Marietta's Biggest Holiday Events All Land Between December 3 and 6. Plan the Rest of the Season Around Them.

Lights of Life at Life University runs 36 nights in a row this year, from Thanksgiving through New Year's Eve. Marietta's biggest holiday events get four days. The City's tree lighting, the Pilgrimage Gala, all three days of the Marietta Pilgrimage Christmas Home Tour, and the first Santa photo sessions at the Marietta History Center all fall between Thursday, December 3, and Sunday, December 6.

Most of Marietta's holiday season is easy to work around, and the rest of the calendar has plenty of room. That one stretch is the exception. Lock in those four days first, then fit everything else around them.

The Four Days, Laid Out

Here is the stretch hour by hour, using the organizers' own published schedules.

The Pilgrimage overlap is no accident. Per the Marietta Pilgrimage, the tour is always held the first full weekend in December, and the gala sits on the night before it opens. This year the City's tree lighting falls on that same Thursday, so the season's two biggest Square-area evenings share one night.

Thursday, December 3, Has Two Different Crowds

The City of Marietta's calendar lists the Ugly Sweater Parade & Christmas Tree Lighting at Glover Park from 4 to 8 p.m. that Thursday. The listing gives that four-hour window. It doesn't give the exact moment the tree lights up or the parade route, so check the City page again closer to the date if you're timing a stroller or a dinner reservation around it.

Three hours after the Glover Park event starts, the Pilgrimage Gala begins at the Whitlock Inn. It runs from 7 to 10 p.m., festive cocktail attire is required, and tickets are $100 per person. The gala deadline catches people. Gala tickets must be bought online by 4 p.m. on Tuesday, December 1, two days before the event.

If you're going to one Thursday event and not the other, expect the Square to be busy from late afternoon through the evening either way.

The Home Tour Runs on Shuttles

The Pilgrimage tours five private homes in the Church-Cherokee Historic District, plus a group of Marietta churches, museums and other historic buildings. Visit Marietta and Cobb Landmarks & Historical Society host it, and the organizers call it a holiday tradition going back almost 40 years.

The rule that changes your plans most is parking. The organizers state plainly that no street parking is permitted on the tour route. Free shuttles pick up at Mill Street and at the William Root House and run a continuous loop about every 15 to 20 minutes. The organizers point drivers to the lots off Mill Street and the Cobb County Parking Deck off Cherokee Street. They also note that street parking around the Square fills up quickly.

The ticket details matter too, because of how the weekend is built:

• One ticket covers all three days. You can tour the homes in any order, but each home only once.
• Online sales close at 4 p.m. on December 3, just as the tree lighting gets going. After that, the price is $45 during the tour instead of $40 in advance.
• Tickets aren't sold at the tour homes. Buy and pick them up at the Marietta Welcome Center or the William Root House. Tickets bought online are held there for pickup the week of the tour.
• The tour is for adults and older kids. No children under 8, no photos inside the homes, and no strollers, umbrellas, backpacks, food or drinks inside.
• There are no restrooms at the tour homes. Use the ones at the Welcome Center, the William Root House and the public buildings during tour hours.
• It happens rain or shine, with no refunds.

The organizers also say when the lines are shorter. They recommend touring late Saturday afternoon or Sunday morning. The Friday evening session runs just three hours, 5 to 8 p.m. It's also the night Santa photos start at the Marietta History Center on Depot Street, close to the Mill Street shuttle stop. If you have kids too young for the home tour, Friday night is when the two events fall closest together.

Lights of Life Takes the Pressure Off

The rest of the season is easy to work around, and Lights of Life is the main reason. Life University's campus at 1269 Barclay Circle lights up daily from November 26 through December 31, 2026, from sunset, around 5:30 p.m., until about 9 or 10 p.m. That gives you 36 nights, compared with three for the home tour.

Life University's page lists two different opening dates. The event-details section of Life University's page says November 26, which is Thanksgiving 2026. The FAQ further down the same page still reads "November 27 (Thanksgiving)." Use the November 26 date from the main schedule, and look at the page again before you go on Thanksgiving night.

Admission is $15 per car or truck and $30 per bus, a flat rate any day. You pay at the entrance with cash or a major card, and no advance tickets are needed. That's up from the $10 per vehicle in Visit Marietta's 2025 holiday guide. Even so, one fee covers a whole car, while the Pilgrimage charges $40 per person.

It's mostly a drive-through, but there are designated areas where you can park, walk around, take photos and buy snacks. Carnival rides, train rides and a petting zoo cost a small extra fee, and Life University doesn't list those prices. Lights of Life runs rain or shine unless severe weather makes it unsafe, and the university posts weather updates on social media.

On the night of the tree lighting, the Square is the crowded part of town. Since Lights of Life runs every night, you don't have to squeeze it into that week.

The Quieter Nights Before and After

With December 3 through 6 set, here is what fills the weeks on either side. These are listed in date order, from each venue's published calendar.

1. Holiday films at the Earl Smith Strand Theatre, 117 North Park Square. The Strand's calendar shows A Christmas Story on November 17, Home Alone on November 24, and ELF on November 25, the night before Lights of Life opens.
2. Gift of the Magi 2.0 at Marietta's New Theatre in the Square, 11 Whitlock Ave. It plays weekends from November 20 through November 29, with 8 p.m. evening shows and 3 p.m. Sunday matinees. Tickets for the November 20 show run $24.50 to $53.25 including fees. The theatre's ticket page also lists a 2026 Holiday Flex Pass for $70.50.
3. Victorian Christmas Candlelight Night at the William Root House, December 12, 4 to 8 p.m. It comes six days after the Pilgrimage ends, at one of its shuttle stops. The museum's listing includes warm spiced cider, live historical cooking demonstrations and an ornament craft. Admission is $10 per person and free for Cobb Landmarks members.
4. More Strand screenings in late December. The calendar lists Die Hard on December 15, an It's A Wonderful Life movie marathon on December 22, and When Harry Met Sally on December 27. The Strand also lists a production running December 11 through 21, so check its site for that show's details.
5. New Year's Eve. The Strand closes the year with a Queen tribute concert on December 31, the same night Lights of Life ends.

The Strand's homepage doesn't give showtimes or prices for the films. Buy tickets through the theatre directly once each event page goes live.

A Simple Way to Pace It

Buy Pilgrimage tickets online before 4 p.m. on December 3, or before 4 p.m. on December 1 if you also want the gala. Choose one Thursday evening event. Plan your home tour around the late-Saturday or Sunday-morning windows the organizers recommend, and park in the Mill Street lots or the Cherokee Street deck. Then put Lights of Life on any of the 32 nights outside December 3 through 6, and save the Root House candlelight evening and the Strand's late-December films for after the busy weekend.

If you've lived near the Square long enough to have your own Pilgrimage Saturday or Thanksgiving-night drive-through tradition, Stephanie Lee would love to hear about it. If questions about life in Marietta come up during your holiday plans, Schedule a Free Consultation and we can talk it through over coffee near the Square.