Two groups plan most of Novato's holiday season. The city's Parks, Recreation and Community Services department runs its events out of Margaret Todd Senior Center at 1560 Hill Road. The Downtown Novato Business Association runs its events on the streets of Old Town. This year both of them land on Saturday, December 5.
Santa makes two stops in town that day. He poses for photos on Hill Road in the morning, then rides into Old Town on a firetruck in the evening. The registrations and the Letters to Santa mailbox on Seventh Street that shape that day are all open in November.
The November Paperwork Behind a December Saturday
Three things on Novato's holiday calendar need action before the weekend arrives. By the time this post is up, each one is already open.
| What | Where | Opened | Closes or happens | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Letters to Santa mailbox | Novato Gymnastics Center, 950 Seventh St. | November 9 | Mailbox closes December 4 | Free, but a self-addressed stamped envelope is required for a reply |
| Photos with Santa | Margaret Todd Senior Center, 1560 Hill Rd. | Registration opened November 2 | December 5, 10 a.m. to noon | $5 per family |
| Gingerbread Build | Margaret Todd Senior Center | Registration opened November 3 | December 12 | $20 per kit for up to four people, $16 for each additional kit |
The mailbox slot at the gymnastics center is open 24/7, so letters can go in after an evening practice or on a weekend errand. The city is clear that a letter without a self-addressed, stamped envelope inside won't get an answer. The mailbox closes December 4, the same Friday the Holiday Crafts Faire opens across town.
Santa photos have the tightest limit. The city says time slots are limited, and only one person per family needs to register. Each photo comes with a goodie bag "from the North Pole." Registration is through the link on the city's Parks, Recreation and Community Services events page.
Friday Night and Saturday on Hill Road
The 2026 Holiday Crafts Faire runs two sessions at Margaret Todd Senior Center. The first is Friday, December 4, from 6 to 9 p.m. The second is Saturday, December 5, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Admission is free both days.
The city expects more than 50 artisans. They'll sell jewelry, ceramics, specialty foods, wreaths, ornaments, and bath and body products, and there will be entertainment and food throughout. The city also suggests bringing cash, because it can't guarantee every vendor will take credit cards.
The city lists three places to park: the senior center's main lot, overflow parking at the Hill Education Center lot, and the bocce ball and pickleball court parking at the Hill Recreation Area.
Picking a session matters more than it looks. Friday evening is the only Faire session that doesn't overlap with Santa's photo slots or the tree lighting. Saturday's session overlaps with Santa's photo slots from 10 a.m. to noon, and it ends at 4 p.m., the same time Old Town's festival begins. Families with a photo slot will be on Hill Road Saturday morning anyway, so they can shop the Faire then. Anyone who wants to browse slowly will find more room on Friday night.
Saturday Evening, Old Town Closes to Cars
The Downtown Novato Business Association's Community Tree Lighting Festival runs Saturday, December 5, from 4 to 7:30 p.m. The association holds it on the first Saturday in December every year. During the festival, the Old Town streets are open to pedestrians only. The schedule includes live performances, artisan vendors, food and drink, kids' craft projects and the tree lighting. Santa arrives by firetruck, and he and his elves listen to kids' wishes.
With the streets closed to traffic, parking is a matter of walking in. Downtown's usual rule is two hours of free parking.
The best handoff from Hill Road comes at 4 p.m. Saturday. The Faire closes on Hill Road, and the festival starts downtown. Santa's two stops that day follow the same order, with photos on Hill Road in the morning and a firetruck ride downtown in the evening.
A new stop at Grant and Seventh
This is the first holiday season downtown for Kitsch + Sync, pronounced "kitchen sink." Marin Mommies reported the opening in October. It's a family restaurant with indoor and outdoor play areas at 1757 Grant Avenue, in the Downtown Novato Center between Lucky and Icon Fit.
According to that report, the founders are Novato mom Courtney Cuberly and her husband, Bailey Barnard. The two of them are raising three young boys, and they wanted a place where kids could play while parents ate a meal and caught up with friends. Kids order from the Little Kitsch menu, which offers a $10 build-your-own bento box. The adult menu runs from smoked salmon bagels in the morning to a brisket panini with Gruyère and a honey truffle and prosciutto flatbread later in the day. The wines come from Kelley & Young in Sonoma County's Alexander Valley.
Inside are two large multi-level wooden play structures, a LEGO table at the front, and a separate Little Zone with soft climbing blocks and a ball pit for babies and toddlers. The owners also plan to host movie nights and family trivia. For a family that has spent the morning on Hill Road and has a few hours to fill before the tree lighting, Grant and Seventh is an easy place to wait.
A construction site worth a look on Sherman Avenue
Another project is underway just off the festival streets. On October 20, supporters of the Novato History Museum broke ground at the Scott House, 917 Sherman Ave., which will become the museum's new home. The Marin Independent Journal reported that the house dates from the 1920s and served as a municipal building until the city closed it in 2005 because of unsafe seismic conditions.
The Novato Historical Guild runs the museum. It began fundraising in April 2025 and hit its $3.2 million goal by December. About 160 donors gave, and a surprise $1 million bequest came from the estate of Charmaine Burdell, a member of one of the city's oldest families. The renovation covers seismic retrofits, accessibility improvements, mechanical upgrades and a new roof, all while keeping the house's historical character. Completion is expected in the 2027–2028 fiscal year.
The museum's current home is the old postmaster's house on De Long Avenue. The guild says that site gets little foot traffic because visitors have to cross a busy avenue, and it also has accessibility problems and limited parking. In the Marin IJ's coverage of the ceremony, guild member Jeanne MacLeamy described the move as "bringing a cultural, educational and entertainment venue to downtown."
The project fits the direction the city adopted this fall. In September, the City Council unanimously approved Novato's first 10-year economic development plan. As the Marin IJ reported, one of its goals is to strengthen downtown as the city's economic and cultural heart, and the 2026–27 budget sets aside $100,000 to carry it out.
The Same Two Addresses Carry the Rest of December
After December 5, the city and the downtown association each hold one more event, and each goes back to its own address.
- Saturday, December 12, Gingerbread Build at Margaret Todd Senior Center. Sessions start at 9:30 and 11 a.m. and include holiday music, hot chocolate and coffee. New this year, the 1 p.m. session is sensory friendly and open to all ages with disabilities, sensory sensitivities or other access needs. It has quieter music, a smaller group and a space for breaks. Registration is through the city's Register for Fun portal.
- Thursday, December 31, at noon, Bouncy Ball New Year Countdown in Downtown Novato. A ladder truck drops thousands of small bouncy balls onto the street from 40 feet up. Kids get a souvenir hard hat and can keep as many bouncy balls as their pockets and buckets can hold.
One part of the usual family routine is out of service this season. Construction started October 22 at Hamilton Amphitheater Park, 601 N. Hamilton Parkway. The playground and restrooms are closed while the work goes on, BBQ-site reservations are paused, and portable restrooms are on site. The work adds new play structures, accessible surfacing and routes, and drinking fountains, and it remodels the restrooms. In July, the City Council approved renaming the park Mark J. Milberg Community Park, with a ceremony planned once construction is finished.
That puts more of December on Hill Road and in Old Town. The Santa photo slots are filling now. The mailbox at 950 Seventh Street takes its last letters on December 4. The Faire opens that evening, and the next day Old Town closes to cars from 4 to 7:30 p.m.
If you're planning your December 5 around Hill Road and Old Town and want to talk about what the Scott House and the city's new downtown plan could mean for the streets you walk that night, Nick Svenson is glad to talk Novato with you. Schedule a 15-minute consultation.
