On November 16, decorated trees start going up in four Brookhaven parks. Residents, businesses, organizations and community groups signed up through October to take a tree, and each one gets an assigned spot in Blackburn II Park, Skyland Park, Langford Park or along the Peachtree Creek Greenway. They have until December 1 to finish. By the time Light Up Brookhaven fills Blackburn Park on the evening of December 3, the season will already have been underway for two weeks in parks spread across the city.
That timing gives Brookhaven's December a different order. The season starts close to home, in whichever of the four parks is nearest, and builds toward the citywide events at Blackburn Park and City Centre.
The program is the Brookhaven Holiday Tinsel Trail, run by Explore Brookhaven with the City of Brookhaven. The organizers chose the sites with the stated goal of putting one in each City Council district. Because of that rule, the four sites have little in common, and each one fits differently into a resident's week.
| Tinsel Trail site | What's already there |
|---|---|
| Blackburn II Park, 3509 Blair Circle | A smaller city park with picnic tables |
| Skyland Park | Playground slides, a rope wall, hammocks, sand volleyball courts, a dog park and a trail |
| Langford Park | A neighborhood park on the trail list |
| Peachtree Creek Greenway, Police Department side | The trailhead at 2036 North Druid Hills Rd., on a 1.3-mile paved path along the North Fork of Peachtree Creek |
With a dog park and playground already on site, trees at Skyland Park sit on the route of an ordinary dog walk or playground stop. The Greenway tree is at a paved trailhead. Blackburn II is the smallest of the four by the city's own amenity list, which names only picnic tables.
Every participant decorates only within its assigned space. The organizers also say locations can still shift for accessibility, parking, public safety, park operations or visibility. Before you plan a walk around one site, check the event page for any late changes.
Explore Brookhaven lists the Tinsel Trail as running October 25 through December 1, 2026. The trees themselves follow a later schedule:
In practice, the trail looks different from one week to the next. A walk past Skyland Park on November 17 might turn up a few trees half done. By the weekend after Thanksgiving, most should be finished. The finished version starts December 1. A local holiday roundup from Brookhaven Local Today says the trees "stay through the season," though no take-down date has been published.
No participant list has been published either, so who decorates which tree will only become clear once the trees are up. The organizers frame it as a program meant to become "a festive Brookhaven tradition." That means how it looks this year depends on the neighbors and businesses who signed up, not on a production budget.
Two days after the last tree goes in, the season moves to one place. The City of Brookhaven's calendar lists Light Up Brookhaven for Thursday, December 3, 2026, from 6 to 9 p.m. at Blackburn Park, 3493 Ashford Dunwoody Road. Some event listings show a slightly different street number for the park, so use the city's address when you set your GPS.
The city hasn't posted the full 2026 program. Its recap of last year's event gives a sense of the scale: a tree and menorah lighting, Santa, Mrs. Claus, elves and the Grinch, live music, inflatables, a trackless train, a petting zoo, reindeer photos and food trucks. Explore Brookhaven's event listing says Santa arrives by helicopter, courtesy of Children's Healthcare of Atlanta.
The Tinsel Trail and Light Up Brookhaven work at different scales. The trail spreads small displays across four districts over two weeks. The lighting packs the whole city into one park for three hours. In 2026 the two run back to back, so neighbors who saw the trees go up at Langford or along the Greenway arrive at Blackburn having watched the season build all November.
The next weekend, the season moves up Peachtree Road. Brookhaven City Centre at 4001 Peachtree Road NE opened to the public in August 2025, and city offices moved there from the former leased City Hall. According to the city's 2026 budget, the new building is three times the size of the old one and hosts public events almost daily. This is its second holiday season, and two of the busiest December events are booked there.
On December 5, the Santa photos and the bazaar's Saturday hours overlap completely, from 9 a.m. to noon, in the same building. That makes the first Saturday of December the easiest morning of the season to combine errands and photos.
Of the four Tinsel Trail sites, the Peachtree Creek Greenway is the one with the most change ahead. In May, Rough Draft Atlanta reported that Greenway Phase II received a $13.5 million federal funding award after an Atlanta Regional Commission vote on May 13, 2026. The 1.1-mile extension is planned as a 14-foot multi-use path meant to connect with PATH400, South Fork Conservancy trails and the Beltline. That money is a funding milestone, not a construction start, so this December's Greenway tree stands on the 1.3-mile path that's already open.
The trailhead at 2036 North Druid Hills Rd. is where a Greenway walk usually begins. This year, a decorated tree will stand at the start of a trail the region has agreed to extend.
Explore Brookhaven's calendar has events before, during and after the installation window:
The coat drive on November 6 falls the day after this post publishes. The Skylight Gallery concert lands in the middle of the installation window, while the trail is still being built.
The season ends at Brookhaven Park, 4158 Peachtree Road. Santa Paws is listed for Sunday, December 20, 2026, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Holidays in the 'Haven, also at Brookhaven Park, hasn't announced 2026 dates yet. Last season it ran December 20 through January 4. According to the city's recap, it included an ice-skating rink on real ice, inflatables and bounce houses, food trucks, a DJ, Santa and Frozen characters, and arts and crafts. Last season's December 20 opening date is the same calendar date as this year's Santa Paws.
If your plans this season include more than holiday events, such as hosting family in a home that fits how you live now or thinking ahead to a spring move, Nadine Lutz would be glad to talk with you before the season gets busy. Schedule a consultation or ask for a home valuation, and we'll talk through your plans over coffee near whichever Tinsel Trail tree is closest to you.
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