Littleton's Holiday Season Opens November 27. The Planning Window Closes Weeks Earlier.

The cheapest ticket to Hudson Holidays this year goes on sale November 6 at 10 a.m. The sale ends November 8 at 11:59 p.m., or sooner "while supplies last." One hour earlier that same Friday, Friends of the Littleton Library & Museum members get first access to Holiday's Evening tickets at the Littleton Museum.

The lights don't go up at Hudson Gardens until November 27, and the Candlelight Walk lands on that same night. The ticket decisions come almost three weeks before that. From today, the first deadline is less than four weeks out.

The Eight Days That Set Your Holiday Budget

Here's the order things happen in Littleton this November, starting with the first on-sale date:

1. Friday, Nov. 6, 9 a.m. Friends members can buy Holiday's Evening tickets.
2. Friday, Nov. 6, 10 a.m. The Hudson Holidays Any Day presale opens. It runs through Sunday, Nov. 8 at 11:59 p.m. or until the presale allotment is gone.
3. Monday, Nov. 9, 10 a.m. Dated Hudson Holidays tickets go on sale.
4. Friday, Nov. 13, 9 a.m. General admission sales open for Holiday's Evening.

Every ticketed holiday event in Littleton goes on sale inside those eight days. The free downtown events come later in the month. I'll get to them, but they make more sense once the ticketed side is settled.

Why the Presale Ticket Beats the Dated One

Hudson Gardens sells two kinds of tickets. A dated ticket is good only on the night you pick. An Any Day ticket works on "any one day of their choosing." Normally the Any Day ticket costs more, since you're paying for flexibility. During the presale, it costs less than a dated ticket.

Run the numbers for two adults and two kids between 3 and 12. Presale Any Day tickets come to $50. Dated tickets bought on or after Nov. 9 come to $70. The same Any Day tickets after the presale come to $90. Buying first gets you the most flexible ticket at the lowest price Hudson Gardens lists all season.

The flexibility is worth more than it sounds, because the weather policy is strict. Hudson Gardens says "all tickets are final and cannot be refunded regardless of weather, unless the event is cancelled." Switching a dated ticket to another night costs a $10 date change fee per order. An Any Day ticket is still nonrefundable, but you pick the night, so there's no date change fee. You can wait out a cold snap and go on the next clear evening.

A few other details from the official Hudson Holidays FAQ:

• The show runs 5 to 9 p.m. nightly, except Dec. 24, when it closes at 7 p.m.
• Tickets aren't timed, but there's no re-entry.
• The route is about 0.65 miles. Hudson suggests planning 45 minutes to 2 hours.
• Parking is free, with an overflow lot at Arapahoe Community College.
• Nixon's Coffee House sells hot drinks and warm snacks in the Candy Cane Exhibit Area. S'mores kits are sold in the Pavilion, with firepits in the courtyard just outside.

Holiday's Evening Runs on a Different Clock

The Littleton Museum's Holiday's Evening happens on one night only: Sunday, Dec. 13, 5 to 8 p.m. That makes its ticket timing more important than Hudson's. You can't push it to another night, and the museum says tickets are nonrefundable.

It's an outdoor evening at the museum's living history farms. There are wagon rides, cornbread and cookies, hot cider, and costumed interpreters recreating 19th-century winter holidays. "All activities and refreshments are included in the ticket cost." The lineup includes the Smithtonian Handbell Ensemble, Littleton's community handbell choir, in the Museum Classroom, and Jon Chandler in the 1890s Barnyard. The Other Reindeer Carolers are on the bill too.

The museum hasn't posted 2026 ticket prices, so I'm not going to guess at them. Two practical details are published. You can buy online, or at the museum's front desk during normal hours with cash or check. And the FAQ says that if the event is "fully sold out a week before the event," the museum will offer early will-call pickup.

That's why the member head start matters, and it's a full week. Friends members can buy from Nov. 6, and everyone else waits until Nov. 13. If your household is on the fence about a membership, the Friends of the Littleton Library & Museum membership page is linked right from the event listing.

November 27 Puts Two Openings on One Night

Once tickets are sorted, the season starts all at once. Friday, Nov. 27 is the Candlelight Walk downtown and opening night of Hudson Holidays.

The city lists the Candlelight Walk from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m., centered on 2250 Main St. The parade starts at 6:30 p.m. After Santa lights the big tree in Bowles Plaza, a drone show flies over The Melting Pot at the west end of Main Street. Expect carolers, dancing Christmas trees, hot cider, and Santa's reindeer along the way. The drone show is returning, not brand new. The city's 2025 Candlelight StoryMap described a post-parade show of 200 lit drones. One small discrepancy: the Littleton Downtown Development Authority calendar shows the event ending at 7 p.m., while the city's page says 7:30. I'd plan around the city's times and expect the crowd to thin before then.

This is where the Hudson ticket choice from early November pays off on the 27th. Hudson Holidays runs until 9 p.m. and tickets aren't timed. Under the posted rules, an opening-night ticket covers a later arrival after the downtown drone show, as long as you go through just once. Because of the no-refund weather policy, an Any Day ticket is the safer pick for a double-header night. If it's too cold, the ticket still works another night.

Where Main Street Fits Around It

Downtown's holiday stretch starts a week before the parade. The Historic Downtown Littleton events page lists Pink Friday on Nov. 20, a day built around local shopping and merchant specials. It also notes that merchants stay open late for the Candlelight Walk. The day after the parade, Saturday, Nov. 28, is Small Business Saturday, an all-day event organized by Historic Downtown Littleton.

Two newer downtown businesses fit Candlelight night well, each at a different hour:

• Leaves on Main, 2699 Main St., opened Sept. 5. It's a houseplant shop that also carries books and gifts. The Littleton Independent lists hours of 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday and 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday. On Nov. 27, a Friday, that leaves a gift-shopping window before the 5:30 start and Nov. 28 for Small Business Saturday. Any late Candlelight hours would be up to the shop.
• Tonic Zero Proof Bar, 5767 S. Rapp St., serves mocktails, kava, coffee, and cold brew. The Littleton Independent reported daily hours of 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. Of the new downtown spots, it's the one still open after the drone show.

The December Dates You Don't Have to Rush

After Nov. 27, the rest of the season takes less planning:

• Wednesday, Dec. 2: Hudson Holidays' sensory-friendly night. Music is lower and attendance is capped. Hudson notes it "is not a low-sensory event" and suggests bringing items like noise-canceling headphones. Capped attendance means this night has a limit, so it's worth deciding during the November on-sale window.
• Sunday, Dec. 13: Holiday's Evening at the Littleton Museum, 5 to 8 p.m.
• Thursday, Dec. 24: Hudson Holidays closes early, at 7 p.m.
• Sunday, Jan. 3, 2027: the last night of Hudson Holidays.

Hudson Gardens is also adding theme nights this year, with gourmet s'mores, story time with holiday characters, holiday bingo, and Christmas movie trivia. Those dates haven't been posted yet. As of this writing, the Hudson Gardens events calendar only lists October. If a particular theme night matters to your family, that's another reason to buy the Any Day presale ticket. You can lock in the $15 adult price now and choose the night once the calendar fills in.

I keep track of Littleton's calendar the same way I track its housing market, by date and by what changes when. If holiday guests start asking what your Littleton home is worth, Brandon Kass can give you a real answer before the drone show. Get your instant home valuation, and enjoy the lights.