Corona del Mar's holiday season runs on four fixed calendars in 2026. Roger's Gardens, Sherman Library & Gardens, the Corona del Mar Chamber of Commerce and the Commodores Club each set their own dates. In December those dates overlap. Only one of the four sells timed entry with a limited number of nights, and its tickets went on sale to the public on October 19.
So a December evening in the village gets decided weeks ahead. The rest of the season fits around whichever Sherman night you book.
Roger's Gardens Is Running Two Boutiques at Once
As Halloween arrives this weekend, Roger's Gardens on San Joaquin Hills Road has both seasonal boutiques open. The Halloween boutique, "Moonlight Masquerade," is a Venetian-inspired room that opened Friday, August 28, and is open daily from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. The 2026 Christmas Boutique, "The Stories of the Season," officially opened October 2, according to Newport Beach Living Magazine. It has the same daily hours.
This year's Christmas concept is a storybook and a winter market. Roger's Gardens describes it as a "richly layered world of timeless décor, beautifully crafted treasures and the warmth of a charming winter market." The magazine describes letters to Santa hung overhead, displays based on peppermint sweets and gingerbread, and a nod to European Christmas markets. It also reports that the holiday buying team travels through Europe more than a year ahead for hand-turned wooden nutcrackers, painted German Santas and Polish glass ornaments.
The number to plan around comes from the same article: Roger's Gardens welcomes more than one million visitors between October and December. All of those visits fall within the same fixed 9-to-6 hours. The boutique opens before Halloween, so October is the only stretch of the season without December's event weekends competing for the same afternoons.
From late November on, the boutique also runs dated programming. The Roger's Gardens events page lists:
- Friday, November 20: Nutcracker artist Gunther Ulbricht
- Saturday, November 21: ornament designer Joe Walden
- November 27 through December 24: the Lil' Dickens Carolers
The carolers start the day after Thanksgiving and stay through Christmas Eve, so every December visit before Christmas lands during their run. Farmhouse, the on-site restaurant, lists itself as open for dine-in and takeout, with reservations available through its site.
Sherman's Evening Event Is New, and It Sells Out by the Night
Sherman Library & Gardens has changed the most this year. For a decade, its December evening event was Nights of 1000 Lights, and the 2024 edition marked its 10th anniversary, as the Daily Pilot reported that November. For 2026, Sherman is promoting Merry & Bright Nights, which it bills as "an all new magical evening of lights, music, dancing, food, and sparkling holiday fun."
The program includes Santa, a Wishing Tree, holiday crafts, a model train running through a holiday scene, Mexican food, seasonal adult drinks and a holiday dance party. It runs in three blocks of nights.
| Run | Dates | Days of the week |
|---|---|---|
| First | December 3–6 | Thursday through Sunday |
| Second | December 10–13 | Thursday through Sunday |
| Third | December 17–22 | Thursday through Tuesday |
That makes 14 nights, with entry at 5 p.m. or 7 p.m. Admission is $45 for members and $65 for non-members, and children 3 and under get in free. Members could buy starting October 5, and public sales opened October 19. Sherman's own page asks guests to "purchase your tickets early to avoid sell-out disappointments."
The price gap makes membership worth a look. Sherman sells a Family Package at $335, which includes four tickets and a one-year Family Membership, and an Adult Dual Package at $230, which includes two tickets and a one-year Adult Dual Membership. Sherman puts the savings at $100 and $50. Four non-member tickets alone come to $260. For a household of four, the package costs $75 more than those tickets and includes a full year of garden access.
Where the December Calendar Overlaps
On their own, each of these events is easy to plan. Put together, they collide on two stretches of dates, and Sherman's timed entry is what forces the choice.
| Date | What's scheduled | The overlap |
|---|---|---|
| Sunday, December 6 | Christmas Walk, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Merry & Bright Nights, final evening of the first run | The Walk ends at the hour of Sherman's first entry time |
| Wednesday, December 16 | Boat Parade opening night; Marina Park Holiday Market | No Sherman night |
| December 17–20 | Boat Parade, nightly from about 6:30 p.m.; Merry & Bright Nights | Sherman's 5 p.m. and 7 p.m. entries overlap the parade's start every night |
| December 21–22 | Merry & Bright Nights | The parade has ended |
December 6 can hold both the Walk and a Sherman evening if you book the 5 p.m. entry, since the Walk wraps up on Coast Highway at that hour. And during the parade's run, only the Wednesday opening night has no Sherman event competing for the evening. The quietest Sherman evenings are December 21 and 22, the Monday and Tuesday after the parade has finished, with no Walk or parade competing for the evening.
The Christmas Walk Needs No Ticket
The 47th annual Corona del Mar Christmas Walk is Sunday, December 6, from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. It is free, and the Chamber's event page says there is no set starting point. People stroll the Coast Highway sidewalks through the village. The Chamber advertises more than 17 local bands, beer and wine gardens with dancing, Santa, vendors, children's activities and merchant promotions.
The Walk also raises money for local causes. The Chamber's event page names the U.S. Marines Toys for Tots Program, and its 2026 sponsorship packet says the event benefits the Corona del Mar High School music program.
The Walk needs no planning ahead. Its one connection to the rest of the calendar is the same Sunday-evening Sherman entry described above. The Chamber has not yet posted visitor parking or shuttle details for 2026, so check its event page as the date gets closer.
Watching the Parade From the Corona del Mar Side of the Harbor
The 118th Newport Beach Christmas Boat Parade runs Wednesday, December 16, through Sunday, December 20, starting at about 6:30 p.m. each night. The Commodores Club of the Newport Beach Chamber of Commerce hosts it. This year the boats start and finish at the tip of Lido Isle. The parade's route page says shoreline viewing is free and city parking lots will be open.
From the Corona del Mar side of the harbor, the spot to note on the 2026 route map is Bayside Drive Beach, which the map lists among the harbor viewing locations. The map's timed stops include Peninsula Point Beach at 7:25 p.m. and Bay Shores Community Beach at 8:30 p.m., so the boats pass different parts of the harbor more than an hour apart. If you also hold a Sherman ticket for one of those four overlapping nights, the 5 p.m. entry and a later spot on the shoreline is the only way to fit both into one evening on paper. The parade map is the place to check how late the boats pass the stretch you want.
The parade site also lists drone shows at Balboa Bay Resort and Peninsula Park on every parade night. Opening night adds a Holiday Market at Marina Park from 4 to 8 p.m., with fireworks at 6:15 p.m. and the parade passing Marina Park at about 6:45 p.m. December 16 is also the one parade night with no Sherman event, so it is the easiest night of the week to give entirely to the harbor.
Daftarian Group follows Corona del Mar's calendar as closely as its market, from the opening weeks at Roger's Gardens through the last night of the parade. If you're hosting family this December or settling into the village before the holidays, we're glad to share what we know about the season. Daftarian Group invites you to Request a Private Consultation.
