At 6:30 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 5, the Home for the Holidays Christmas Parade comes down into Court House Square at 101 E. Main St. The downtown tree gets lit that night. Two Saturdays later, on Dec. 19, the Scott County Farmers Market Pavilion at 134 N. Broadway hosts Flannel & Frost for the second year. Those two evenings carry the town's December. Most other events on the 2026 calendar fall in the days just before one of them or on the open Saturday between them.
So plan December around two Saturday nights.
December at a Glance
| Date | Event | Time | Where |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sat., Nov. 28 | Small Business Saturday | 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. | Georgetown businesses |
| Tue., Dec. 1 | Georgetown College Holiday Reception and Hanging of the Green | 6 to 7 p.m., then 7 to 8:30 p.m. | Georgetown College |
| Fri., Dec. 4 | First Fridays in Historic Downtown Georgetown | 5 to 7 p.m. | Downtown |
| Sat., Dec. 5 | Home for the Holidays Christmas Parade and Tree Lighting | 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. | Court House Square, 101 E. Main St. |
| Sat., Dec. 12 | Christmas Cookie Decorating with CB Sweets | 2 to 4 p.m. | See listing |
| Sat., Dec. 19 | Flannel & Frost | Evening | Scott County Farmers Market Pavilion, 134 N. Broadway |
| Nightly, Nov. 27 to Dec. 31 | Southern Lights | 5:30 to 10 p.m. | Kentucky Horse Park |
The Week Before the Parade Starts the Season
The first holiday shopping day on the calendar is Small Business Saturday on Nov. 28, which Georgetown/Scott County Tourism lists from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Last year it fell on Nov. 29, and Tourism's announcement pointed shoppers to Historic Downtown Georgetown. It's the daytime start to a season whose bigger events are mostly after dark.
On Tuesday, Dec. 1, Georgetown College lists a Holiday Reception from 6 to 7 p.m., followed by Hanging of the Green from 7 to 8:30 p.m. It's one of the few December events on a weeknight, and it comes four days before the downtown tree is lit.
Parade Weekend Starts on Friday
The parade on Saturday is the main event, but downtown starts a night early. Tourism's calendar lists "First Fridays in Historic Downtown Georgetown" on Friday, Dec. 4, from 5 to 7 p.m., and invites shoppers to browse and support downtown businesses. Friday evening and Saturday evening, back to back, make the first weekend of December the busiest stretch of the season for the blocks around the courthouse.
On Saturday, the Home for the Holidays Christmas Parade and Tree Lighting begins at 6:30 p.m. This year's theme is "A Walk Through Time: Celebrating Holiday Traditions." Georgetown/Scott County Tourism and Georgetown Parks and Recreation are the organizers. The City of Georgetown's calendar lists it from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. at Court House Square.
That start time is later than last year's. The Georgetown News-Graphic's 2025 holiday preview put the 2025 parade on Saturday, Dec. 6, at 5:30 p.m. The city's 2024 listing ran 6 to 9 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 7. All three years held the parade on the first Saturday of December, after dark.
What Last Year's Setup Looked Like
Here's how the News-Graphic described the 2025 parade:
- More than 40 entries followed the usual downtown route, with a "starry celebration" theme.
- Tourism Director Lori Saunders and Parks Director Drew Beckett announced the floats from a stage on Court Street.
- Santa rode last in the parade and lit the tree himself.
- Through-traffic on Main Street stopped at 5 p.m., with Main closed from Military Street to Broadway.
Saunders explained the parking request in the News-Graphic:
"We're going to encourage everyone to not park on Main Street to view the parade so that we have a little bit more room between spectators and floats."
She also told the paper that once Santa lights the tree, "it will remain on." So the courthouse tree stays lit for the rest of the season, including the next two Saturdays downtown.
If this year's closures look like last year's, plan to park off Main Street and walk in before 6:30.
The Middle Saturday Is an Afternoon
Dec. 12 sits between the two big evenings, and its main listing is during the day. Tourism's calendar lists Christmas Cookie Decorating with CB Sweets from 2 to 4 p.m. Participants decorate six cookies with CB Sweets as instructor. The event listing has the details. With no big evening event on the calendar, that Saturday is a good one for out-of-town family visits or for seeing the courthouse tree without parade crowds.
Flannel & Frost Closes Out the Saturdays
The third Saturday brings the newest event on Georgetown's holiday calendar. Flannel & Frost started last year. Georgetown/Scott County Tourism announced it on Dec. 2, 2025, as a new old-fashioned family holiday festival that would turn the Scott County Farmers Market Pavilion into "a festive forest." The first one ran from 6 to 9 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 20, 2025, and admission was free. Scott County Parks and Recreation and Georgetown/Scott County Tourism created and sponsored it, the same two organizations behind the parade.
The 2025 announcement listed a long first-year lineup:
- Holiday lights and holiday photos
- Storytelling with Ms. Claus
- Christmas shopping
- Axe throwing
- Live music from Paint Creek and Mo Bell
- Train rides, face painting and a petting zoo
- Kettle corn and a holiday movie
The 2026 listing puts the second Flannel & Frost on Saturday, Dec. 19, at the same pavilion at 134 N. Broadway. It promises entertainment, contests, festive activities and music "all night long," and asks guests to "throw on your favorite flannel." Like last year, it's on the Saturday before Christmas. The parade opens December's run of Saturday evenings downtown at the courthouse, and Flannel & Frost closes that run at the pavilion.
Weeknights Belong to Southern Lights
The evenings between those Saturdays are mostly open, which is when Southern Lights comes in handy. The Kentucky Horse Park's drive-through display runs nightly from Friday, Nov. 27, through Thursday, Dec. 31, from 5:30 to 10 p.m. It's closed Christmas Day. Friends of Coal presents it, and it includes a Holiday Village and photos with Santa. The entrance is the Kentucky Horse Park Campground entrance at 3785 Campground Road, about three miles south of Georgetown. Southern Lights runs every night of the season, so it fits the weeknights, and the downtown events cover the Saturdays.
Put together, December in Georgetown looks like this:
- Nov. 28 and Dec. 1: daytime shopping downtown, then the Georgetown College reception and Hanging of the Green on Tuesday evening.
- Dec. 4 and 5: First Friday downtown, then the parade and tree lighting at Court House Square at 6:30 p.m. Saturday.
- Dec. 12: cookie decorating with CB Sweets from 2 to 4 p.m., with the courthouse tree still lit.
- Dec. 19: Flannel & Frost at the Farmers Market Pavilion on Saturday evening.
- Any weeknight through Dec. 31: Southern Lights, three miles south, except Christmas Day.
If you have family visiting in December and they start asking what living in Georgetown is like the rest of the year, I'm glad to help them with that. Reach out to Jess Noto whenever you're ready. Let's Connect.
