Katy's Holiday Season Runs on a Few Crowded Dates and One Early Deadline
What's the first holiday deadline in Katy this year? It falls on Thursday, Nov. 5, and it's for the drive-through lights in the Typhoon Texas parking lot, a day before they turn on. Most of the rest of the season works the same way. It doesn't spread evenly from mid-November to Christmas. It piles up on a handful of dates, and the people who know those dates early get the easiest version of it.
Here is the 2026 season in the order it arrives, with the collisions marked.
The Light Park returns to Katy on Friday, Nov. 6, in the Typhoon Texas Waterpark parking lot at 555 Katy Fort Bend Rd. It runs every night through Jan. 3, 2027. The Katy location page says the display is open seven days a week. It doesn't list nightly hours, so check the page before you load up the car.
The timing matters. The pre-sale ticket page sells a vehicle pass for $29.99 per car, good any night of the season, and says buyers save 50% when they buy before Nov. 6. That makes Thursday, Nov. 5 the last day for the pre-sale price. The price is per car, not per person, so a carload of visiting relatives costs the same as two people. Service fees, card fees and tax are added on top.
Because one pass covers any night of the season, buying it now doesn't lock you into a date. You can save it for whichever slow Tuesday in December works best.
The two weeks after the lights open are the calmest part of the season, and the City of Katy puts one of its markets there. The Katy Exchange sets up at Historic Town Square, 904 Avenue C, on Saturday, Nov. 14, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., with handmade and specialty goods from local vendors.
The same weekend, the city's Fall Community Campout fills VFW Park on George Bush Drive from Friday afternoon through Saturday breakfast. Registration has already closed, though, so the market is the part of that weekend still open to everyone.
That Saturday is a good time to start gift shopping, before the big markets and the first tree lighting all land in one week.
The season's first real collision comes on Friday, Nov. 20, when three separate events open.
The gift market lasts three days, and Sugar Land's lights run about six weeks. The tree lighting happens once. If Nov. 20 has room for only one thing, LaCenterra's tree is the one you can't catch later. The market is still open Saturday and Sunday.
After Thanksgiving, the season moves back to Historic Town Square. On Saturday, Dec. 5, the City of Katy holds both its Christmas Tree Lighting and the Katy Nutcracker Exchange at 904 Avenue C. The Nutcracker Exchange runs from 2 to 8 p.m. The tree lighting time is still listed as TBA on the city's events calendar. With the market running into the evening, one afternoon trip downtown can cover both once the city posts the lighting time.
LaCenterra spreads its December out instead. Its events page lists Holiday Performances from Dec. 7 to Dec. 22 and Santa's List on Dec. 11. Neither page prints a year or times yet, so confirm with LaCenterra closer to the date. A two-week run of performances also means there's no single date to fight over, which makes LaCenterra the easiest December stop to fit around school concerts and office parties.
That leaves one date that asks for real planning.
The Katy Heritage Society holds its December events on Saturday, Dec. 12, at Katy Heritage Park, 5990 George Bush Dr. The schedule runs on set times:
| Time | Event | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| 4:00–5:30 p.m. | 2nd Annual TubaChristmas | RSVP on event page; no price listed |
| 6:00–8:00 p.m. | Christmas at The Park 2026 | $10 early admission, $12 admission, $15 day before or at the gate |
| 6:15–7:45 p.m. slots | Christmas Hayride 2026 | $5 per ride, plus a Christmas at The Park ticket |
The hayride page lists departures at 6:15, 6:45, 7:00, 7:15, 7:30 and 7:45 p.m. Every ride also requires a ticket to the park event, so you need both.
Price is the reason to plan early. A Christmas at The Park ticket costs $10 early and $15 the day before or at the gate. For a family of four, buying late costs $20 more before anyone climbs onto a hayride. The event page says all purchases are donations and that tickets can't be refunded or transferred, so confirm the date works before you buy. The TubaChristmas page takes RSVPs for the 4 p.m. performance, which ends 30 minutes before the park event opens.
The Light Park pass, the gift market and the Sugar Land lights all reward flexibility. Dec. 12 works the other way. It goes best for families who pick a hayride slot, buy park tickets at the early price and arrive in time for the tubas.
Several Katy businesses that opened this fall give the crowded dates somewhere to land afterward. Community Impact's roundup of recent openings includes Chama Gaúcha Brazilian Steakhouse, which opened Sept. 9 at 24205 Bella Katy Drive. That's a natural choice for a sit-down dinner with visiting family. The same roundup lists The Collective Boutiques, which soft-opened Sept. 5 at 6729 S. Fry Road. It's worth a stop if the Nov. 14 market or the Nov. 20 gift market didn't finish your list.
In Villagio Town Center, Covering Katy reported in September that Tavolina 44 had opened at 22756 Westheimer Parkway, Suite 180. The menu is Italian with Balkan influences. For a quicker stop before a night at the lights, Smash City Burgers opened Aug. 29 at 1950 N. Fry Road, and Burger Bodega opened Sept. 19 at 21904 Franz Road.
Hosting family for the holidays often shows how well a home still fits, from the guest room to the driveway that has to hold an extra car. If this season has you wondering what your Katy home is worth heading into the new year, SKW Realty can help you find out. Get a Free Home Valuation, and we'll walk you through the numbers on your schedule, holiday calendar included.
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