Yorba Linda’s distinctive holiday event — patriotic Americana decor, a ceremonial tree lighting on the Nixon Library grounds, photos with Santa, his reindeer, and a candlelit stroll through the museum’s gardens.
Each December, the Richard Nixon Presidential Library & Museum in Yorba Linda hosts Stars, Stripes & Christmas Lights — the city’s most distinctive holiday tradition and one of the few presidential-library holiday events in the country. The setting itself is the appeal: nine acres of gardens around Nixon’s birthplace, lit for the season in red, white, and blue.
The evening centers on a ceremonial tree lighting, when the holiday tree bursts into brilliant color in true Americana style. Festive performances, sparkling red-white-and-blue decor, and dazzling Christmas lights fill the grounds. Visitors take photos with Santa, visit his reindeer (a rare feature at any OC holiday event), and enjoy hot cocoa and Back-Burner Soup from Polly’s Pies — a local Yorba Linda institution — while strolling the Library’s gardens by candlelight.
For families in Yorba Linda, Anaheim Hills, and across north OC, this is the season’s most place-specific holiday outing — a Nixon-Library Americana experience nobody else offers.
18001 Yorba Linda Boulevard in Yorba Linda. The grounds run nine acres around Nixon’s birthplace and burial site.
In the early evening each year. Food trucks open beforehand and the program runs into the evening, leaving plenty of time to stroll the lit gardens by candlelight.
Yes — Santa is on hand for photos and the reindeer are on-site, an unusually rare feature for any OC holiday event. Plan to visit both as a centerpiece of the evening.
The event operates on the Library’s grounds rather than as a full museum opening. Museum hours run on a separate schedule; plan a daytime museum visit on a different day if you want the full Library tour.
Polly’s Pies, a local Yorba Linda institution, serves Back-Burner Soup and hot cocoa during the event. Strolling the lit gardens with a warm cup of either is a Yorba Linda holiday classic.
The Richard Nixon Presidential Library & Museum sits on a nine-acre campus in Yorba Linda — Nixon’s birthplace and burial site. The grounds surround the modest 1912 farmhouse where Nixon was born, along with reflecting pools, formal gardens, and the 1990 Library museum building itself. One of fifteen presidential libraries administered by the National Archives, it’s a year-round destination for OC visitors and the city’s most distinctive civic landmark.
Yorba Linda’s 34-year community tradition along historic Main Street — Holiday on Main Street brings a Choo Choo train, petting zoo, photos with Santa, balloon artist, live music, drinks lounge, artisan shopping, and a youth talent show to Old Town for an evening of small-town holiday cheer.
Brian J. Cook
The City of Yorba Linda’s official annual decorating contest and Holiday Lights Map — in its fourth year — invites residents to enter their decorated homes, then publishes a public interactive map highlighting the season’s decorated entries citywide. Free, self-paced, walkable or drivable, and the city’s official kickoff to its residential holiday character.
Brian J. Cook
A new annual community tradition at Yorba Linda’s Town Center fountain plaza — the city hosts an evening tree-lighting ceremony at the open-air shopping center’s central plaza, with balloon-twisting for kids, ornament-crafting stations, festive entertainment, and the tree-lighting moment in the evening. Free, family, and the season’s official Town Center kickoff.
Brian J. Cook
An entire Yorba Linda neighborhood lights up around East Lake Village — synchronized homes, illuminated lakeside paths, and family holiday spirit, free to walk through December. Confirm this season’s display dates on the community Facebook page.
Brian J. Cook
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.
Check Availability
Have a date in mind? Tell us when and where, and we’ll let you know whether Santa is open. House of Kringle brings a real-bearded Santa Claus to Live Visits and Group Experiences across Southern California, and December fills quickly, so the sooner you check, the better your odds of locking in your first choice.
This is a quick availability check, not a booking. Nothing is reserved and nothing is owed until we’ve confirmed your date and you’ve placed your retainer.
