Celina's biggest holiday night of 2026 is Wednesday, Dec. 2, from 5 to 9 p.m. on the Downtown Square, with the tree lighting at 8 p.m. The 2025 event was also on a Wednesday, Dec. 3, so the midweek date is a repeat. This year the Square shares the night with a construction site. The city's $59 million Downtown Center is going up next door, and officials expect it to open in February 2027, Community Impact reported in July.
That puts this season in an unusual spot. It should be the last holiday season before the new civic building opens, and the second one with the downtown parking garage open. A weeknight festival in a downtown with active construction comes down to timing and logistics. Plan when you'll arrive and where you'll park first, then pick which nights to go.
A School-Night Schedule, Hour by Hour
A Wednesday event means most families will arrive after work and school pickup, and the stage schedule is spread across the whole evening. The city's Christmas on the Square page lists the full lineup:
| Time | On the Square |
|---|---|
| 5:00 p.m. | Event kicks off, shuttles begin, A Cappella Social Club |
| 5:30 p.m. | Steps of Faith Dance Studio |
| 6:00 p.m. | Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Youth Choir |
| 6:30 p.m. | 3-D Dance Performing Companies |
| 7:00 p.m. | FUMC Celina Christmas Choir & Band |
| 7:30 p.m. | Moore Middle School 6th Grade Choir |
| 8:00 p.m. | Tree lighting |
| 9:00 p.m. | Event ends |
| 10:00 p.m. | Last shuttle leaves |
If you have a performer in the family, use the table to work backward. If you're mainly there for the lights, you can arrive late and still see the moment that matters. The event is free. The city's downloadable event map shows a kids' zone, snow slides, a petting zoo, cookies, Santa's workshop and Santa's reindeer. Vendor booths will sell handmade gifts alongside corndogs, funnel cakes and Texas barbecue, so dinner on a school night is handled. The published schedule and map don't include a parade, so plan around the tree lighting.
Getting There Is Part of the Plan
Last year's opening of the garage changed how the evening works. The downtown garage opened to the public on Saturday, Oct. 18, according to the Celina Record, and Community Impact reported in December 2025 that it had opened that October. Community Impact reported in July 2026 that the four-story garage cost $19.3 million and holds almost 400 free spaces. The city's parking map places the garage beside the Downtown Center site, inside the blocks framed by W. Pecan St., N. Colorado Dr., N. Arizona Dr. and W. Walnut St. The same map flags construction-related closures and limits on sidewalk access around the site, so give yourself a few extra minutes to walk from the garage.
For Christmas on the Square, you have three options, per the city:
- The Downtown Parking Garage. It's the closest option and free, but it's the first place everyone else will try.
- Free park-and-ride shuttles. They run 5 to 10 p.m. from G.A. Moore Middle School and Celina High School.
- Limited downtown street parking. The city keeps an online map of what's available.
The shuttle hour is the useful detail. The last shuttle leaves an hour after the event ends, so families who park at Celina High School or G.A. Moore Middle School can stay through the tree lighting and the last vendor stops without hurrying back to a car. The event map also marks road closures around the Square, so driving into the core after 5 p.m. is the slowest way in.
The Building Next Door Is Changing the Square
The construction behind the garage is the reason this year's parking and walking routes look the way they do. The Downtown Center will take over the city services now at City Hall on Ohio Drive, including administrative offices and the Celina Public Library. Plans include a 26,209-square-foot library on several floors and a rooftop community space. As of that July update, structural concrete was complete, and crews were moving on to exterior framing, stairs and utility tie-ins. The opening target has already moved once. A February 2025 report projected November 2026, and the later estimate is February 2027.
The Square itself has a longer timeline. A city plan would turn the block bounded by Pecan, Colorado, Walnut and Ohio into community space with a pedestrian walkway. Community Impact's June report lists master planning in fall 2026 through spring 2027, design in summer 2027 through spring 2028, and construction in summer 2028 through spring 2029. Separately, a downtown roads plan calls for about $131 million in street reconstruction over 10 to 12 years, including brick paving on the inner loop and new sidewalks, Community Impact reported in July. On the private side, a September 2026 city announcement described planned restaurant, retail and office space at 102 N. Ohio St. and restaurant space in the Mayer Building at 313 W. Pecan St. Construction start deadlines for those projects fall in 2028.
Holiday events on the Square will likely work around construction for several seasons. This December, the Square looks much as it has, with a new civic building almost finished beside it.
November Comes First, With Its Own Logistics
The holiday stretch starts before December, and the earlier events have their own rules.
Friday Night Market, Friday, Nov. 6, 6 to 9 p.m. The city's monthly market is free and brings 60-plus vendors selling handmade, homemade and homegrown goods, plus local food and live music. If you park on the Square during the day, vehicles must be moved off by 2 p.m. The city also suggests checking the Life in Celina TX Facebook page before heading out, because road closures and downtown parking-lot improvements affect where you can park. It's a good night to start holiday shopping.
Celina Turkey Trot, Thursday, Nov. 26. The city calendar lists Thanksgiving morning on the Downtown Square from 7:45 to 10 a.m. The race's registration page lists three distances:
| Race | Start | Fee |
|---|---|---|
| 1-mile family fun run/walk | 7:45 a.m. | $32.50 |
| 5K | 8:30 a.m. | $42.50 |
| 10K | 8:30 a.m. | $57.50 |
Registration closes at 6 a.m. on race day. Part of the proceeds goes to Lovepacs, which provides meals to students during school holidays. Organizers promise music, awards and Thanksgiving-themed costumes. Packet pickup is at the Celina Police Department, 3025 S. Coit Road, on Nov. 20, 23 and 24, with hours that vary by day. Pick up early and you won't need to make a stop Thanksgiving morning.
After the Lights, Smaller Saturdays
After Dec. 2, the season moves to smaller Saturday events. The city lists a Countdown to Christmas running Dec. 1 through 24. The fixed dates so far:
- Saturday, Dec. 12: Coffee with a Cop, 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., then Photos with Reinsteer, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., both on the Downtown Square.
- Saturday, Dec. 19: Photos with Santa, 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., on the Downtown Square.
Because the two December 12 events overlap, coffee and the Reinsteer photo can be one trip. The Countdown page also mentions Storytime with Library Elves and shopping at local stores, and its full 2026 lineup is marked "Coming Soon!" In 2025 the countdown included a Holiday Passport. Visitors who collected six stamps at participating shops got entries in weekly drawings and a grand prize, with no purchase required where check-in was offered. The 2025 participants included Granny's Bakery, Two29 on the Square, Toasted Walnut Table & Market, Mangiamo Italian Market & Deli, Willow House Boutique, William Williams Rare Jewels and Annie Jack, and the Greater Celina Chamber of Commerce held caroling at Valley Vines. Whether this year's countdown follows the same format will be clear once the city posts its 2026 calendar.
Several of those businesses are still part of downtown's events this year. Two29 on the Square hosted the haunted house at the city's October Halloween event, and Granny's Bakery sponsored the cake walk. Community Impact's June report on the Square plan included keeping Annie Jack open during construction.
One Season, Mapped
Here's the calendar in order:
- Nov. 6: Friday Night Market, 6 to 9 p.m. Move vehicles off the Square by 2 p.m.
- Nov. 20, 23, 24: Turkey Trot packet pickup at the Celina Police Department.
- Nov. 26: Turkey Trot, first start at 7:45 a.m.
- Dec. 2: Christmas on the Square, 5 to 9 p.m., tree lighting at 8, last shuttle at 10.
- Dec. 12: Coffee with a Cop and Photos with Reinsteer.
- Dec. 19: Photos with Santa.
If you're also thinking about how downtown's next few years might affect your home's value, from the Downtown Center to the Square redesign planned for 2028, I'm glad to talk it through with you. Lori Seale follows these projects closely, and a home valuation is a good place to start.
