pizza Guys is next door at 18653 Yorba Linda Blvd. QSR Magazine reported the new location in late July. Sushi Mura, which serves sashimi, rolls and ramen at 4895 Valley View Ave., was also listed as open in the City's September update.
A Revolutionary Christmas starts Dec. 8 at 4:30 p.m., when food trucks and Chick-fil-A set up at the library entrance. The tree lighting begins at 5 p.m., and the event runs until 9.
The program includes:
General admission is $60 for adults and $25 for children ages 5 to 11. Foundation members pay $50 and $20, and children 4 and under are free. For two adults and two school-age kids buying general admission, that's $170. At the Main Street event three days earlier, admission is free and so is parking.
The evening also takes in the galleries after dark, so the America 250 exhibition is part of the ticket. Regular museum hours end at 5 p.m., so this is a rare chance to walk through the exhibition after dark before it closes Jan. 31.
Choosing between the two evenings mostly comes down to the night of the week and the budget. On Saturday the 5th, you walk Main Street for free, past the unopened storefronts at 4893 and 4901. On Tuesday the 8th, you pay to light a tree on the grounds that hosted the town's Veterans Day ceremony four weeks earlier.
If a move is on your 2027 list, it helps to plan it around these dates. When you're ready to talk timing, pricing or which corner of town fits your next chapter, Zach Mickelson is a local resource who follows North Orange County street by street. Book an Appointment and we'll plan around your December.
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