The Tri-Lakes holiday season comes down to two Saturdays this year. On Nov. 28, downtown Monument holds Shop Small Business Saturday, and Palmer Lake holds its 91st Annual Chili Supper & Star Lighting the same day. A week later, on Dec. 5, Small Town Christmas and Monument's Annual Tree Lighting both happen downtown. Palmer Lake's Yule Log events fill in around those dates, starting with a history talk the week before Thanksgiving and ending with the hunt in mid-December. If you live between Woodmoor and Palmer Lake, plan the season around those two Saturdays and treat everything else as a bonus.
| Date | Monument | Palmer Lake |
|---|---|---|
| Thu., Nov. 19 | "History of the Yule Log" talk, 7–9 p.m., Town Hall | |
| Fri., Nov. 20 | Tri-Lakes Women's Club Holiday Home Tour, 10 a.m.–4 p.m. | |
| Sat., Nov. 28 | Shop Small Business Saturday, downtown, 10 a.m.–6 p.m. | 91st Annual Chili Supper & Star Lighting |
| Sat., Dec. 5 | Small Town Christmas, 10 a.m.–6 p.m.; Tree Lighting at Limbach Park from 2 p.m. | |
| Wed., Dec. 9 | 93rd annual Potluck, 6 p.m. | |
| Sun., Dec. 13 | Yule Log Hunt, 1–3 p.m., Town Hall |
Nov. 28 starts with downtown Monument's shops
The Tri-Lakes Chamber of Commerce holds Shop Small Business Saturday every year on the Saturday after Thanksgiving. Downtown Monument businesses run holiday events and offers from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. This year that's Nov. 28. The Chamber makes no secret of why the day matters to it:
"This is the most important shopping day of the year for our local economy."
This year there's a new stop to add. Between the Sips Romance Bookstore and Tea Room has opened at 481 W. Colorado 105, pairing a bookstore focused on romance novels with a tea room. The Gazette's Tri-Lakes Tribune profiled it in October. Regular hours are 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Sunday, so Nov. 28 falls on a day it's normally open. If you want to call ahead about holiday plans, the number is 719-203-6808.
Small Business Saturday ends at 6 p.m., and Palmer Lake holds its own tradition that same day.
The same day, Palmer Lake lights a star it has lit since 1935
The Town of Palmer Lake posted its notice on Oct. 21. The 91st Annual Palmer Lake Chili Supper & Star Lighting is set for Nov. 28, 2026. For times and supper details, check the town's notice page as the date gets closer.
The star has a long history behind it. Springsmag's history of the star says it was first lit for Christmas 1935. The Palmer Lake volunteer fire department maintains it, paid for with money raised at the annual chili supper. So the supper is what pays for the star. A bowl of chili on lighting night goes toward the bulbs that come back on the next year.
The Gazette's 2023 story on the star places it on Sundance Mountain. At the time it measured 457 feet wide and 404 feet tall and used 91 40-watt bulbs. That's a star more than 400 feet across in each direction, outlined by fewer than a hundred bulbs.
Both events landed on Nov. 28, so a single Saturday can take in downtown Monument's shops and Palmer Lake's star.
Dec. 5 brings both of Monument's own traditions to the same blocks
The second Saturday stays in Monument. Small Town Christmas falls on the first Saturday in December on the Chamber's calendar, which this year is Dec. 5. It usually runs 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. downtown, with Santa and Mrs. Claus, reindeer, hay rides and crafts.
Monument's Annual Tree Lighting is also on Saturday, Dec. 5, 2026, at Limbach Park. The park is at 151 Front St., and admission is free. According to the event listing on Happenin', the afternoon goes in two parts:
- 2 p.m. The event starts, with booths of holiday activities and a photo booth.
- 5 p.m. Santa rides in on a fire truck, lights the trees of Limbach Park and visits with kids.
Small Town Christmas runs until 6 p.m., so the two events overlap for the whole afternoon. You could spend late morning on hay rides and crafts downtown, walk over to Limbach Park for the booths and be in place well before the fire truck arrives at 5.
Bring something to donate. The Chamber asks guests to bring nonperishable food for Tri-Lakes Cares and local families in need. The Happenin' listing also asks for new, unwrapped toys for Santa on Patrol. A bag of canned goods and a boxed toy cover both.
The Town of Monument's tree lighting page is the official place to check for any last-minute changes before you go.
Palmer Lake's Yule Log fills the weeks around those Saturdays
The two Saturdays are the busiest days. Palmer Lake's Yule Log tradition covers the weeks around them, and it starts before Thanksgiving.
Nov. 19: the history talk. The Palmer Lake Historical Society hosts "History of the Yule Log" with Patricia and Gary Atkins on Thursday, Nov. 19, from 7 to 9 p.m. at Palmer Lake Town Hall, 28 Valley Crescent St. The program covers the history of the Yule Log and why it came to Palmer Lake. The Society's number is 719-559-0837. It's the talk to catch if you plan to hunt for the log in December.
Nov. 20: the home tour. The next morning, the Tri-Lakes Women's Club Holiday Home Tour runs 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., according to Our Community News. Ticket and route details come from the club.
Dec. 9: the potluck. The Gazette reported this week that the 93rd annual Palmer Lake Potluck is set for 6 p.m. on Dec. 9. At the potluck, people share a dish with the community, make souvenir lapel pins, notch small willow branches and tie red ribbons on pine branches. Villagers also prepare that year's log, 8 to 12 feet long and 10 to 15 inches in diameter. They cut a U- or V-shaped notch in it and decorate it with red ribbon so it's easy to spot.
Dec. 13: the hunt. The Yule Log Hunt runs 1 to 3 p.m. on Dec. 13 at Palmer Lake Town Hall. According to The Gazette, hundreds of participants in red and green capes gather at Town Hall. A trumpet blast starts the hunt, and everyone heads into the woods near Palmer Lake to look for the log. Volunteers rope it and drag it back, with the finder riding on top.
Back at Town Hall, volunteers cut the log in half with the same two-man saw that cut the town's first Yule Log on Dec. 23, 1933. One half burns in the stone fireplace Palmer Lake's volunteer firefighters built in 1936. The other half is saved for next year's celebration. The finder gets the first cup of wassail.
Palmer Lake's volunteer firefighters built the fireplace where the Yule Log burns, and its volunteer fire department maintains the star with money from the chili supper. Both of these traditions date to the 1930s, and this year they fit into the same few weeks as downtown Monument's two Saturdays.
Robin Chambon Kerr is a lifelong Colorado Springs resident who works with buyers and sellers across the Tri-Lakes area. If you're weighing a move to the area or a sale in the new year, Colorado Springs Collective can talk through what Monument and Palmer Lake are like through every season, holidays included. When you're ready, request your home valuation, and we'll start with what your home is worth today.
