Corona del Mar's Holiday Season Now Peaks in One Four-Day Stretch
October 29, 2026
October 29, 2026
Corona del Mar's holiday season is already nearly four weeks old. Roger's Gardens opened its 2026 Christmas Boutique on October 2, according to Newport Beach Living. The rest of the season fills in slowly through November. Then four days in early December carry most of the weight. Sherman Library & Gardens opens its new evening event on Thursday, December 3. The Corona del Mar Christmas Walk takes over Pacific Coast Highway on Sunday, December 6.
If you live here, that first week of December is the part to plan around. The rest of the season gives you time to get ready for it.
This year's boutique at Roger's Gardens, 2301 San Joaquin Hills Road, is called "The Stories of the Season." It's a storybook-themed display built around holiday memories, traditions and a winter-market feel. It's open 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily. Newport Beach Living's walkthrough describes letters to Santa hanging overhead, displays inspired by peppermint sweets and gingerbread, and touches borrowed from European Christmas markets.
October is the quietest time for a first visit, before the boutique adds its November events. The Roger's Gardens events calendar lists these dates:
The fourth Thursday in November is November 26. That puts the carolers' first day on the Friday after Thanksgiving, when the boutique moves from early-season browsing into the holidays proper.
Farmhouse, the restaurant on the Roger's Gardens property, had its own milestone this year. The Daily Pilot reported that it marked its 10th anniversary with a "Friends of Farmhouse" dinner on August 20, a second celebration on September 24, and Monday and Tuesday tastings through September. So the boutique and the restaurant share one address in their tenth holiday season together, and a single morning trip covers both.
Down the hill, Sherman Library & Gardens at 2647 East Coast Highway spends November on smaller events. Two of them have clear end dates.
Irina Charny's mosaic exhibition, "Inspired by Nature," runs through November 20, noon to 5 p.m., per Visit Newport Beach. It opened August 29. If you've been putting off a visit, you have about three weeks left once this post goes up.
The Sherman calendar also lists a hand-knit holiday stocking workshop on November 19, a Thanksgiving floral workshop on November 25 and "Wreath the Halls" on December 2. The November 25 workshop falls the day before Thanksgiving, so it works as a last stop for a table centerpiece. "Wreath the Halls" is the day before Sherman's holiday evenings begin.
That sequence is the pattern of the season. Each of these smaller events leads up to the first weekend of December.
Sherman's holiday program for 2026 is called Merry & Bright Nights. The garden's own listing calls it "an all new magical evening of lights, music, dancing, food, and sparkling HOLIDAY FUN." The listing includes:
Visit Santa, make a wish at the Wishing Tree, get creative with holiday arts and crafts, and watch a charming model train wind through a festive holiday landscape. Savor delicious Mexican cuisine and festive adult beverages, then dance the night away at a lively holiday dance party.
The details that matter for planning are on the ticket page. Each night runs 5 to 9 p.m., with entry at either 5 or 7 p.m. Admission is $45 for members and $65 for nonmembers. Children 3 and under get in free. For a family of two adults and one older child without a membership, that's $195 at the door. The same family pays $135 with member pricing, $60 less. The garden also offers membership bundles for the event.
Merry & Bright Nights runs December 3, 4, 5 and 6, then December 10 through 13, then December 17 and 19. That's ten nights in all, and four of them land in the first stretch. The fourth of those is the same day as the Christmas Walk.
Here's how the busiest four days fall, using each organizer's published schedule.
| Date | Roger's Gardens | Sherman Library & Gardens | PCH through the village |
|---|---|---|---|
| Thu., Dec. 3 | Boutique open 9 a.m.–6 p.m.; carolers in season | Merry & Bright Nights opens, 5–9 p.m. | |
| Fri., Dec. 4 | Boutique open 9 a.m.–6 p.m. | Merry & Bright Nights | |
| Sat., Dec. 5 | Boutique open 9 a.m.–6 p.m. | Merry & Bright Nights | |
| Sun., Dec. 6 | Boutique open 9 a.m.–6 p.m. | Merry & Bright Nights | 47th Annual Christmas Walk, 11 a.m.–5 p.m. |
On Sunday the 6th, the Walk ends at 5 p.m. and Sherman's first evening entry starts at the same hour. In practice, the afternoon on the sidewalks can run straight into an evening in the garden.
The Corona del Mar Chamber of Commerce is putting on its 47th annual Christmas Walk on Sunday, December 6, 2026, from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. It's free and has no official starting point. You just walk the PCH sidewalks through the village. The Chamber lists more than 17 local bands, Santa visits and photos, a beer and wine garden with dancing to the "Pinch Me" band, gift vendors, children's activities, merchant and restaurant promotions, and street performers. Proceeds go to Toys for Tots.
The Chamber says the Walk draws "thousands of friends, neighbors and business owners" into the village. This year it's also the last day of Sherman's opening run.
For a household that wants all three in one day, one possible order:
Some weekends the village is busy enough that you'll want to go somewhere else. The other big holiday event in Newport Beach starts during the Thanksgiving weekend, across the Back Bay. Newport Dunes Waterfront Resort's Fire & Lights Festival runs November 27, 2026, through January 3, 2027, Thursday through Sunday evenings. It has more than 50 floating holiday displays, fire-dancer shows on Fridays and Saturdays, and Santa on opening night and on Saturdays through Christmas. Its season runs into January, well past Sherman's last date on December 19, so Corona del Mar residents can save it for the quieter weeks after the peak.
All of these dates come from each organizer's current schedule and could change. Check the Roger's Gardens, Sherman Library & Gardens and Corona del Mar Chamber pages before you go, especially before buying Sherman tickets.
Whether you're walking PCH on December 6 or thinking about what the next holiday season could look like from a different street, Mike Doyle knows Corona del Mar and the rest of Newport Beach block by block. If you're curious what your own place would be worth heading into the new year, get your instant home valuation.
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