Where is Placentia's Christmas tree going up this year? It's at none of the addresses from the last two Decembers. On January 7, 2026, the City of Placentia announced its Centennial lineup. The last item was a "City Birthday Party and Tree Lighting Event" set for December 5, 2026, at Champions Sports Complex.
That puts the 2026 tree at 505 Jefferson St., on a Saturday, as part of the city's 100th birthday. It's the third location in three years. If your December habits were built around Chapman Avenue or Santa Fe Avenue, this year's calendar works differently.
Three Decembers, three addresses
Over the past three years, Placentia's tree lighting has changed venue and partner event every year, and in 2026 it moves from a Thursday to a Saturday.
| Year | Event name | Day and date | Location |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | Tree Lighting Ceremony | Thursday, December 5, 6:00 to 9:00 p.m. | Placentia Civic Center, 401 E. Chapman Ave. |
| 2025 | A Very Tamale Holiday, with the tree lighting | Thursday, December 11, 4:00 to 10:00 p.m. | Old Town, at Santa Fe Ave. and Bradford Ave. |
| 2026 | Centennial Birthday Celebration, announced as Birthday Party and Tree Lighting | Saturday, December 5 | Placentia Champions Sports Complex, 505 Jefferson St. |
The 2024 ceremony was a three-hour weeknight event at the Civic Center. In 2025, the city folded the tree lighting into a much bigger Old Town festival. In 2026 it moves again, this time into an event built around the anniversary of the city's incorporation. December 5 is the only thing that repeats from 2024, and this year it falls on a Saturday.
What the tree lighting was paired with last year
The 2025 move explains what's different now. The Fullerton Observer's December 23, 2025 report says A Very Tamale Holiday was held "in partnership with the City's annual Tree Lighting Ceremony, combining two major community traditions into one festive celebration."
The tree was paired with a much older tradition. The Observer reported that Placentia has held a tamale festival for 31 years. The Santa Fe Merchants Association started it, with Placentia business owner Rosalina Davis leading the effort, and ran it for the first 28 years. The city has overseen and expanded it for the past two. The tree lighting itself started "more than a decade ago," according to city officials in the same article.
The 2025 version was large. According to the Observer:
- Organizers expected 18 food vendors, including six dedicated tamale vendors.
- Some vendors make between 600 and 1,000 tamales each for the night.
- The tree stood about 18 feet tall and took staff a few weeks to decorate.
- Turnout runs roughly 5,000 to 8,000 people each year.
- Free parking was available at off-site lots, with a free shuttle running all evening.
The event's own website advertised real snow in a North Pole Playground for sledding and building snowmen, along with live entertainment, a beer garden and the tree lighting ceremony. Nicolette Drulias, the city's Communications and Marketing Manager, described the work behind it to the Observer:
"On the City's end, planning begins months in advance of the festival, involving coordination with Public Works, Police, Fire & Life Safety, vendors, performers, local businesses, and sponsors."
In 2025, then, the tree lighting was one feature of Old Town's biggest night. In 2026 it's one feature of the city's birthday, at a different venue. The city's December 2026 calendar lists one large public celebration, the Centennial Birthday Celebration on December 5. The tamale festival's website still shows the December 11, 2025 date.
Why the date is December 5
The birthday sets the date. A September 17, 2024 City Council staff report lists Placentia's centennial as December 2, 2026, and says the December birthday party is meant to commemorate the 100th anniversary of incorporation. December 2 falls on a Wednesday this year, and the party is the following Saturday.
The Saturday date ends a year-long program. The city's January announcement opened the Centennial with the Mayor's Centennial Gala on January 24 at Alta Vista Country Club, followed by a 5K Run on May 2. The Fall 2026 Palm Quarterly lists Symphony in the Park on September 12, the Placentia Library Local History Lecture Series on October 21, and the Centennial Birthday Celebration on December 5 as the last items on its Centennial calendar.
The Quarterly credits sponsors with offsetting the year's costs. Kraemer Land Company is the Gold Centennial Sponsor. The city describes the Kraemer family as one of Placentia's founding families. Audi North OC and the County of Orange Fourth District Office of Supervisor Doug Chaffee are listed as Silver Sponsors.
What's planned at Champions Sports Complex
The Placentia Chamber of Commerce listing calls it the "City of Placentia 100 Year Birthday Bash." It lists admission as "FREE!" and promises "carnival-inspired entertainment, activities, and plenty of ways to celebrate this incredible milestone in Placentia's history."
The Guide Orange County's listing credits the city's event page and gives the fullest program:
- Carnival rides and games
- Live music and entertainment
- Food trucks and vendors
- A beer and wine garden
- A dedicated kids zone
- An evening Centennial drone show to close the night
The tree lighting comes from the city's January announcement, which named the night the "City Birthday Party and Tree Lighting Event." The setup is different from 2025. In 2025, the event was centered on the corner of Santa Fe and Bradford, with off-site parking lots and a shuttle. This year everything is in one place, the sports complex at 505 Jefferson St.
Planning the evening around the posted hours
Two listings give two time windows. The city calendar lists 4:30 to 10:00 p.m. The Chamber and The Guide OC list 1:00 to 9:00 p.m. Both windows include 4:30 to 9:00 p.m., so plan your visit inside those hours.
A plan that holds up under either window:
- Check the city's page that week. The city has a dedicated Centennial Birthday Bash page, and the 2025 festival posted its entertainment schedule and shuttle routes as the date got close. Community Services takes questions at (714) 993-8232.
- Arrive by late afternoon. At 4:30 p.m. the event is open under both listings, and you have daylight for the carnival rides and kids zone.
- Stay into the evening for the tree and the drone show. The Guide OC describes the drone show as the end of the night, and the city puts it under the same event as the tree lighting.
- Budget for the Centennial Store. The city sells Centennial T-shirts for $20, sticker sets for $1, keychains for $5, water bottles for $20 and an afghan for $50, at City Hall's Community Services counter and at city events throughout the year.
The Old Town event draws roughly 5,000 to 8,000 people a year, according to the Observer. If the birthday party draws a crowd that size, it will all be at one complex for a free Saturday event that's also a once-in-a-century birthday. The Observer reported that the 2025 parking plan used off-site lots and a shuttle. Watch the city's page for this year's version.
Old Town still has Centennial items on its menus
Moving the tree doesn't take Old Town out of the Centennial. The Fall 2026 Palm Quarterly lists participating businesses with Centennial-themed items. Broken Timbers Brewing Company at 116 W. Santa Fe Avenue has a limited-time Centennial drink. Its posted hours are noon to 10:00 p.m. on Saturdays and 2:00 to 10:00 p.m. Tuesday through Friday. On Kraemer Boulevard, La Cova Cocina Restaurant & Bar at 1390 N. Kraemer has a citrus Centennial drink every day, and it's open until 9:30 p.m. on Saturdays.
That means Old Town can be your stop on the actual anniversary, Wednesday, December 2, when Broken Timbers is open from 2:00 to 10:00 p.m., and Champions Sports Complex can be your Saturday. On December 5 you could also stop by Broken Timbers at noon, three and a half hours before the city calendar's start time. Either way, the Centennial adds a second December date for Old Town on top of the birthday party.
At the Bald Brothers Team, we follow Placentia's calendar because it affects when buyers come out to look at homes. If you're thinking about listing after the Centennial ends, we'll build your timeline around the city's December and the first weeks of 2027. Start the Two Week Selling System™ and get your free plan.
