River Oaks' 2026 holiday season has two anchors, and they are 13 days apart. The River Oaks District Tree Lighting is Saturday, Nov. 21. Christmas Village at Bayou Bend opens Friday, Dec. 4, and runs through Dec. 30.
Bayou Bend doesn't open every night. It closes on Mondays and Tuesdays early in December, then stays open until 10 p.m. on Dec. 21, 22 and 23 before closing for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. It also opens an hour early on Sundays.
November Builds Toward a Saturday at 4 p.m.
The River Oaks District Tree Lighting runs 4 to 7 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 21, at 4444 Westheimer Road. The district lists a live performance by Breakfast at Tiffany's, then the arrival of Saint Nicholas and the lighting of the tree. The event page doesn't list an admission price.
Two other dates on the district's events calendar fall around it:
- Nov. 13–14, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Jenni Kayne hosts a two-day De La Paix jewelry pop-up.
- Thanksgiving, Nov. 26, noon to 8 p.m. This is the first year Le Colonial is open on the holiday. It's serving a three-course prix fixe for $105 per person, plus tax and gratuity, and the menu can be ordered to go.
For a household that would rather not cook, the Le Colonial to-go option fits the long Thursday window. The tree lighting is set five days earlier, before Thanksgiving week starts.
Bayou Bend Is Open 21 Nights, Not 27
Christmas Village at Bayou Bend spans Dec. 4 to Dec. 30 and fills the 14-acre Bayou Bend estate with thousands of lights. You enter across a lit bridge. The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston runs the event, and its listing puts the address at 6003 Memorial Drive.
The run covers 27 dates, but the village is open on 21 of them. It's closed Dec. 7, 8, 14, 15, 24 and 25. Laid out by week, the closures show a pattern:
| Week | Open nights | Closed | Latest closing |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dec. 4–6 | Fri., Sat., Sun. | None | 10 p.m. Fri. and Sat. |
| Dec. 7–13 | Wed. through Sun. | Mon. 7, Tue. 8 | 10 p.m. Fri. and Sat. |
| Dec. 14–20 | Wed. through Sun. | Mon. 14, Tue. 15 | 10 p.m. Fri. and Sat. |
| Dec. 21–23 | Mon., Tue., Wed. | None | 10 p.m. all three nights |
| Dec. 24–25 | None | Thu., Fri. | Closed |
| Dec. 26–30 | Sat. through Wed. | None | 10 p.m. Sat. 26 |
For the first two and a half weeks, the village runs Wednesday through Sunday. Wednesday and Thursday nights close at 9 p.m., and Fridays and Saturdays stay open until 10. A Monday or Tuesday plan in that stretch won't work.
Dec. 21 Through 23 Run Late
The schedule changes in the days before Christmas. Monday, Dec. 21, Tuesday, Dec. 22, and Wednesday, Dec. 23, are all open from 5:30 to 10 p.m. Before this, the village stayed open that late only on Fridays and Saturdays.
Dec. 23 is also the last day for the $10 Santa photo. That gives school-break families three late weeknights in a row before Bayou Bend closes for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.
After the holiday, it reopens Saturday, Dec. 26, until 10 p.m. Monday, Dec. 28, and Wednesday, Dec. 30, close at 9 p.m. Unlike the first half of the month, this final week includes a Monday and a Tuesday.
Sundays and Two Sensory-Friendly Nights Open an Hour Early
Most nights start at 5:30 p.m. Sundays Dec. 6, 13 and 20 open at 4:30 p.m. and close at 9. Dec. 27 is the last Sunday of the run.
Dec. 6 and Dec. 29 are sensory-friendly nights. They start at 4:30 p.m. for visitors who prefer to arrive in daylight, and fewer tickets are sold to reduce crowding. The museum provides sensory kits, a quiet room, accessibility maps, and adjusted sound, light and theatrical effects. House-tour admission is flexible and good for the whole evening.
Dec. 29 falls on a Tuesday in the post-Christmas week, the stretch when the village is open every night.
What the Ticket Covers
Admission starts at $18 for ages 13 and up and $12 for ages 5 to 12. MFAH members pay from $16 and $10. Children 4 and younger get in free. The museum lists these highlights for 2026:
- Faux-snow sledding and a reindeer hunt
- A handcrafted model train circling a 15-foot Christmas tree
- A gingerbread village made by Houston's Culinary Institute Lenotre
- Family-friendly short films chosen by Berlin's Weihnachtsfilmfestival
- Carolers, music-bell stations and a 3-D video animation by LD Systems
- The Cottage Shop for holiday gifts
On most nights the house tour adds $5 to each admission, including the free tickets for young children. On the Dec. 6 and Dec. 29 sensory-friendly nights, a separate house-tour ticket isn't required. The tour is a theatrical, holiday-themed walk through the first floor of the historic house, with live actors and music. You choose a tour time and can explore the village before and after it, so leave time to park and walk to the house.
Food, sweets and drinks are sold on site. Single-occupant strollers are welcome, but many paths have steps. Service animals are permitted, but pets are not. Visitors with limited mobility can call 713-639-7750 before arriving to make arrangements.
Parking Is the Real Limit
The event runs rain or shine. Onsite parking is limited and costs $20, card only. Some free offsite parking is available, and the museum strongly encourages rideshare.
For anyone who lives within a short ride of Memorial Drive, a rideshare saves the $20 and the circling. It also makes the 10 p.m. nights easier, especially the run of Dec. 21 through 23.
Plans for the Nights Bayou Bend Is Closed
On the four early-December Mondays and Tuesdays when the village is closed, the rest of the neighborhood is open. A few places have changed since summer.
Arnaldo Richards' Picos now operates at 3736 Westheimer Road. Houstonia reported that it opened there on Sept. 12, in the former Cyclone Anaya's space, with its menu unchanged. The Houston Chronicle reported that Cyclone Anaya's River Oaks location closed in September and Picos took over the space. Community Impact covered the move as a reopening after Picos left its former Kirby location.
At River Oaks District, Diptyque reopened its redesigned boutique in its original space, Suite F120, on Oct. 24. That puts it in its first holiday season since the refresh.
The River Oaks Theatre has been running as a dine-in film and live-events venue since it reopened on Oct. 3, 2024. It posts daily showtimes, so a Monday or Tuesday dinner and a movie stays close to home.
If you're also timing a sale or purchase around the holiday weeks, Rhonda Hicks and the RE/MAX Premier Luxury Collection team can show how December's calendar affects showings, launch dates and negotiation windows in River Oaks. Schedule a Confidential Strategy Consultation.
