Last year Locust Valley lit its tree on a Tuesday evening, December 2. This year the Thomas Park lighting is on Saturday, November 28, the Saturday of Thanksgiving weekend. The Holiday Champagne Stroll has also moved. It has landed on the first Thursday of December three years running. This year it falls on the second Thursday, December 10. The Winter Festival's horse-and-carriage rides close the season on Sunday, December 20.
That makes three events on three different days of the week: a Saturday evening in the park, a weekday evening on the shopping streets and a Sunday midday ride through the hamlet.
A Downtown That Depends on Good Weather
The Locust Valley Chamber of Commerce is not part of local government. Greg Lanza, the Chamber's vice president, told the Long Island Press in February 2026 that it is "a private, nonprofit business association made up of volunteers." Membership is open only to brick-and-mortar businesses in the 11560 ZIP code. In the same interview, he named the hardest thing about running a shop here:
"We are very residential. We rely on great weather for visitors and locals to stroll around town."
He also described where the hamlet sits: "We are tucked 8 miles north of the Long Island Expressway." The Press reported that bad weather and slow seasons make it harder for stores and restaurants to bring in new customers, and that the Chamber relies heavily on Instagram and Facebook during the slower months.
That is the context for the December calendar. Most of the Chamber's big events fall in warmer months. The Exotic Luxury Car Show is the largest, with more than 400 attendees by Lanza's count, and the Sale Under the Sun sidewalk sale runs the first weekend in August. The three holiday events are the Chamber's reason for people to walk Birch Hill Road and Forest Avenue in the weeks when weather alone won't bring them out.
Saturday, November 28: The Lighting Moves to a Weekend
The Annual Tree Lighting runs 5 to 7 p.m. at Thomas Park, 10 Elm Street. Santa is due at 6 p.m., and the listing promises giant inflatables, music, hot cider, hot cocoa and cookies. The Chamber produces it with the Matinecock Neighborhood Association.
Last year's Tuesday lighting had its own lineup. The LVHS Jazz Band and Chamber Singers played, Santa arrived by fire truck courtesy of the Locust Valley Fire Department, Million Dollar Deli served frankfurters and G. Willikers handed out candy canes. The 2026 listing does not repeat those names, so treat them as last year's program. They are not a promise for this one.
The move matters more than the program. A 5 p.m. start on a Tuesday fits families who live within a few blocks and arrive from work or practice. A 5 p.m. start on the Saturday after Thanksgiving falls on a weekend when many households have relatives in town and nothing on the calendar. If you're hosting guests that weekend, the lighting is now an outing you can plan around. Thomas Park is the same small park that anchors the hamlet's fall calendar. In 2026 it starts the holiday season before December begins.
Thursday, December 10: The Stroll Takes the Second Thursday
For three straight years the Champagne Stroll ran on the first Thursday of December, always from 5 to 7 p.m.:
- December 7, 2023
- December 5, 2024, listed at Birch Hill Road and Forest Avenue
- December 4, 2025
The 2026 stroll keeps the same two-hour window and moves to December 10. Because the tree lighting moved earlier, the two events now sit almost two weeks apart. The listing promises "holiday cheer and bubbly while you shop for gifts throughout town." It also says to book dinner, since the stroll ends at 7 p.m.: "Be certain to make your dinner reservations so you can drop after you shop!"
Lanza described the stroll to the Long Island Press in July 2025 as a night for "taking in festive windows, meeting merchants, while buying gifts and toasting to the holiday season." The same article noted that most of the Chamber's businesses sit on Birch Hill Road, on Forest Avenue and in The Plaza Shoppes. Lanza described the hamlet this way: "Our town is super walkable, so in an afternoon, visitors can pretty much hit most of the shops going from store to store."
The Chamber does not publish a list of participating stops. Its own directory does, however, show what is on each street.
Birch Hill Road
- Locust Valley Bookstore, 8 Birch Hill Road. Lanza mentioned a bookstore that "often hosts book signings with notable authors."
- Sabrina, a boutique at 12 Birch Hill Road
- Loafers Bakery & Gourmet Shoppe, 175 Birch Hill Road
- Two25, 225 Birch Hill Road
Forest Avenue
- J. McLaughlin, 15 Forest Avenue
- Buckram Stables Cafe, 31–33 Forest Avenue
The Plaza
- Basil Leaf Cafe, 7B The Plaza
- Hosted by Kelly Gaudreau, a tabletop shop and design business at 23 The Plaza
- Le Joaillier Fine Jewelry, 33 The Plaza
Buckram Road
- Barney's Restaurant, 315 Buckram Road
The directory doesn't say which shops will stay open late or pour on December 10. Before you plan around a particular stop, check its hours or the Chamber's Instagram, @locustvalleyliving, where the Chamber posts event details and merchant updates. The dinner advice in the listing is practical. With a 7 p.m. end, the Birch Hill Road restaurants will likely be busy right after the stroll.
Sunday, December 20: Carriages Through a Decorated Hamlet
The last event of the season is the only one in daylight. The Winter Festival runs 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Sunday, December 20, five days before Christmas. The Chamber's listing calls it "a nostalgic ride through our picturesque hamlet all decorated for the holidays."
The decorations are part of the Chamber's year-round beautification work. Lanza told the Long Island Press in July 2025 that the Chamber works with the Town of Oyster Bay to keep the downtown attractive. At the time, the hamlet's center traffic median had just been rebuilt and replanted with new trees and irrigated flower beds. In February 2026 he named "more beautification" among the things he was most excited about for the Chamber's future. The Chamber's beautification fund is supported by donations, and its website has a page for contributing.
A late-morning Sunday start also fits households the evening events don't. A child too young for a 6 p.m. Santa in late November can ride a carriage before lunch. The event also lands the weekend before Christmas, when last-minute gift shopping is most likely.
How the Three Dates Fit Together
Each of the three events brings people downtown at a different time.
- Saturday, November 28, 5–7 p.m. Thomas Park, 10 Elm Street. A holiday-weekend evening, with Santa at 6.
- Thursday, December 10, 5–7 p.m. The shop streets of Birch Hill Road, Forest Avenue and The Plaza, followed by dinner reservations.
- Sunday, December 20, 11 a.m.–2 p.m. Carriage rides through the hamlet in daylight.
A weekend, a weeknight and a Sunday morning reach families with guests, neighbors stopping in after work and parents with small children. That speaks to the problem Lanza raised when he said "We are very residential" and that merchants rely on great weather to bring people out. In December, the Chamber's calendar has to give people that reason instead. This year's events run from the weekend after Thanksgiving to the weekend before Christmas, with a gap of more than a week between each one.
The Chamber lists the hamlet's surrounding villages, Lattingtown, Matinecock and Mill Neck, as part of the community its shops serve. All three events are open to anyone who uses Locust Valley as their downtown, whatever their mailing address.
Patricia Santella has lived and worked in Locust Valley for decades, and her team follows the hamlet's calendar as closely as its home sales. If December has you thinking about what your home might be worth before a spring listing, Patricia Santella can prepare a valuation that reflects this specific market. Request Your Personalized Market Plan, and we'll have it ready before the carriages come out on the 20th.