Littleton's Holiday Season Opens Three Ways on the Same Friday Night

Downtown Littleton has opened the holiday season for years. The Candlelight Walk on Main Street brings a parade, the big tree lighting and, more recently, a drone show. This year it shares its evening with two other events. On Friday, November 27, 2026, Hudson Gardens opens Hudson Holidays and Aspen Grove launches a new outdoor sing-along. All three run between 5 and 8:30 p.m.

Nobody can do all three properly, so you'll be choosing. Part of that choice comes due earlier, because Hudson Gardens' discounted presale runs November 6 to 8.

Three Clocks Running at Once

Here is the Friday after Thanksgiving, laid out by the hour:

The 6:30 slot is where they collide. The Main Street parade starts right when the Aspen Grove sing-along begins, and both fall in the middle of Hudson Gardens' opening-night window. Each event has a different kind of flexibility, though, and that's what lets you plan around the clash.

Downtown Holds the Fixed Moment

You can't move the Candlelight Walk. It happens once, on one night. The City's 2026 listing says the evening begins at 5:30 p.m. and the parade at 6:30. After the parade, Santa lights the big tree in Bowles Plaza, and then the drone show flies over the Melting Pot at the west end of Main Street. The City hasn't published a start time for the drones, only that they follow the tree lighting.

The official sources don't agree on the overall hours. Visit Littleton advertises 5 to 8 p.m. and promises free hot cocoa and cider, holiday performers, and photos with Santa before and after the parade. The City of Littleton's event page lists 5:30 to 7:30. The City puts the parade at 6:30, so build your night around that.

In 2025 the parade started at Main Street and Rio Grande and headed west toward the Melting Pot, with free parking at the Littleton Center and at Arapahoe Community College's Lot B. That was last year's setup. Check before you count on it this year.

Hudson Gardens Rewards the Early Decision

Hudson Holidays is where planning ahead actually changes the price. The light show runs from November 27, 2026, through January 3, 2027, so opening night is just one of more than five weeks of shows. The ticket calendar gives the timeline:

• November 6, 10 a.m., through November 8, 11:59 p.m.: Any Day presale, while supplies last. Adults $15, seniors 65+ $15, youth 3 to 12 $10, children 0 to 2 free.
• November 9, 10 a.m.: Dated tickets go on sale. Adults $20, seniors $18, youth $15, children 0 to 2 free.

Next to the regular prices Hudson Gardens shows beside the presale, $25 adult, $23 senior and $20 youth, an adult presale ticket costs $10 less. A family of two adults and two kids would pay $50 instead of $90. You only get that price during the three-day window, and once supplies run out it's gone.

The Any Day ticket also fixes the timing problem. Tickets aren't timed: you can arrive anytime during show hours on your date, or on any night you choose with an Any Day ticket. Re-entry isn't allowed. Regular nights run 5 to 9 p.m. Christmas Eve closes at 7, and opening night ends earlier, at 8:30. With an Any Day ticket, the parade and the lighted maze don't have to share a night.

Theme nights come later in the season, with gourmet s'mores, holiday bingo, Christmas movie trivia and visits from holiday characters. A sensory-friendly night is set for December 2. Parking is free at the Gardens and at the Arapahoe Community College overflow lot. ACC's lots also served Candlelight Walk crowds in 2025, so check the City's parking guidance before November 27.

Aspen Grove Gives You a Second Chance

The newest event of the three is also the easiest to fit in. Karaoke, Carols & Cocoa is free and runs outdoors in Aspen Grove's Neighborhood Christmas Tree Lot from 6:30 to 8 p.m. It repeats on four Fridays: November 27 and December 4, 11 and 18. The BARBOX at Aspen Grove will sell specialty holiday drinks, alcoholic and non-alcoholic. Aspen Grove describes it this way:

"Sing beautifully. Sing loudly. Sing with enthusiasm. We are not handing out recording contracts."

The listing ends by saying Aspen Grove might "accidentally start a new Aspen Grove holiday tradition," which reads like a first-year event. The Aspen Grove event page links to an RSVP. Since it comes back three more Fridays, missing it on November 27 doesn't cost you much. The same weekend, Aspen Grove also runs Holiday Wagon Rides on Sunday, November 29, from noon to 3 p.m.

Three Ways to Spend November 27

Once you know which events repeat, the evening sorts itself out. Downtown happens once. Hudson Gardens runs for weeks. Aspen Grove comes back three more Fridays. Here are three ways to plan the night:

1. Stay on Main Street. Get downtown around 5:30, take your Santa photos before the crowd builds, watch the 6:30 parade, and stay for the tree lighting at Bowles Plaza and the drones over the Melting Pot. Use an Any Day Hudson Gardens ticket bought November 6 to 8 on another night, maybe December 2 if you want the sensory-friendly show.
2. Opening night at the Gardens. Arrive at Hudson Gardens close to 5 p.m. for the first night of the season, and stay as long as you like until it closes at 8:30. Catch Karaoke, Carols & Cocoa on December 4, 11 or 18.
3. The relaxed version. Skip the parade crowd and head to Aspen Grove at 6:30 for cocoa and carols in the tree lot. Then come back Sunday afternoon for the wagon rides.

New Storefronts Downtown and at Aspen Grove

Several businesses that opened recently sit near these events. On Main Street, Leaves on Main, an indoor-plant and gift shop, opened September 5 at 2699 Main Street, according to the Littleton Independent. The Littleton Independent also reported that Lewis and Cluck moved back downtown under new ownership at 5827 S. Rapp Street. Check each shop's own hours for November 27. Neither business has announced plans for that night.

At Aspen Grove, the City's August 2026 new-business list includes Hodgepodge Market at 7301 S. Santa Fe Drive, Suite 110. And for anyone who wants coffee before a cold parade, the Littleton Independent reports that 7Brew Drive Thru Coffee at 111 W. Mineral Avenue is set to open in November, with November 16 as the projected date. That date is still a projection.

Later in the season, the Littleton Museum hosts Holiday's Evening on Sunday, December 13, from 5 to 8 p.m. at 6028 S. Gallup Street, a quieter way to wrap up the weeks that start on November 27.

A lot of Littleton homeowners are already thinking about the new year by the time the tree at Bowles Plaza goes dark. If spring plans are on your list, Joni Jagger can tell you what your home is worth in today's Littleton market before the holiday rush. Request Your Home Valuation, and enjoy the parade.