On Sunday, Dec. 6, tow trucks start working the Village at 8:30 a.m. That's four and a half hours before the first float leaves Kline Street and Girard Avenue. According to the official No Parking Map, cars are "towed promptly" in two waves, at 8:30 a.m. and 11:30 a.m. The parade itself takes about 90 minutes. The disruption to the neighborhood starts in the early morning and lasts until 5 p.m.

This is the 70th La Jolla Christmas Parade & Holiday Festival. The theme is "A Village Christmas – Celebrating 70 Years of Holiday Tradition." The anniversary year also adds a Christmas Market to the festival, and a Santa visit on Girard runs before noon. Together they spread the day well beyond the parade.

The parade lasts 90 minutes, but the day runs about eight hours

Here's how Dec. 6 runs, according to the organizers and their 2026 forms:

1. 8:30 a.m. First tow-away deadline on the posted streets.
2. 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Santa visits in front of Chase Bank in the Village.
3. 11:30 a.m. Second tow-away deadline.
4. 1 p.m. The parade leaves Kline and Girard, and the Holiday Festival opens at the La Jolla Recreation Center.
5. About 2:30 p.m. The parade reaches its finish at the Rec Center, where Draper Avenue meets Prospect Street.
6. 3 to 4 p.m. A second Santa window, this one at the festival.
7. 5 p.m. The festival closes.

The Santa visits are free. The parade's online reservation form gives families a priority slot plus a Santa Visit ticket by email to show at check-in, and walk-ups are welcome as space allows. A family that books the 11 a.m. slot at Chase can be on the curb along Girard before the parade starts at 1 p.m., without coming back into the Village.

The event has never been canceled in its 70 years. Organizers call it rain or shine and say they'll follow the City of San Diego's direction if a severe storm comes in.

Which curbs have to be empty

The streets on the No Parking Map cover most of the Village north of Prospect, plus the route down to the Rec Center:

• Ivanhoe Avenue, both sides, down to Torrey Pines Road
• Girard Avenue, both sides, from Torrey Pines Road through Kline Street to Prospect Street
• Kline Street, both sides, between Ivanhoe and Fay
• Herschel Avenue, both sides, between Torrey Pines Road and Silverado Street
• Torrey Pines Road, both sides, between Herschel and Virginia Way
• Wall Street, between Girard Avenue and the alley
• Silverado Street, between Herschel Avenue and Girard Avenue
• Prospect Street, both sides, between Girard and La Jolla Boulevard
• Draper Avenue, both sides, between Silverado and Kline

The map sets each block's deadline at either 8:30 or 11:30. If you live on or park along any of these streets, check your block on the No Parking Map before Saturday night rather than Sunday morning. The organizers' general advice is to park outside the event perimeter. San Diego MTS's event page suggests Route 30 for anyone coming by bus.

ADA parking is in the Wells Fargo lot at 7714 Girard Ave. You need a pass to get through the barricades, and the parade website has the request phone number and email. To reach the lot, turn from Fay Avenue onto Silverado Street, show the pass at the checkpoint, and follow the alley to the lot just before Kline.

What the 70th year adds at the Rec Center

Because the parade ends at the Recreation Center, everyone walking the route ends up at the festival. The festival includes arts and crafts, robotics and technology, local animal rescues, pony rides, bounce houses and face painting. Sounds by the Sea, the festival's music and performing arts program, has performances on the Rec Center lawn all afternoon.

The new piece this year is the La Jolla Christmas Market. KPBS lists it as new for 2026, with local makers, artisans, small businesses and vendors. The organizers' vendor application says the market is "inspired by the warmth and charm of traditional European Christmas markets," with specialty food producers and gift vendors along with artists and makers. It runs as part of the 1 to 5 p.m. festival.

One local vendor is already planning to be there. The San Diego Union-Tribune's La Jolla business roundup reports that the Fa La La Store, an online shop selling "Fa La La La Jolla" shirts, sweatshirts, hats and baby clothes, plans to have a booth at the festival.

The parade, festival and market are all free. They're run by the La Jolla Christmas Parade & Holiday Festival Foundation, a volunteer-run 501(c)(3) funded entirely by donations from local businesses and community members.

Two weeks earlier, the same blocks host the shops

On parade day, Girard Avenue holds the crowds. On Sunday, Nov. 22, the same stretch hosts its shops. The La Jolla Village Merchants Association's Holiday Open House runs from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. with more than 30 participating businesses and free family activities. The list includes Warwick's, Geppetto's, Bowers Jewelers, Brick & Bell Cafe, Girard Gourmet, Meanley & Son Ace Hardware, MANGELSEN Images of Nature Gallery, Sweet Paper, World Tribe Cashmere, Shepherd YMCA Firehouse and Inn by the Sea. If you register ahead, you get a free event map, the program and a link to discounted parking.

The date follows a pattern. The Open House was set for Nov. 24 in 2024 and Nov. 23 in 2025, the Sunday before Thanksgiving both years. One newcomer is also using it as a launch. La Jolla Perfume & Cologne at 7606 Girard Ave. soft-opened in August and is holding its grand opening during the Open House.

Black Friday comes five days later. The Fa La La Store is holding an in-person shopping event that morning, Nov. 27, from 9 a.m. to noon in the lobby of the Life Time fitness center at 1055 Wall St. Nine days later, the block of Wall Street off Girard is on the parade's no-parking list.

The Saturday before the parade, on Fay and Girard

Two Village events land on Saturday, Dec. 5, the day before the parade. The Flower Pot Cafe and Bakery holds its third annual Holiday Market at 7530 Fay Ave. from 11 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., with crafts and food. The same morning, Warwick's hosts its Holiday Dog Party with Santa Paws at 7812 Girard Ave. from 11 a.m. to noon, with Santa photos, treats and prizes.

Next door to the Flower Pot, Mavi Mediterranean at 7536 Fay Ave. is aiming to open Wednesday, Dec. 2. The restaurant is a sister to Mimoza Mediterranean in downtown San Diego. According to the Union-Tribune's September roundup, it plans Turkish-inspired dishes, grilled meats and seafood, mezze, craft cocktails and live music, plus Pera 26, a speakeasy-style room with its own entrance and separate reservations.

Here's the Village calendar from now through mid-December:

Dinner down the hill at La Jolla Shores

The parade perimeter covers the Village, not La Jolla Shores. On Avenida de la Playa, two businesses that opened this fall sit well outside the barricades. Casa Del Lobo at 2246 Avenida de la Playa opened Aug. 18. It serves specialty coffee, matcha and locally made pastries from 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. every day, and it sells handcrafted ceramic planters and fountains made in Mexico in the same space.

On the same street at 2259 Avenida de la Playa, the former Sandpiper Restaurant space, Shio La Jolla held its grand opening Oct. 24. The Japanese restaurant serves sushi rolls, nigiri, sashimi and noodle dishes, plus a 12-piece Tasting Shio menu at $200 that requires at least two people. It opens at 5 p.m. on Sundays and serves until 9:30. That's the same hour the Holiday Festival closes at the Rec Center, so parade-goers can head to the Shores for dinner as the Village empties out.

Robert is a San Diego native and has lived on this coast since 1973. If you're planning around Dec. 6, or you have questions about how the Village works on its busiest Sundays, Robert Blank Realtor is happy to talk it through. Get in Touch.