What if the best night of Littleton's holiday season were also the busiest, and you could still fit all of it in? On Friday, November 27, 2026, Downtown Littleton's Candlelight Walk and the first night of Hudson Holidays at Hudson Gardens start within half an hour of each other.
The published hours leave room for both. The downtown evening ends first, Hudson Gardens stays open later, and Main Street's Small Business Saturday comes the next morning. Taken together, the day after Thanksgiving works as a whole holiday season in one night and one weekend, and the details below explain how the pieces fit.
The Two Clocks on November 27
Here is the evening as both organizers have posted it so far:
- 5:00 p.m. Hudson Holidays opens for its first night. Show hours are 5 to 9 p.m.
- 5:30 p.m. The Candlelight Walk starts in Downtown Littleton.
- 6:30 p.m. The holiday parade starts on Main Street.
- After the parade Santa lights the big tree in Bowles Plaza, and then a drone show flies over The Melting Pot at the west end of Main Street.
- 7:30 p.m. The Candlelight Walk's posted end time.
- 9:00 p.m. Hudson Holidays closes for the night.
The overlap gives you choices. You can start among the lights at Hudson Gardens and head downtown in time for the parade. Or you can stay on Main Street through the drone show and still reach the gardens with time left before closing. Either order fits inside one evening.
There is one discrepancy. The Downtown Littleton Development Authority's calendar lists the walk as ending at 7:00 p.m., while the City of Littleton's event page says 7:30. The City runs the event, so its page is the schedule to plan around.
Downtown Gets the Early Shift
The Candlelight Walk has been part of Littleton's holiday calendar since the early 1980s. Sources don't agree on the first year, but the DDA called the 2023 edition its 40th. The basics haven't changed much over four decades. The City's 2026 listing promises carolers, dancing Christmas trees, hot cider, Santa's reindeer and Santa himself.
The finale is where the evening gathers. The City ends the parade with a drone show above The Melting Pot, and it uses an image of the drone show as the event's main graphic. That puts the climax of the evening at the west end of Main Street. Earlier routes started at the east end, according to a 2023 DDA event listing, and the City's 2025 story map placed the finish in front of The Melting Pot. In practice, the tree lighting in Bowles Plaza and the drone show are the two moments that pull the crowd west.
The 2026 logistics aren't finished yet. The City's page doesn't give a parade start point, road closures, parking or transit directions, and Visit Littleton says to check back in mid-October for details. For reference only, last year's plan offered free parking at the City office at 2255 W. Berry Ave. and at Arapahoe Community College Lot B, plus paid parking at the Elks Lodge. Those were 2025 arrangements. This year's plan may differ.
Hudson Gardens Takes the Late Shift
Hudson Holidays runs from November 27, 2026, through January 3, 2027. It's open 5 to 9 p.m. every night of the season except December 24, when it closes at 7. Hudson Gardens describes a stroll through the gardens, a lighted maze, larger-than-life themed exhibits, selfies with Santa, and warm drinks and cocktails for purchase.
Two ticket rules make the double evening possible. Tickets aren't timed, so you don't have to arrive in a set window, and arriving at 7:45 is fine. There's no re-entry, though. Do the walk first and Hudson second, or plan to be finished at the gardens before you head downtown.
Parking at Hudson Gardens is free, both on site and at the overflow lot at Arapahoe Community College. The college has also served as a parking option for the Candlelight Walk in past years. On November 27, both events may draw on that same campus.
The opening calendar shows only a 5 p.m. start on November 27, with no special first-night program announced. The extras come later in the season: gourmet s'mores, storytimes with holiday characters, holiday bingo and Christmas movie trivia on select nights. December 2 is set aside as the sensory-friendly night.
Buy Before the Turkey, and Buy the Flexible Ticket
Hudson Holidays tickets come in two types, and the cheaper one is also the more flexible. Any Day tickets go on presale from November 6 at 10 a.m. through November 8 at 11:59 p.m., or while supplies last. Dated tickets go on sale November 9 at 10 a.m.
| Ticket | Adult | Youth, 3 to 12 | Child, 0 to 2 | Valid for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Any Day, presale Nov. 6 to 8 | $15 | $10 | Free | Any one event date |
| Dated, on sale Nov. 9 | $20 | $15 | Free | The reserved date only |
For two adults and two children ages 3 to 12, the presale tickets cost $50 and the dated tickets cost $70. The cheaper Any Day tickets also let you change plans. If Thanksgiving weekend weather turns bad, the same tickets work on any one later night through January 3. Dated tickets lock in a single evening. The tradeoff is timing. You'd need to buy during a three-day window in early November, weeks before you know how November 27 will go.
Saturday Morning on Main Street Has New Doors
The weekend continues on Saturday, November 28, with Small Business Saturday. The DDA calendar lists it as an all-day event organized by Historic Downtown Littleton. Some of the storefronts are new since the last time most people shopped downtown for the holidays.
- Leaves on Main at 2699 Main St. held its grand opening on September 5. It sells houseplants, pottery, gifts and home décor. The DDA's announcement has more.
- Tonic Zero Proof Bar at 5767 S. Rapp St. serves mocktails, kava and coffee. The Littleton Independent reported its opening in May, and a DDA profile in August covered its alcohol-free drinks and regular programming under owner Brett Young. It's a warm stop for anyone sitting out the cocktails on either night.
- Lewis and Cluck has moved back to Downtown Littleton, the Littleton Independent reported in July.
Away from Main Street, Prime & Proper Butcher Shop opened at 131 W. County Line Road this year, according to the City's August/September Littleton Report. The report names butcher Mitch Peterson and the mother-and-son team of Tammy and Kiel Neuhaus as the people behind it. If you're hosting a holiday dinner later in the season, it's a new local place to order from.
The DDA's Small Business Saturday page is about shopping locally and doesn't list specific merchant offers yet. Check each shop for its own plans closer to the date.
Where the Season Goes After That Weekend
The Friday-and-Saturday stretch opens the season, and the rest of the calendar runs from it. A few dates come before Thanksgiving. Downtown's Goblin Giveout is October 25 from 1 to 4 p.m. Hudson's presale opens November 6. The Littleton Museum holds an opening reception for David Ocelotl Garcia's public-art exhibition on November 5 and an artist talk on November 19.
After Thanksgiving weekend, Hudson Holidays runs nightly through January 3, and an Any Day ticket bought in early November is good for any one of those nights. The museum's Holiday's Evening follows on Sunday, December 13, from 5 to 8 p.m., with wagon rides, music, seasonal refreshments and historic demonstrations.
If you're hosting family in Littleton for Thanksgiving or thinking about how the holiday weekend fits with a move or sale in the new year, Ford Fountain Team is glad to talk it through. We follow the south metro calendar as closely as the market, and we'd be pleased to help you plan your season. Schedule a Private Consultation.
