At 6:30 p.m. on Friday, December 4, the City Holiday Tree at Lone Tree Arts Center lights up, and this year's celebration adds a fireworks display. About sixteen hours later, the gates open at Schweiger Ranch on Havana Street. By Saturday evening, the library's holiday dinner and the Lone Tree Symphony Orchestra's first holiday concert are both underway. Sunday has two more seatings and a matinee.
That's most of Lone Tree's holiday calendar in about 48 hours. Each event gets you in a different way. One is a free walk-up evening, one is free with parking across a busy street, one sells tickets by seating, and one is a reserved-seat concert. Once you know how you get into each, you know which ones fit together and which ones collide.
Friday: Walk In and Stay Close to Commons Street
Merry Days runs from 6 to 8 p.m. at Lone Tree Arts Center, 10075 Commons Street. It's free and open to everyone. It's the easiest event of the weekend to join, and it covers more ground than the tree alone. Partners across the street at the Lone Tree Library and MorningStar Senior Living run their own pieces of the evening.
The timed moments are worth planning around:
- 6:00 p.m. Doors open on a hot cocoa and s'more bar, holiday music from The Denver Dolls, roaming holiday characters, and a holiday market of local makers. Santa and his reindeer are there too.
- 6:30 p.m. The tree lights after remarks from Mayor Harmon. The city's Timberlines magazine says this year adds "a special fireworks display."
- 7:00, 7:15 and 7:30 p.m. The library holds story times, with crafts and a sweet treat.
- All evening MorningStar's Gingerbread Village has letters to Santa, cookie decorating, a photobooth and a Holiday Bazaar.
The E-470 Public Highway Authority is the official s'mores sponsor for 2026. The city hasn't posted parking or shuttle details for Merry Days, so arriving before 6:30 is the safest bet if you want to see the countdown.
With story times at 7:00, 7:15 and 7:30, a family can watch the 6:30 lighting and still make a 7:15 story time. That's the main reason to see Friday as two events, the Arts Center and the buildings across the street.
Saturday Morning: The Parking Is Across Havana
Schweiger Ranch's 10th annual Austrian Christmas runs Saturday, December 5, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at 10822 S. Havana St. It's free, and you don't need to register. It celebrates the Christmas traditions of the Austrians who settled the ranch in 1874.
Getting in works differently from Friday. Most visitors don't park at the ranch. The ranch's directions lay it out step by step:
- Park in the RTD RidgeGate Station garage, right across Havana, and enter it from the north entrance.
- Parking fees in the RTD garage and surface lots are waived for event guests.
- Cross Havana only at the RTD south entrance driveway, where a Lone Tree Community Safety Officer directs foot traffic.
- If walking is hard, a golf-cart shuttle runs from the RTD south surface lot, the accessible parking area and the main gate. Accessible parking is just inside the ranch driveway.
Havana has another wrinkle this year. The city's South Havana Street Bikeway is under active construction between Rail Way and Surrey Drive, with completion expected in winter 2026. The city warns of temporary lane shifts, traffic delays, and short sidewalk or bikeway closures, and says signed detours will keep pedestrian access open. It describes the project as improving access to Schweiger Ranch. Give yourself a few extra minutes on the drive in.
Gates open at 11 a.m. sharp, with no early admittance. From then until 3 p.m. you'll find the Austrian Connections Band, face painting, kids' crafts with South Suburban Parks & Rec, Santa Claus, and his real reindeer. Carriage rides are first-come, first-served and pause now and then to rest the horses.
The Christkindl Markt is where lunch and gift shopping happen. The vendor list includes:
- Kogler's Bakery for Austrian pastries, breads and quiches
- Andy's Kitchen for pretzels and bratwurst
- Tall Tales Ranch for coffee and hot cocoa
- Kristen's Cottage Bakery for gingerbread
- Schatzi's Treasure and Mountain High Laser for ornaments
- Schweiger Ranch itself, selling ornaments, wood smokers and nutcrackers
A few house rules: no dogs because of the livestock, though licensed service animals are welcome. No outside alcohol, and drinks bought at the event stay inside the event area. If the weather causes a delay or cancellation, the notice goes on the event page. The city's Merry Days page says this event ends with a tree lighting, but the ranch's 2026 schedule lists no lighting time and simply says the event ends at 3 p.m.
Saturday Night and Sunday: Pick a Seating
Once the ranch closes at 3 p.m., the weekend becomes ticketed, and the timing starts to overlap. Douglas County Libraries' Storybook Holiday this year is "The North Pole Express," based on "The Polar Express." Each seating includes live music and dance, crafts, make-and-take cocoa gifts, photo ops, a visit with Santa, a meal, a signature hot cocoa bar, and Bob's Roasted Nuts. The Lone Tree Symphony Orchestra's Sugarplums & Snowflakes plays the Arts Center the same weekend.
| Event | Day and time | Tickets |
|---|---|---|
| Storybook Holiday, Dinner Edition | Sat., Dec. 5, 5–8:30 p.m. | $38 ages 12+, $32 ages 3–11 |
| Sugarplums & Snowflakes | Sat., Dec. 5, 7:30 p.m. | $26 standard, $32 premium |
| Storybook Holiday, Brunch Edition | Sun., Dec. 6, 8–11 a.m. | $35 ages 12+, $30 ages 3–11 |
| Storybook Holiday, Lunch Edition | Sun., Dec. 6, noon–3 p.m. | $35 ages 12+, $30 ages 3–11 |
| Sugarplums & Snowflakes | Sun., Dec. 6, 2:30 p.m. | $26 standard, $32 premium |
Children 2 and under get into Storybook Holiday free, and adults 21 and over can add an alcohol ticket for $15. Symphony tickets are $22 for seniors, students and military and $10 for kids 12 and under. Every symphony price includes a $6 service charge. The symphony is the only show on the Arts Center calendar from December 4 through 6.
The table shows two overlaps. The Saturday dinner edition runs until 8:30, an hour past the symphony's 7:30 curtain. On Sunday, the lunch edition runs until 3, half an hour past the 2:30 matinee. If you want both a Storybook Holiday seating and the concert, two pairings work. You can do Sunday brunch and the Sunday matinee, or Saturday's concert and either Sunday seating.
The Dates to Trust Are on the Organizers' Pages
The Merry Days page on the city's site has the correct Friday details, but its partner listings carry dates that don't match this year's calendar. It lists Austrian Christmas as "Saturday, Devember 6" and the Storybook Holiday as December 6 and 7, under a "Guess Who?" theme instead of this year's "North Pole Express." In 2026, December 5 is the Saturday. The Schweiger Ranch event page and the Douglas County Libraries page both match that, with the ranch on December 5 and the library seatings on December 5 and 6. If a date on the city page doesn't match an organizer's page, go with the organizer.
One Way to Build the Weekend
Here's one way to fit everything together:
- Friday, 6:00 p.m. Merry Days at the Arts Center. Tree lighting at 6:30, then a library story time at 7:15.
- Saturday, 11:00 a.m. Park in the RTD RidgeGate garage, cross with the safety officer, and have lunch from the Christkindl Markt.
- Saturday, 7:30 p.m. Sugarplums & Snowflakes at the Arts Center.
- Sunday, 8:00 a.m. North Pole Express brunch at the library.
Families with younger kids might swap Saturday night for the 5 p.m. dinner edition and move the symphony to Sunday's 2:30 matinee after brunch.
If Santa photos at Park Meadows are part of your plan, the mall lists Photos with Santa on the lower level in Dillard's Court. Its booking calendar shows slots as early as November 7, and walk-ups are welcome daily until closing. That takes Santa off this crowded weekend.
At The Denver Trio, we live and work in Lone Tree too, and the first weekend in December is on our calendars as well. If you'd like a quick conversation about what your home is worth before the new year, we're glad to come by once the tree is lit. Get your free home valuation.
