Murfreesboro's Holidays Come in Two Weekends: A Planner From the Puckett Station Side of Town

Murfreesboro's 2026 holiday calendar comes in two tight clusters with open stretches between them. Most of the bigger December events open, peak or happen once during two windows: Friday and Saturday, December 4 and 5, then Saturday and Sunday, December 12 and 13. Before that, November's events are smaller and spread out. Several of them are a short drive from Puckett Station, at Barfield Crescent Park and around the south side of town.

So a household here can plan the season in two halves. Treat November as a few easy outings close to home. In December, protect two weekends and let the rest of the month fill in around them.

November stays close to home

These events come one at a time, mostly on weeknights or with a single date, and none of them takes much planning.

• Thursday, November 12. Greenway Bike Ride. This guided four-mile ride starts at Barfield Crescent Park, runs 3:30 to 5 p.m. and turns around at the Southridge Trailhead. It's one week after this post goes up, and it's the closest event on this list to home.
• Saturday, November 21. Murfreesboro Holiday Market. Brianna Victory Events holds its 3rd Annual Murfreesboro Holiday Market inside Stones River Mall at 1720 Old Fort Parkway, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. TN Magazine's listing says admission and parking are free.
• Tuesday, November 24. Animal Thanksgiving. The Wilderness Station at Barfield Crescent Park, 401 Volunteer Road, serves its animal ambassadors their own Thanksgiving meal from 1 to 2 p.m. The program costs $5. It's on a weekday afternoon, so it works best for families whose kids are already out of school that week.
• Tuesday, November 24. Smyrna Christmas Tree Lighting. If you want an early start, Smyrna lights its tree that evening from 6 to 8 p.m. at the Smyrna Train Depot, 98 Front St. Rutherford Source reports that it's free.
• Thursday, November 26. Borodash. On Thanksgiving morning, the Borodash 4-mile race starts at 8 a.m. at Murfreesboro City Plaza, and the 2K walk follows at 8:15. Packet pickup is the day before, November 25, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. at North Boulevard Church of Christ's East Campus. The event raises money for charity and is set up as a Thanksgiving Day outing for families.

That's five events over two weeks. Two are free, and Animal Thanksgiving and Borodash each have a cost. Then the calendar goes quiet until the first Friday of December.

Friday, December 4 is the crowded night

Three separate events start on the same Friday evening, and "Frozen" opens its run at the Center for the Arts that same day. Most of the city's holiday season starts on that one date.

The tree lighting is the main event. Main Street Murfreesboro organizes it, and Middle TN Electric presents it. Free children's activities and carriage rides start at 6 p.m. The stage program begins at 6:30 and includes Santa lighting the tree. From 7:30 to 8:30, Santa takes free photos inside the courthouse. The evening also has a live nativity and an hour of choir music, dancing and acting.

Parking matters if you're coming from the south side. Main Street says parking on the Public Square closes at 4 p.m. that day and directs visitors to the Civic Plaza and County Judicial parking garages. If you arrive at 5:45 expecting your usual spot on the Square, you'll be circling. Head straight for a garage.

The table also shows a scheduling choice. Cannonsburgh opens at 4 p.m. and the tree program starts at 6:30, so a family could do both in one evening, starting at the village and ending at the courthouse. Cannonsburgh repeats every Friday and Saturday through December 19, so you can just as easily skip the village on opening night and keep Friday simple.

Saturday, December 5 is the easy half of the weekend

The day after the tree lighting has fewer events, and they're spread across the day. The Discovery Center at Murfree Spring holds its Holiday Open House from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., with admission reduced to $5 per person. If you've been meaning to try the Discovery Center with kids, this is an inexpensive day to go.

That evening, Cannonsburgh Village is open again from 4 to 8 p.m. Per the City of Murfreesboro's listing, you'll find candlelit rooms with rustic holiday decor, light displays, carolers, live music, letters to Santa, holiday crafts and demonstrations. Admission is $5 per person, and children 5 and under get in free. Tickets are non-refundable and sold online or at the gate.

If the evening hours don't suit you, the village keeps its regular free admission Tuesday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., and you can still walk through the decorated buildings. That makes it a good weekday stop for grandparents visiting before the holiday rush.

December 12 and 13 belong to Oaklands and the parade

The second weekend has fewer events, but each one draws a bigger crowd.

Saturday, December 12. The 43rd Annual Christmas Candlelight Tour of Homes runs from 4 to 8 p.m. through the East Main Street Historic District and Oaklands Mansion. Admission is $30 for adults and $10 for students ages 6 to 12, and children 5 and under are free. Oaklands' tour page has the ticket details. Because it's an evening tour through a historic district, it's the most grown-up event of the season, and it lands on the same Saturday Cannonsburgh is open.

Sunday, December 13. The 2026 Murfreesboro Christmas Parade steps off at 2 p.m. with the theme "A Country Christmas." The route starts at Middle TN Blvd and Main St and ends on Walnut Street, one block past the Public Square. Parks and Recreation is taking entries until Friday, December 4, so any church group, team or business that wants a float has the same deadline as the tree lighting. Because of the afternoon start, you can go to church in the morning and still find a spot along Main Street.

Oaklands also lists guided evening Christmastime tours on two December nights, with slots at 5, 6 and 7 p.m. Tickets are $20 for adults and $10 for ages 6 to 12, and children 5 and under are free. Those dates are still listed as "December TBD." If you missed the Candlelight Tour, keep an eye on the Oaklands events calendar.

The rest of December runs on leftovers

Outside the two big weekends, the month is a handful of smaller nights, most of them after the parade.

1. Thursday, December 10: All Access Night: Holiday Party at the Discovery Center, 6 to 8 p.m. It falls between the two big weekends, and the calendar entry doesn't list a price.
2. Friday, December 18: Christmas at Patterson, a free event from 6 to 8 p.m. at Patterson Park Community Center, 521 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. It has Santa photos, cookies, ornament decorating, storytime and letter-writing.
3. Friday and Saturday, December 18 and 19: The last two evenings of A Charming Christmas at Cannonsburgh Village.
4. Sunday, December 20: "Frozen" closes at the Center for the Arts.

Christmas at Patterson is the best value of the season. It offers the same Santa photos and crafts as the downtown events, costs nothing, and comes after the biggest crowds have passed.

Counting the Cannonsburgh nights

Cannonsburgh's evening hours run on six nights: December 4, 5, 11, 12, 18 and 19. Three of those, December 4, 5 and 12, fall on the big weekends, when downtown is at its busiest. The other three, December 11, 18 and 19, come on nights with much less going on. December 11, the Friday before the parade, has nothing else on this calendar. It's the quietest of the six and likely the easiest night to stroll the village with small children.

For a Puckett Station household, the whole planning job fits on a sticky note: an afternoon at Barfield Crescent Park in November, Borodash on Thanksgiving morning, and two December weekends kept clear. A few things need tickets bought or decisions made early. The Oaklands dinner and Candlelight Tour have set prices, Cannonsburgh tickets are non-refundable, parade entries close December 4, and the Square stops parking cars at 4 p.m. on tree-lighting night.

Holiday guests are often the ones who start asking what it's like to live here. When you're ready to talk about your own plans, the Janelle Sells Team is just down the road. Schedule a free consultation, and we'll make time around your December calendar.