This is the first December on the renovated Decatur Square. The city's holiday calendar puts its big downtown nights on Thursdays: the tree lighting on Dec. 3, the bonfire on Dec. 10 and the Santa-and-Grinch pop-ups on Dec. 17. Thursday is already the night downtown shops and restaurants stay open late for Terrific Thursdays, and Visit Decatur ties the Dec. 17 pop-ups directly to that series. Pet photos, Small Business Saturday, the menorah lighting, the school market and the panto take the Saturdays and Sundays. Several of those are away from the Square entirely.
The Square the tree is moving into
The Square reopened with a ribbon cutting on Friday, June 5, and the Amplify Music Festival was the first show on the new stage. The Square ShakeUp, part of the city's Town Center 2.0 master plan, made several changes. It added a permanent performing arts stage with a green room and a large viewing screen at the western edge near the Historic Courthouse and DeKalb History Center. It also replaced the old community bandstand with more turf and hardscape, so the lawn is now one larger, open space. The east end of the plaza, beside Squash Blossom Boutique, is now the Hillside Play Area. It has two slides, a climbing wall with ropes, a wheelchair-friendly spinning disk and a cushioned slope. More finishing work was scheduled after the June opening: the Celebration sculpture, green infrastructure on the North McDonough Street loop and two more sun shades on the main plaza.
The tree's move is easiest to picture against last year. In 2025 it stood in front of the Historic DeKalb Courthouse at 101 East Court Square. That end of the Square now has the permanent stage. For 2026, Visit Decatur's holiday page says the tree "will take center stage on the renovated Decatur Square."
The Thursday calendar, from publish day through Dec. 17
The City of Decatur's Terrific Thursdays page lists Nov. 19 and Nov. 26, 6 to 8 p.m. On those nights participating shops and restaurants stay open late with discounts, holiday open houses and receptions. Nov. 19 is also listed as Shop and Sip Decatur. Visit Decatur describes the series as live DJs, trunk shows and pop-ups, along with whatever individual stores put on. In December, the city's own events land on the same weeknight.
| Thursday | What's happening | Time | Where |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nov. 19 | Terrific Thursday and Shop and Sip Decatur | 6–8 p.m. | Participating downtown shops and restaurants |
| Nov. 26 | Terrific Thursday on the city calendar | 6–8 p.m. | Participating downtown shops and restaurants |
| Dec. 3 | Tree Lighting | 6–8 p.m., Santa lights the tree at 7 | Decatur Square |
| Dec. 10 | Bonfire + Marshmallow Roast | Bonfire lit at 6, roasting 7–8 p.m. | Decatur Square |
| Dec. 17 | Naughty and Nice Holiday Hijinks | 6–8 p.m. | Roaming around downtown |
November also has a shopping incentive. Spend $200 at City of Decatur retail shops between Nov. 1 and Nov. 30 and you get a $20 gift card to a local Decatur restaurant. Purchases on the two remaining November Thursdays count toward that total.
Three December Thursdays, three different uses of the same space
Each December Thursday uses the Square differently, so the open lawn matters for different reasons each week.
Dec. 3: the tree on the new Square
The format is the same as last year. Starting at 6 p.m. there are carols, hot cocoa and mini gingerbread cookies by the tree, a performance by the F.AVE Chorus and a community sing-along. Santa flips the switch at 7 p.m. sharp, and "snow" follows. Little Shop of Stories sponsors the evening, and it's free. The only change is where the crowd stands. Last year everyone gathered in front of the courthouse. This year the tree takes center stage on a Square whose lawn no longer has a bandstand in it.
Dec. 10: the bonfire
The City of Decatur hosts a large bonfire on the Square, supervised by the Decatur Fire Department. Firefighters light it at 6 p.m., the Talley Street Chorus sings holiday classics starting at 6:30, and marshmallow roasting runs from 7 to 8. Hot chocolate, marshmallows and roasting sticks are free while supplies last, and you can also bring your own. In 2025 the bonfire fell on Thursday, Dec. 11. Both years it landed on the second Thursday of December.
Dec. 17: no stage at all
The last Thursday leaves the Square for the rest of downtown. Visit Decatur's listing says Santa and the Grinch will "roam around downtown" during that night's Terrific Thursday, with "no schedule, no stage, just unexpected pop-ups." Visit Decatur asks for photos tagged @VisitDecaturGA, so keep your phone handy while you shop and eat.
The city's event listings give the address for the Square events as Decatur MARTA Plaza, 400 Church St. MARTA says both its western and eastern station entrances open onto the Square, so you can take the train to all three Thursdays.
The weekends, spread across town
Outside the Thursdays, the calendar moves to daylight, to weekends and to other parts of Decatur. One event shows the change directly. In 2025, Santa Pictures With Pets ran on a Thursday evening from 6 to 8 p.m. at Harmony Park. This year it's a Saturday morning at the same park.
- Saturday, Nov. 21, 10 a.m. to noon, Harmony Park. Santa Pictures With Pets, open to "furry, feathery, or scaly" guests. Taj Ma Hound will sell holiday-themed dog treats, and Oakview Coffee is serving free hot chocolate and apple wassail while supplies last. The event is free, and donations go to LifeLine Animal Project. Pets need to be well-behaved, restrained and current on vaccinations.
- Saturday, Nov. 28, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., the Square. Santa on the Square, during Small Business Saturday. The day includes photos with Santa, cookies and milk, a free make-and-take ornament station run by Decatur Makers, a Santa Mail station and holiday music. Bring purchases from City of Decatur shops for free gift wrapping, and enter a raffle for a gift basket of Decatur-branded goods. The Hillside Play Area sits at the east end of the plaza beside Squash Blossom.
- Dec. 4, 5, 6, 11 and 12, Agnes Scott College. Arís Theatre's holiday panto this year is "Jack & The Beanstalk." It's playing at a new location, the Winter Theatre in the Dana Fine Arts Building, 141 E. College Ave. Evening shows are at 7 p.m. on Dec. 4, 5, 11 and 12, and matinees are at 2 p.m. on Dec. 5, 6 and 12. Tickets on the Arís Theatre event page are $25 for adults, $15 for children and $20 for students, seniors and military.
- Sunday, Dec. 6, starting at 4:30 p.m., Decatur Square. Chabad Intown hosts the Menorah Lighting, with hot drinks, latkes, music, photos with Mr. Dreidel and a Chanukah gelt drop by Decatur Fire/Rescue. Last year it was Sunday, Dec. 14. The city's listing has the full schedule.
- Friday, Dec. 11, 5:30 to 9 p.m., and Saturday, Dec. 12, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Clairemont Elementary, 155 Erie Ave. The Decatur Holiday Marketplace & Cafe runs Friday evening and all day Saturday.
- Dec. 5 through Jan. 3, Callanwolde Fine Arts Center. JOIE is just outside the city: a performance paired with an outdoor light-forest experience, listed in Atlanta Parent's 2026 holiday roundup.
How December's weekends fit around the Thursdays
The first weekend runs from the tree lighting Thursday night, to the opening weekend of the panto at Agnes Scott, to the menorah lighting back on the Square Sunday afternoon. The second weekend starts with the bonfire on Thursday and continues with the Clairemont market on Friday night and Saturday, the same days as the panto's final shows. Dec. 17 closes out the city's listed holiday events with Santa and the Grinch loose downtown during that night's Terrific Thursday.
November is quieter. You have two Terrific Thursdays left, the pet photos at Harmony Park on Nov. 21 and Santa on the Square on Nov. 28, which is also the last weekend to finish the $200 spend for the restaurant gift card before the promo ends Nov. 30.
The full 2026 schedule, with any updates, is on Visit Decatur's holiday page. Event details and addresses are on the City of Decatur's community calendar.
We love watching downtown fill up on these December Thursdays, and if you're curious what your own Decatur home might be worth after a year of changes around the Square, Erin Olivier is happy to walk you through it over cocoa. Get Your Instant Home Valuation whenever you're ready.
