Last December, the city held events at Doubletree Ranch Park two days in a row. On Friday, Dec. 12, 2025, it hosted Wine Down with the Grinch, a couples' date night with music, adult beverages, dinner and an appearance by the Grinch, from 6 to 8:30 p.m. The next morning, Saturday, Dec. 13, the same park opened for Christmas at the Ranch, a free family day with reindeer, snow sledding, trackless trains and pictures with Santa.
This year only the Saturday is back. The Friday is gone, along with every other city-run evening in the park, and the events that survived are mostly daytime family events. The city's holiday season for 2026 is down to two anchor dates, and the only evening one takes place at a shopping center.
The Cuts Landed on the Evenings
The City Council approved the FY 2026-27 budget, which eliminates four community events: The Amazing Race, Wine Down with the Grinch, Concerts in the Park and Movies in the Park. Mayor Charlotte Wilcox confirmed the list in her October 2026 city update in the Cross Timbers Gazette. Three of the four were evening events at Doubletree Ranch Park.
| Eliminated event | Last-known format | Budget savings, FY 2026-27 |
|---|---|---|
| Concerts in the Park | Free family concert at Doubletree Ranch Park with local bands and food vendors, 7 to 9 p.m. on Oct. 4, 2025 | $21,660 |
| Wine Down with the Grinch | Holiday date night at Doubletree Ranch Park, Dec. 12, 2025 | $7,004 |
| Movies in the Park | Film at dark at Doubletree Ranch Park, with food trucks and yard games beforehand, May 9, 2025 | $3,970 |
| Tri-Town Amazing Race | Listed in the budget without a format description | $3,310 |
The Cross Timbers Gazette's budget coverage reported those savings line by line, plus a separate $9,000 cut to recreation programs. Together, the four events cost about $36,000. Concerts in the Park was by far the largest of them, and it was a free evening on the lawn that asked people to bring only a chair or blanket.
The adult-only event was the smallest in budget terms. When the city last posted a ticket price, in 2023, Wine Down with the Grinch was a 21-and-over evening from 6 to 9 p.m. with entertainment, adult beverages and hors d'oeuvres, priced at $25 for residents and $30 for nonresidents. It was also the city's only December event aimed at adults rather than families.
December Keeps Its Saturday
Christmas at the Ranch is on the 2026 calendar for Saturday, Dec. 12, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Doubletree Ranch Park, 310 Highland Village Road. The city's listing calls it "an annual holiday extravaganza the whole family can enjoy." The 2026 activity list isn't posted yet.
Last year gives a good idea of the format. The city's 2025 listing described a free event with reindeer, snow sledding, a snow-play area, trackless trains, bounce houses and pictures with Santa. Community Impact's 2025 holiday roundup also listed face painters, balloon twisters, crafts and food vendors. Treat those as the 2025 lineup until the city posts this year's.
In 2025, Christmas at the Ranch fell on Saturday, Dec. 13, the morning after Wine Down. In 2026 it falls on Dec. 12, and the city has no Friday event to go with it. The weekend now has one four-hour daytime window at the park, built for families with kids.
Our Village Glows Now Holds the City's Only Holiday Night
The other surviving anchor is Our Village Glows, set for Saturday, Nov. 21, 2026, starting at 5:30 p.m. at The Shops at Highland Village, at FM 2499 and Justin Road. The celebration takes place on the north patio. The program includes a tree lighting and the "Let it Glow! Holiday Light Show Spectacular," with 150,000 LED lights synchronized to holiday music, plus musical entertainment, horse-drawn carriage rides, face painting, cookie decorating, ornament making and Santa's arrival.
Glows is now the only evening holiday event with a 2026 date on the city's calendar. Santa on the Engine, which ran on Thursday evening, Dec. 18, last year, has no 2026 date posted yet. Glows also takes place at the city's main retail center rather than in a city park, so the evening portion of the holiday season has moved from Doubletree Ranch Park to The Shops.
The Shops continues the season after the lighting. Photos with Santa run from Nov. 23 through Dec. 24, and the center's Santa page lists photo packages and visiting hours. The center's holiday page says to check back in November for its other holiday events.
Why a $36,000 Line Item Went Early
Wine Down and the summer concerts were never expensive events. They were cut early because they're the kind of spending that can be dropped quickly. The Flower Mound Times reported that city staff found a $2.1 million funding gap at a July 14 council meeting, and that council trimmed it to $1.6 million at a July 21 work session by locking in the event eliminations and a hiring freeze. The same report quoted City Manager Paul Stevens from the July 14 meeting:
"We are at a point where we need to look at things differently … We built up the fund balance to help us through this time, with the knowledge that we are unable to sustain the continued drawdown of that balance."
The mayor's October update gave the background. Highland Village has just over 70 undeveloped acres left, and some of them are hard to develop. The city's certified property values fell 2.8% from the previous year, and sales tax revenue is projected at 2.0% below last year's budgeted amount. Under the adopted budget, the city tax rate rises from $0.500984 to $0.528541 per $100 of assessed valuation. That adds an estimated $105.74 a year to the average taxpayer's city bill, while total operating spending of $25,702,807 is 1.9% below the prior year's adopted budget. The city's Sept. 16 budget notice lists the other reductions. These include suspending nonprofit funding and the intern program, freezing three vacant positions, and scaling back recreation programming and lighting upgrades.
The five-year forecast projects a General Fund reserve of about 34% for FY 2026-27, above the city's policy target of 20% to 25%. The mayor wrote that those reserves "are not a long-term solution for funding recurring expenses." Events that come back every year are recurring expenses, which helps explain why four of them were cut in one budget.
On Oct. 17, the city held its first annual Village Fest at Doubletree Ranch Park, a free 6 p.m. event with food and drink vendors, a mini-midway, a hay maze, a petting zoo and Le Freak on stage. It may be the last city-run evening crowd at that park for a while, since the city's regular park evenings are now gone.
The Season, Date by Date
With fewer events on the calendar, each remaining date carries more weight. Here is everything confirmed for 2026 so far:
- Wednesday, Nov. 11. The annual Salute Our Veterans Lunch, hosted by the city and the Highland Village Business Association. Veterans and one guest attend free through community sponsorships. The mayor's update says more than 250 veterans from Highland Village, Lewisville, Flower Mound and nearby communities typically attend.
- Saturday, Nov. 21, 5:30 p.m. Our Village Glows on the north patio at The Shops at Highland Village.
- Monday, Nov. 23, through Thursday, Dec. 24. Photos with Santa at The Shops at Highland Village.
- Saturday, Dec. 12, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Christmas at the Ranch at Doubletree Ranch Park.
The Friday before Christmas at the Ranch has no city event this year. Anyone who went to Wine Down will need to plan that night on their own. A dinner reservation at The Shops would put you a short walk from the light show and the tree.
City events, park schedules and tax rates all affect what a Highland Village address is like day to day. If you're thinking about how changes like these fit with plans for your own home, Betsy Daniel is glad to talk it through over coffee this season. Schedule a Consultation whenever it suits your calendar.
