Most of Mill Valley's December happens between Saturday, December 5 and Sunday, December 13. That stretch holds a craft fair, a gingerbread party, Winterfest, a three-day faire at the Lumber Yard and two hometown holiday concerts. A few later shows at Sweetwater and Throckmorton Theatre run the season up to the week of Christmas.
The two weekends happen in different places. The first moves from Camino Alto to Depot Plaza over one Saturday and Sunday. The second moves to Miller Avenue and the evening stages. Winterfest also starts an hour earlier than it has the past two years, which changes how that Sunday fits together.
Saturday, December 5 opens at the Community Center
The first stop is the Holiday Craft Fair at the Mill Valley Community Center, 180 Camino Alto, on Saturday, December 5 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. The Chamber of Commerce event listing says admission is free. It describes new and returning artists selling woodwork, jewelry, glass, ceramics, decorations, knitwear, fiber arts and plants, and it points to the venue's ample parking.
Parking matters here because Saturday sets up Sunday. The craft fair is the one event on the first weekend that sits away from downtown. A morning at Camino Alto leaves Sunday free for Lytton Square.
Winterfest now starts at 1 p.m.
Winterfest is on Sunday, December 6 at Depot Plaza and Lytton Square, free and open to everyone. The Mill Valley Chamber of Commerce presents it with support from the City of Mill Valley.
For the past two years the start was 2 p.m. The 2024 Winterfest ran from 2 to 6 p.m. and scheduled its tree lighting for about 5:30. In 2025 it ran from 2 to 5 p.m., again with a tree lighting at Depot Plaza. This year it starts at 1 p.m., which gives families with young children an extra hour of daylight downtown. The Chamber's Winterfest page has the full afternoon schedule.
The program keeps what people know. There are performances by Happy Feet, RoCo Dance and Marin Conservatory of Dance, electric toddler train rides, a visit from Santa and the community tree lighting. The Chamber's Winterfest page adds a holiday lighting installation "at Depot Plaza and beyond," listed as new for 2026.
The gingerbread party shares the same afternoon
On the same day, the Chamber holds its second annual Gingerbread House Decorating Party at the Assembly Wealth Event Space, 319 Miller Avenue. It costs $65 per gingerbread house participant, adult caregivers attend free and get complimentary coffee and champagne, and holiday movies play while people decorate.
There are two sessions, at 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. With Winterfest's new start time, the 1 p.m. session begins at the same moment Winterfest does. The 11 a.m. session lets a family decorate first and walk to Lytton Square after. The 1 p.m. session puts them downtown later in the afternoon, which is when the tree lighting usually happened in past years. Tickets are sold through the Chamber's Eventbrite page.
The second weekend moves to the Lumber Yard
Five days later, things shift to the Mill Valley Lumber Yard at 129 Miller Avenue for the 2026 MVLY Holiday Faire, Friday, December 11 through Sunday, December 13. Each day has a different focus, so which day you go matters more here than at Winterfest.
- Friday, December 11, the evening day. Live accordion music from 3 to 5 p.m., photos with Santa from 4 to 6, a fire pit from 4 to 8, the Holiday Dog Parade from 4:30 to 5, and live music with Matt Bolton from 5 to 7.
- Saturday, December 12, the shopping day. The Winter Makers Market from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., live music from 11 to 4:30, and Santa photos from noon to 2.
- Sunday, December 13, the student day. The Tam High Holiday Faire from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., live student music from 11 to 1, Santa photos from noon to 2, plus face painting, cookie decorating and student art.
Friday gives the second weekend its evening start. The dog parade at 4:30 and the fire pit going until 8 put the Faire's busiest hours after the end of the workday. Families who missed Santa at Winterfest get three more chances that weekend, with the Friday slot the only one after school hours.
Friday and Saturday nights belong to the music rooms
Matt Bolton's set at the Lumber Yard wraps at 7 p.m., though the fire pit stays lit until 8. That evening, Sweetwater Music Hall hosts the 4th Annual Hometown Holiday Bash with The 85s, with doors at 7 p.m. and the show at 8. Leaving the fire pit around the time Matt Bolton's set ends puts you at Sweetwater close to doors.
Saturday evening has Throckmorton Theatre's Narada Michael Walden's 29th Annual Holiday Jam at 142 Throckmorton Avenue, from 8 to 10 p.m. VIP doors open at 6:30 and general admission at 7:30. That leaves time for dinner after the Makers Market closes at 5.
One newer place to eat before the show is Lima Nikkei in El Paseo. That's the set of brick-walled rooms on a winding passage between Throckmorton and Sunnyside avenues, which has held a run of restaurants since the 1940s. The Marin Independent Journal reported that Novato resident Edwin Sandoval opened Lima Nikkei to serve Nikkei cuisine, a mix of Japanese and Peruvian cooking, after Paseo Bistro closed late last year. The IJ notes that the kitchen is led by Lima native Wilmer Anaya, who has worked at San Francisco's La Mar Cebichería Peruana. The shareable menu includes six ceviches, four maki rolls and small plates such as bao de chicharrón and a Hokkaido scallop served in the shell.
The Charlie Brown thread runs through the month
Around the two weekends, a few smaller dates share a theme. Vince Guaraldi's A Charlie Brown Christmas music appears twice, in two different rooms.
- Wednesday, December 9: Throckmorton Theatre's free Charlie Brown Christmas Trio concert at noon, part of its December Noon Concert Series. It falls in the middle of the week between the two weekends and fits into a lunch break.
- Sunday, December 20: Sweetwater's holiday tribute to Vince Guaraldi's A Charlie Brown Christmas featuring Jason Crosby, doors at noon and show at 1 p.m.
- Monday, December 21: The Christmas Jug Band's 50th Sleigh Ride with special guests at Sweetwater, doors at 6 p.m. and show at 7.
The free Throckmorton noon concert and Sweetwater's Sunday matinee are both daytime shows, which makes them easy to fit around a family day. The Christmas Jug Band's Monday night show, its 50th Sleigh Ride, closes this run of dates on December 21.
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