In 2026, Herndon's two biggest December traditions fall on the same day. The Holiday Homes Tour runs from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 5. One hour after the last door closes, the Holiday Tree Lighting & Sing-Along starts at Town Hall Square and runs from 5 to 6:30 p.m. The craft show is the next morning, and the WinterMarkt is the Saturday after that.
The town's overview page doesn't show this yet. The Herndon Hometown Holidays page still lists the tree lighting and homes tour on Saturday, Dec. 6, the craft show on Sunday, Dec. 7, and the WinterMarkt on Dec. 13. The page doesn't print a year, but those dates fall on those weekdays in 2025, not 2026. If last December's rhythm is already on your calendar, everything moves up one day.
The 2026 dates, in order
- Fri., Nov. 20, 5 to 7 p.m.: Turkey Trot 5K packet pickup at Aslin Beer Company, 771 Elden St.
- Sat., Nov. 21, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.: in-person Holiday Homes Tour ticket sales at Herndon Depot, 717 Lynn St.
- Sat., Nov. 21, 4 p.m.: Turkey Trot 5K start
- Sat., Nov. 28, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.: second and last in-person ticket day at the Depot, also the day the ticket price goes up
- Sat., Dec. 5, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.: Holiday Homes Tour
- Sat., Dec. 5, 5 to 6:30 p.m.: Holiday Tree Lighting & Sing-Along, Town Hall Square, free
- Sun., Dec. 6, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.: Holiday Arts & Crafts Show, Herndon Community Center, free
- Sat., Dec. 12, from noon: Herndon WinterMarkt
- Sat., Dec. 19, noon: Wreaths Across America ceremony, Chestnut Grove Cemetery
Five front doors and a stone church on Elden Street
The Holiday Homes Tour of Herndon started in 1979 as part of the town's centennial celebration and has run every year since 1985. Volunteers organize it, and each year they pick homes that show the range of architecture, home ages and holiday traditions in town. The organizers say all five 2026 homes are technically walkable, and the first three are within a few blocks of each other.
Civic groups docent four of the five stops, and the 2026 route reads like a list of the organizations behind much of Herndon's volunteer life:
- Stop A, 485 Spring St.: docented by the Rotary Club of Herndon-Reston and the Herndon Woman's Club
- Stop B, 101 Pearl St.
- Stop C, 901 Vine St.: docented by the Fortnightly Club
- Stop D, 765 Monroe St.: docented by the Herndon Historical Society
- Stop E, 1023 Monroe St.: docented by the Order of the Eastern Star
The sixth stop isn't a house. First Baptist Church of Herndon, at 681 Elden St., serves as the tour's rest stop and bonus space, with refreshments and a tour of the historic building. The tour's site describes it as "the stone church on Elden St across from Anita's." If you bought tickets online, pick them up there before your first house. Walk-up tickets are also sold there from 10 a.m. on tour day. Proceeds support the missions and charities of the participating organizations.
From the last front door to Town Hall Square
The tour ends at 4 p.m. and the sing-along starts at 5 p.m. That hour is what makes Dec. 5 one outing. A household could start at Spring Street in the morning, take a midday break at the church on Elden, and finish the Monroe Street stops in the afternoon. That still leaves time for an early dinner before the tree lighting. According to the Town's event page, the lighting is free and still set for Town Hall Square.
Town Hall Square is still the listed venue, but the government buildings on nearby Lynn Street look different this season. The Herndon Municipal Center at 777 Lynn St. and the Council Chambers at 765 Lynn St. are closed from Oct. 2, 2026, through Jan. 2, 2027. Crews are replacing the old HVAC systems and the storefront entrances on the Municipal Center's east and west sides. Walk-up counter services for community development, public works engineering and finance have moved to 397 Herndon Parkway, Suite 100, through the renovation period. Council and commission meetings have moved to Suite 300 at the same address. If a December errand at the counter is on your list, that's the address to use.
The ticket deadline lands on Turkey Trot weekend
The holiday season really starts two weeks before the tour. Tour tickets cost $20 through Nov. 27 and $25 from Nov. 28 through Dec. 5, and online purchases add a transaction fee. The two in-person sale days are Saturdays, Nov. 21 and Nov. 28, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Herndon Depot, 717 Lynn St. The Depot accepts Venmo, cash and check. Sales are in the conference room nearest the Town Lawn, not at the museum entrance. The Nov. 28 sale day is also the first day of the higher price, so the $20 in-person ticket is only available on Nov. 21.
That's also the afternoon of the Turkey Trot 5K, which starts at 4 p.m. The Town describes it as a community cross-country-style race, with a 45-minute finishing limit. Pre-registration is $40 for adults and $25 for youth and closes at noon on Friday, Nov. 20. Race-weekend registration is $45 and $30. Packet pickup has a new location this year: Aslin Beer Company, 771 Elden St., Friday, Nov. 20, from 5 to 7 p.m. The Town encourages runners to bring canned food for LINK, which supports local families facing food insecurity.
Put together, Nov. 21 can start with tickets at the Depot in the morning and end with a 5K before dark.
Sunday's craft show, then a German market a week later
The morning after the tour and tree lighting, the Holiday Arts & Crafts Show fills the Herndon Community Center on Sunday, Dec. 6, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. It has more than 70 vendors, and admission is free.
Six days later, the Herndon WinterMarkt opens at noon on Saturday, Dec. 12. The Dulles Regional Chamber of Commerce hosts it with the Town, and the 2026 vendor package sets its location in Historic Downtown Herndon. The market is modeled on European Christmas markets. The 2026 package promises more than 50 vendors, German food and drinks such as bratwurst, lebkuchen, stollen and pretzels, and polka and holiday music from local students, professional performers and German bands in Bavarian dress. The vendor page lists Olive Blossom, Smell of Love Candles, Mud Tree Designs, Jaeger Wooden Toys, Little Austria and Nordic-Knot. According to the organizers, Herndon's first WinterMarkt drew more than 7,000 people, and the German Embassy has called it one of the best German-style markets in the U.S.
Last year's market was set up on lower Lynn Street in front of the Municipal Center at 777 Lynn St., the same building that's closed for renovation until Jan. 2. Last year's logistics give a sense of the crowd. Organizers ran a free shuttle every 10 to 12 minutes from the circular drive at Herndon High School, 700 Bennett St., to the corner of Lynn and Center Streets, from 11:45 a.m. to 7 p.m. They pointed drivers to the limited spaces in the Station Street municipal lot, suggested rideshare pickup at 779 Center St. near the Moose Lodge, and asked visitors to keep out of private lots such as the Pines Shopping Center. The market is also steps from the W&OD Trail, which may be the simplest way in for anyone who lives within walking or biking distance.
The season ends quietly a week later. On Saturday, Dec. 19, at noon, the Wreaths Across America ceremony takes place at Chestnut Grove Cemetery, 831 Dranesville Rd., followed by wreath placement. The Herndon Woman's Club, which also docents a homes tour stop, is one of its supporters.
Walking through five Herndon homes dressed for December can get you thinking about how your own home would show to buyers. When you're ready for that conversation, Marnie Schaar & Associates can walk through your home with you and prepare a complimentary home valuation.