In 1960, Don Hathaway of Montecito Fire went out with his wife, Helen, and their children, Dean and Ronda, and decorated a Monterey pine at what the Montecito Journal describes as the corner of North Jameson and the northbound 101. This was before the roundabout. In the Montecito Association's telling, the family and their neighbors did the work at night and kept it quiet for decades, so a decorated tree simply showed up each December.
Sixty-six years later, that small private gesture is the first event on Montecito's holiday calendar. It also shows how the rest of the season works. Montecito has no single central celebration. December here is a run of small gatherings spread across Manning Park, Coast Village Road, the Upper Village Green and the Corner Green, and a different local group hosts each one.
The tree that moved to Manning Park
The original pine is gone. In 2012, according to the Montecito Journal, Dana Newquist and a few volunteer "elves" raised money and planted an 18-foot Blue Aptos Redwood at upper Manning Park. The tree has been decorated every year since. These days the Montecito Association and its Beautification Committee run the decorating with Montecito Fire.
In 2024 it drew at least 30 adults, a handful of kids and two dogs, with water and cookies on hand. The oversized ornaments are recycled from year to year. That's the size to expect. Firefighters and neighbors spend a weekday afternoon hanging decorations they've used before.
This year's Hathaway Tree Tradition is Wednesday, December 2, at 3 p.m. at Manning Park.
Ten days, five hosts
The Hathaway tree starts things off. Over the following ten days, a different organization hosts each gathering, and nearly every one is on open ground in a village center.
| Date | Time | Gathering | Where | Host |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wed, Dec 2 | 3 p.m. | Hathaway Tree Tradition | Manning Park | Montecito Association, Beautification Committee, Montecito Fire |
| Thu, Dec 3 | 4–6 p.m. | Tree Lighting | Coast Village Road | Coast Village Association, co-sponsored by Montecito Community Foundation |
| Sat, Dec 5 | 5 p.m. | Light Up a Life | Upper Village Green, 1504 E. Valley Road | Hospice of Santa Barbara |
| Tue, Dec 8 | 4:30 p.m. | Montecito Menorah Lighting | Corner Green | Chabad of Montecito |
| Sat, Dec 12 | 3–6 p.m. | Holiday Magic in Montecito | Upper Village, Middle Green | Montecito Association |
The hosts are a merchants' association, a hospice, a congregation, a civic association and the fire district. Each one brings its own people.
Thursday on Coast Village Road
The day after the Hathaway decorating, the Coast Village Association's tree lighting runs Thursday, December 3, from 4 to 6 p.m. The organizer's page says families, friends and "four-legged companions" are welcome, and asks guests to come in holiday attire.
Santa counts down and lights the tree at dark. Hot chocolate with marshmallows and cider will be served. This year's lineup:
- A Nutcracker showcase by State Street Ballet
- The Santa Barbara Youth Symphony quartet, returning
- The Cold Springs Singers, new this year
- Caroling by the Santa Barbara Madrigals, also returning
The Montecito Association's listing adds that Santa collects letters from local children that evening. If a child in your house misses that drop-off, the Upper Village has another letters-to-Santa table nine days later.
One green, two very different evenings
The Upper Village Green at 1504 E. Valley Road hosts two gatherings a week apart. They feel nothing alike.
On Saturday, December 5, at 5 p.m., Hospice of Santa Barbara holds its 43rd annual Light Up a Life ceremony there. Star sales and music come first, and the program starts 30 minutes later. Guests can hang stars in memory of someone who has died or in honor of someone living. Each ceremony includes speakers, entertainment, refreshments and the lighting of a memorial tree. The Montecito Association describes the ceremonies as free and open to the public, and offered for anyone carrying a loss through the holidays.
Montecito's ceremony is the first of four on the South Coast this year. The Santa Barbara Independent's event listing puts the others at the Lobero Theatre on December 6, the Seal Fountain on Linden Avenue in Carpinteria on December 12, and Camino Real Marketplace in Goleta on December 13. If you'd like to attend with family who live in Goleta or Carpinteria, you have dates to choose from.
A week later, the same green fills with craft tables for Holiday Magic.
The Corner Green, three years in
On Tuesday, December 8, at 4:30 p.m., Chabad of Montecito holds its menorah lighting on the Corner Green. This is the fourth year, which makes it the newest gathering on the calendar. Chabad's own page says more than 300 people came last year for music, donuts and the lighting of a 9-foot menorah, and that local support pays for the whole event. The 2024 Hathaway decorating drew about 30 adults, so a three-year-old event now draws ten times that.
If there's a singer in the family, the evening can keep going. The Music Academy of the West's "Sing!" All Choir winter concert starts at 6 p.m. the same night at the Marjorie Luke Theatre in Santa Barbara. Adults pay $10 and anyone 17 or under gets in free.
Saturday, December 12, is the crowded one
Three events share the afternoon of December 12, so it's worth planning ahead.
- Holiday Magic in Montecito, 3 to 6 p.m. The Montecito Association fills the Upper Village with live music, hot chocolate, ornament and card making, letters to Santa and a photo booth on the Middle Green. Tecolote Book Shop hosts a holiday story time, and the San Marcos Madrigals perform. Participating Upper Village businesses stay open for holiday shopping, and admission is free.
- Santa Barbara Strings Winter Concert, 4 p.m. The concert is at Hahn Hall, 1070 Fairway Road. Children get in free and adults 18 and over pay $30 at the door.
- Lotusland Holiday Garden Walk. The Cold Spring Road garden also lists a Holiday Garden Walk for December 12.
Holiday Magic runs three hours and the strings concert starts at 4. A family could spend the first hour on the Middle Green and still make Hahn Hall, or arrive late in the Upper Village after the music, before the 6 p.m. close.
The day before, on Friday, December 11, at 6 p.m., the Music Academy's "Sing!" Miraflores & Riviera concert is at Hahn Hall. The pricing matches the earlier concert, $10 for adults and free for ages 0 to 17.
Lotusland's season starts earlier. A members-only Holiday Garden Walk runs Wednesday, November 25, from 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Patron Circle members get in free and guest passes are welcome. A second walk is listed for November 28.
Between gatherings on Coast Village Road
If the Coast Village tree lighting is also your gift-shopping trip, Marfa Stance's holiday pop-up is open at 1024H Coast Village Road in the Montecito Country Mart. The Montecito Journal reported that it took the former I Heart Montecito Art Gallery space, between Alma Fonda Fina and Rori's Creamery.
A little way along at 1080 Coast Village Road, in the former Well space, Dave Cantin's Sally Boy's Montecito was planned for pizza by the slice, a small market and early-morning coffee, with patio seating only. The same Journal report described it.
Both are new on a street that hosts a holiday tradition every year. Starting December 2, the oldest tradition in town carries on at Manning Park, with recycled ornaments and the fire district helping hang them.
If you're spending your first holiday season here, hosting family for the week, or thinking about which part of Montecito fits the way you like to spend a Saturday, Kendrick Guehr is happy to talk it through over coffee on Coast Village Road. Work With Kendrick.
