Camarillo's December Comes Down to Two Saturdays

Camarillo's December 2026 calendar falls mostly on two Saturdays, Dec. 5 and Dec. 12. Each of those days runs in two shifts. In the daytime, the Pleasant Valley Recreation & Park District runs events at the Community Center and its park on East Burnley Street. In the evening, the Camarillo Merchant Association runs its Old Town Glow events on Ventura Blvd. The weekday exception is the Camarillo Ranch, which holds its Santa Nights on a Tuesday and a Wednesday at the start of the month.

That layout is newer than it looks. Last year Old Town's Glow Holiday Walk was on a Friday. This year it moves to a Saturday, which puts both of Old Town's big December nights on the same days as the park district's daytime programs. The walk's general admission also has a price now. If you're blocking out the month, plan around those two Saturdays first.

The Ranch Goes First, on Weeknights

The first stop of the season isn't on a weekend. Christmas at the Ranch with Santa runs Tuesday, Dec. 1, and Wednesday, Dec. 2, from 4 to 8 p.m. at the Camarillo Ranch, 201 Camarillo Ranch Road. The Camarillo Ranch Foundation calls these its annual Santa Nights. Admission is free. A professional photographer takes pictures with Santa for $20.

The rest of the evening gives the Ranch a different feel from anything else on the calendar. The Camarillo Ranch House is decorated for the holidays and open for tours, and on the Dec. 2 night the tour includes the Ranch Workers Exhibit. Santa's Workshop is set up in the Red Barn. Victorian carolers perform, local craft vendors set up, and festive drinks and treats are sold.

One line on the Dec. 2 event page still says the nights fall on "Dec. 2 & 3." That's last year's calendar. In 2026, Dec. 1 is the Tuesday and Dec. 2 is the Wednesday, which matches both of the foundation's event listings and their 4 to 8 p.m. times.

So the Ranch is the only big Santa event in town that doesn't share a day with anything else. Once those two weeknights are over, the season moves to Saturdays.

Saturday, Dec. 5: Cookies in the Morning, Lights at Night

The first Saturday starts at the Community Center. Letters to Santa runs there from Nov. 16 to Dec. 5, so the mailbox window closes the same day the season's first Saturday opens. If your kids want their letter in, have it done before Dec. 5.

The same morning, Cookies with the Clauses runs from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. in the Community Center Auditorium at 1605 E. Burnley St. It costs $10 per person. Adults get in free unless they decorate cookies too.

Four hours later, the action moves to Ventura Blvd. The Camarillo Old Town Glow Holiday Walk runs from 5 to 8 p.m., with check-in at 2195 Ventura Blvd. Participating Old Town businesses serve holiday drinks and treats and compete in a Holiday Lighting Contest that guests vote on. There's also a festive costume contest, along with music, carolers and Santa out on the boulevard.

Ticket prices, as listed by the Merchant Association:

• Presale General Admission: $20, all ages, covering drinks and treats from the businesses, the lighting contest vote and the costume contest
• Presale All-Inclusive: $40 for guests 21 and over, adding 15+ alcoholic tastings of wine, beer and spirits, plus 10 giveaway tickets for baskets and gift cards from more than 20 Old Town businesses
• At the door: $30 general admission and $50 all-inclusive
• Children under 14: free with a paying adult

What changed from 2025

Last year's walk was the 6th annual, held Friday, Dec. 5, 2025, from 5 to 8 p.m. The Conejo Valley Guide listing called it free and family-friendly, with a $35 upgrade for the drink tastings. This year has three differences. The walk moves to a Saturday. General admission now costs $20 at presale. And the tasting ticket goes from $35 last year to $40 at presale.

Moving to a Saturday is what lines up the two shifts. A family can do cookies at the Community Center in the morning and walk Ventura Blvd that evening without anyone needing to take a Friday off. The tradeoff is that the evening now costs something even if no one in the group drinks.

Saturday, Dec. 12: Parade at 10, Snow at 5

The second Saturday follows the same pattern on a bigger scale.

The 64th annual Camarillo Christmas Parade has the theme "A Coastal Christmas." It starts at 10 a.m. at Temple Avenue and Las Posas Road, heads down Las Posas, turns onto Carmen Drive and ends at Community Center Park, 1605 E. Burnley St. The park district expects it to last an hour and a half to two hours. The district's own advice is to bring chairs or blankets and set up along the curb.

Santa's Village runs alongside the parade from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the park, with holiday vendor booths, food trucks, crafts, an inflatable and photobooth pictures with Santa. Admission to both is free. Santa photos start around 12:30 p.m., depending on when the parade finishes. Public parking at the Community Center also opens at 12:30 p.m. If you're driving in for the village, you'll probably arrive about when the parade wraps up.

The detour map on the park district's page is labeled for 2025, and the page gives the route and start time but no street-by-street closure times for Las Posas Road or Carmen Drive. If you live along the route or need to get across it that morning, check the PVRPD page closer to Dec. 12.

At 4 p.m., the second shift starts in Old Town. The Camarillo Old Town Glow Pop-Up Holiday Village takes over Studio Channel Islands Art Center, 2222 Ventura Blvd., until 9 p.m. It's split into two areas:

• The front vendor village, free: more than 30 vendor booths, food trucks, free face painting, a pay-per-drink bar for guests 21 and over, and Christmas carolers in the front parking lot
• The back Holiday Snow Village, ticketed: more than 30 tons of real snow, a holiday train ride, photos with Santa, a costume contest, live music and an obstacle course

Evening timeline from the Merchant Association:

1. 4 p.m.: the vendor village opens
2. 5 p.m.: check-in opens for the back Snow Village
3. 6 p.m.: Santa photos begin and run until 9
4. 6:30 p.m.: live music begins and runs until 9

Snow Village tickets are $15 at presale. At the door they're $20 by card or $15 in cash. Everyone needs a ticket to get past check-in, whatever their age. The event goes on rain or shine, and tickets are non-refundable.

This village isn't new. The VC Reporter's 2025 holiday roundup listed it for Dec. 13 last year, at the same art center, with snow, Santa photos and a train ride, and tickets at $10 cash or $15 by card. This year's presale price matches last year's card price, and the cash price at the door is up $5.

Where Santa Shows Up, and What It Costs to Get There

Santa appears at four separate events, and the cost is different at each one.

The pattern holds across the table. The park district's daytime events at the Community Center and its park are free or cost $10 for cookies. Old Town's evenings sell tickets, and the Merchant Association's village page says ticket sales help pay for events, activities and programs throughout Old Town Camarillo. On Dec. 12 you can get two Santa photos in one day, one at the park around lunchtime and one in the snow after dark, with a two-hour gap between Santa's Village closing at 2 p.m. and the vendor village opening at 4.

Before December starts, there are a few November dates. Letters to Santa opens Nov. 16 at the Community Center. For anyone who wants a run before Thanksgiving dinner, the Ventura Turkey Trot starts its 5K at 8 a.m. on Thursday, Nov. 26, near Hofer Drive and King at the Ventura Auto Center. The Kids 1K follows at 9:15. Parade vendors face their own deadlines. Applications for Santa's Village are due Nov. 6, with late applications accepted through Nov. 20.

For planning purposes, the Old Town presale prices are the ones to lock in early. Buying at the door costs $10 more for the Glow Walk, at either ticket level, and $5 more for the Snow Village if you pay by card.

If you're thinking about selling in the new year, the weeks between the Dec. 12 parade and January are a good time to get a clear read on what your home is worth before the spring market. Request your home valuation from The Carolan Group, and we'll put together a pricing picture that fits around your holiday plans.