Lake Forest Tree Lighting
Lake Forest, CA
Lake Forest’s beloved community holiday tradition — now in its fourth-plus decade, with an afternoon-and-evening of kids’ activities, food, carolers, dancers, Santa, and the city’s official tree lighting.
Lake Forest’s beloved community holiday tradition — now in its fourth-plus decade, with an afternoon-and-evening of kids’ activities, food, carolers, dancers, Santa, and the city’s official tree lighting.
The Lake Forest Annual Tree Lighting Holiday Celebration has run for more than 40 years — it’s among the city’s largest and most beloved holiday events, and one of the most genuine community-built traditions in south Orange County. The afternoon-into-evening program is built around the families who actually live in Lake Forest, not around tourists.
The event takes over the Civic Center area and runs roughly 1 PM to 7 PM with kids’ activities, food and beverages, carolers, performances by the Lake Forest Dance Academy, and meet-and-greets with Santa Claus before the tree itself is lit toward evening. The Friends Foundation organizes it; the community shows up.
For families in Lake Forest and across south OC, this is the December community pivot. The city also runs a separate beloved tradition — the Kids Only Holiday Shop at Gorton Community Center — where children can shop for family gifts in a kid-centered setting.
At the Lake Forest Civic Center, 100 Civic Center Drive. The afternoon-and-evening event takes over the surrounding grounds.
Roughly 1:00 PM to 7:00 PM, with the official tree lighting toward the evening end of the program. The afternoon hours run kids’ activities, carolers, and the Dance Academy performances.
Yes — Santa makes meet-and-greet appearances throughout the event. The line grows in the late afternoon as the tree lighting approaches; visit earlier for a shorter wait.
That’s a separate Lake Forest tradition at the Gorton Community Center, where children can shop for family gifts in a festive kid-centered setting. It runs around the same season and is worth pairing if you have a child of gift-buying age.
Yes — the afternoon length, the food vendors, and the performances make it work for older kids and teens. Younger kids do best in the afternoon hours before the crowd peaks for the tree lighting.
The Lake Forest Civic Center brings together City Hall, the city’s main outdoor gathering plaza, and the open lawn that hosts community events year-round — a single campus on Civic Center Drive built to handle the city’s festivals. Lake Forest itself sits at the south end of the Saddleback Valley, with the Saddleback Mountains as its backdrop, and the Civic Center is the city’s social heart for the family-oriented community that lives in the surrounding planned neighborhoods.
Southern California’s holiday lights and festive outings are pure magic — but nothing compares to Santa Claus himself stepping through your own front door. House of Kringle brings a real-bearded, professionally trained Santa to homes and gatherings across SoCal for an intimate live visit your family will treasure for years.