West Covina's City Holiday Season Ends December 12. The Mall Carries It to Christmas Eve.

The events run by the city and its civic partners are packed between November 16 and December 12, 2026. They take place at City Hall on Garvey Avenue and along South Glendora Avenue in historic downtown. On Saturday, December 12, the Kiwanis Children's Christmas Parade and Santa's Village fill the morning, and the same day is the last for dropping a letter in the Letters to Santa box at City Hall.

That leaves twelve days before Christmas when the season moves almost entirely indoors to Plaza West Covina, where Santa photos run through December 24. If you plan around that December 12 cutoff, you're less likely to show up at City Hall with a child's letter a day late.

The 2026 calendar, in order

Plaza West Covina scheduled the start of its season for Friday, November 13, with its Holiday Magic tree lighting in the Food Court and Center Court. The event listing included a holiday market by Simply Crafted Markets and photos with Santa. Here's what remains as of this week.

Every city event in the table falls on or before December 12. Every event after that date is at the mall.

City Hall hosts two of the three city events

The civic season starts and ends at the same building. The city's event calendar lists Letters to Santa as an all-day event at City Hall, 1444 West Garvey Avenue South, from Monday, November 16 through Saturday, December 12. That's close to four weeks to get a letter written and dropped off, and the window closes on parade day.

Let It Snow takes over the same address on Friday, December 4, from 6 to 9 p.m. The city's Let It Snow vendor application shows what kind of evening it is. Booths cost $50 for a 10-by-10 non-food space and $100 for a temporary food booth or a food truck or cart. The city also offers fee waivers to up to five nonprofits. Those prices are low enough for small local sellers and community groups to take part, so the booths you'll see on the City Hall grounds will likely include neighbors as well as businesses.

Let It Snow is the only city-run evening event on the December calendar, and it's on a Friday. If you have a free weeknight in early December, December 4 is the one to save.

South Glendora Avenue on December 12

The parade is the city's biggest holiday morning. It has also stayed in one place. The city calendar lists the 2026 Children's Christmas Parade & Santa's Village for Saturday, December 12, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. The West Covina Kiwanis presents the event, and the city's 2025 event page shows how it has run recently.

In 2025 it worked like this:

• Start: Historic Downtown West Covina at South Glendora Avenue and Walnut Creek Parkway, with the parade stepping off at 10 a.m.
• Line-up: Entrants checked in from 8 to 10 a.m. next to BMO Bank at 401 S. Glendora Ave.
• Who could march: Youth teams, families, schools, youth groups, churches and individuals. Kiwanis preferred pre-registration but welcomed walk-ups. It's a walking parade, and strollers and wagons were allowed.
• Santa's Village: At the end of the route near the freeway, open 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., with food, games, boutiques, a farmers market, entertainment, a petting zoo, jumpers and pictures with Santa.
• Questions: The event line was (626) 260-1997.

The street plan has barely changed in years. Under the city's 2025 agreement with Kiwanis, the city closed South Glendora Avenue between Lakes Avenue and Dalewood Street for the parade. Back in 2019, the City of West Covina's parade notice described the same route. It started at South Glendora Avenue and Walnut Creek Parkway, went north on South Glendora, and ended at the Santa's Village parking area behind the Edwards theater structure at 195 S. Glendora Ave. That year's closures ran from 5 a.m. to noon. They covered shopping-center entrances off South Glendora Avenue, Vincent Avenue and Walnut Creek Parkway, Lakes Drive at South Glendora, and southbound South Glendora at Dalewood.

Those two years show what parade morning on South Glendora has usually looked like. If your Saturday errands normally run through the shopping centers along that stretch, plan to do them before or after the parade on December 12.

Parade day also closes out Letters to Santa at City Hall. Dropping a letter there on the way to the parade is the last chance the city calendar offers for 2026.

After December 12, the season moves to Plaza West Covina

The mall's calendar covers the weeks the city calendar doesn't, and it's built around specific groups of visitors. The schedule appears on Plaza West Covina's holiday page and in its 2026 holiday hours PDF.

Sensory-friendly Santa runs on two Sunday mornings, November 29 and December 6, from 10 to 11 a.m. The mall describes it as a soothing setting for families who want a quieter visit. Both dates fall before the parade, so families who want a calm Santa visit and the parade can fit both in by mid-December. Booking goes through the mall's Santa photo service, linked from the holiday page.

Pet photos with Santa are on three Tuesday evenings: December 1 and 8 from 4 to 8 p.m., and December 15 from 5 to 9 p.m. Only dogs and cats are allowed as non-service animals, and they must be secured. December 15 is the only pet-photo night after the parade.

Regular Santa photos continue daily from November 13 through December 24.

12 Days of Giveaways starts December 7 on the mall's Instagram account, @PlazaWestCovina. Entry means following the account and any tagged partner, liking the post, tagging three friends and filling out an entry form, with one entry allowed per day.

Holiday hours matter most at the edges of the season. The mall is closed Thanksgiving Day and opens at 8 a.m. on Black Friday, closing at 9 p.m. During the week before Christmas it stays open until 10 p.m. on several days. On Christmas Eve it closes at 6 p.m., it's closed on Christmas Day, and it reopens December 26 from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. If you're shopping last-minute on December 24, the 6 p.m. close is the time to plan around.

A new place for a holiday dinner near Eastland Center

This year there's also a new option for a December group dinner. Fogo de Chão opened on Monday, November 2 at 2625 E. Eastland Center Dr., according to the company's announcement on GlobeNewswire. It's the Brazilian steakhouse chain's thirteenth Southern California location. To mark the opening, the company pledged 10% of the restaurant's first week of sales to Shepherd's Pantry, which provides food, resources and services to people in need.

The layout suits groups. The release describes an open churrasco grill, a Market Table, a Bar Fogo area and private dining rooms that guests can reserve. Those private rooms make it a practical choice for office parties and family dinners in December. Weekday lunch starts at $22 per person and includes the Market Table, the Feijoada Bar and Brazilian side dishes served family-style. Bar Fogo runs an all-day happy hour with cocktails from $6, and a weekend Brazilian brunch adds made-to-order waffle and omelet stations. General Manager Cristiano Machado came over from the company's Huntington Beach restaurant. The release says the West Covina location will provide more than 100 local jobs.

Fogo adds to the Eastland-area food scene covered in our earlier look at what's new to eat, drink and do in West Covina. For a busy Saturday in December, you could start with the parade on South Glendora in the morning and finish with dinner near Eastland Center.

Plan around the twelfth

Here are the dates to put on the calendar now. Friday, December 4 is Let It Snow at City Hall. Saturday, December 12 is the parade, Santa's Village and the last day for Letters to Santa. After that, Plaza West Covina hosts pet photos on Tuesday, December 15 and Santa photos through 6 p.m. on December 24.

At The Mark & Al Team, we've watched West Covina's December calendar for years, and we know how much a few busy weeks can affect showings, moves and closing dates. If you're thinking about listing or buying in West Covina and want a plan that works around the holidays, request a free home valuation or consultation and we'll walk you through the timing.