You can't step out of your car at Christmas in the Redwoods this year. The cottages, cabins and coastal redwoods at Alliance Redwoods will be lit on select December nights, and the loop takes about 15 minutes. Guests stay in their vehicles the whole way, because every other part of the event happens five minutes down the road in downtown Occidental.
So once you finish the drive-through, the rest of the night takes place in town. Six Occidental businesses take turns hosting the Santa and Bigfoot stop over the course of the show. The night you reserve sets the rest of your evening: dinner at Negri's, a gallery on a Friday, or a Saturday at a restaurant that just got a new name.
Why Every Evening Now Ends in Town
According to Alliance Redwoods' Christmas in the Redwoods page, the 2026 show runs December 5–6, 11–13 and 18–21, from 5:30 to 8 p.m., rain or shine. Reservations are required. Admission is $10 per car, and tickets went on sale November 1.
A few rules worth knowing before you book:
- Vans and smaller vehicles only. Buses and limos are not allowed.
- No one gets out of their vehicle on the Alliance Redwoods property.
- Plan on up to 30 minutes of waiting in the parking lot at peak times. The timed reservations are meant to keep cars from backing up onto the highway.
For 2026, the town portion is organized with the Occidental Community Council. The Council is an all-volunteer nonprofit, and Alliance Redwoods describes it as a partner in combining Christmas in the Redwoods with Occidental's Holiday Lights Celebration. Participating businesses are also decorating the town. The full stop list is on Alliance Redwoods' Occidental Holidays page.
Nine Show Nights and Six Hosts, Plus Everything Else in December
Below is the Santa and Bigfoot rotation, set beside the other events happening in and around Occidental over the same dates.
| Date | Drive-through | Santa and Bigfoot in Occidental | Also that day |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fri, Dec. 4 | No | None | Occidental Community Choir, 7 p.m., Occidental Center for the Arts; Guerneville tree lighting |
| Sat, Dec. 5 | Yes | Altamont General Store | Choir, 3 p.m.; Guerneville Parade of Lights, 7 p.m. |
| Sun, Dec. 6 | Yes | Negri's Italian | Choir, 3 p.m. |
| Fri, Dec. 11 | Yes | Galleria Occidental | Choir at Tomales Town Hall, 7 p.m. |
| Sat, Dec. 12 | Yes | 3782 Bohemian Highway, now Bohemian Bistro | Occidental Holiday Crafts Faire; choir at the Glaser Center, Santa Rosa, 7 p.m. |
| Sun, Dec. 13 | Yes | Negri's Italian | Crafts Faire; choir at the Glaser Center, 3 p.m. |
| Fri, Dec. 18 | Yes | Galleria Occidental | Christmas at the Inn at Occidental begins |
| Sat, Dec. 19 | Yes | Inn at Occidental | Christmas at the Inn |
| Sun, Dec. 20 | Yes | Inn at Occidental | Christmas at the Inn |
| Mon, Dec. 21 | Yes | Lake Imagery Gallery and Studio | Final night of the drive-through and of Christmas at the Inn |
A few patterns show up. Negri's hosts on both Sundays. Galleria Occidental hosts on both Fridays. The Inn hosts the Saturday and Sunday of the last weekend. The only weeknight on the schedule is Monday, December 21, which is also the last night of the show.
Opening Weekend Pulls in Two Directions
The season in Occidental starts a day before the lights. The Occidental Community Choir performs at Occidental Center for the Arts, 3850 Doris Murphy Court, on Friday, December 4 at 7 p.m. It repeats the concert Saturday, December 5 and Sunday, December 6 at 3 p.m. General admission is $25, and children 12 and under get in free.
The 3 p.m. Saturday concert lets out well before the 5:30 p.m. drive-through opening. You can see the choir in the afternoon and the lights after dark without driving back and forth across West County.
Saturday's Santa stop is the Altamont General Store. It describes itself as a coffee house, bakery and eatery, marketplace and community hangout, with mostly gluten-free, organic and vegan food, organic soft serve and natural wines. Sonoma Magazine reported that it opened in March 2020.
Saturday, December 5 also has an event along the river. The Russian River Chamber of Commerce's Parade of Lights goes down Main Street in Guerneville at 7 p.m. This year's theme is "A Holly Dolly Parade of Lights." Highway 116 traffic will be detoured that evening, and rain can postpone the parade. The Chamber says the weekend begins with a tree lighting on Friday, December 4. If your Saturday has both Occidental and Guerneville in it, plan around the detour before choosing a drive-through time.
Two Sundays at Negri's
Santa and Bigfoot are at Negri's on December 6 and December 13, and the restaurant's Sunday hours line up well with the light show. Negri's lists Sunday dining from 3 to 8 p.m. and Friday and Saturday dining from 4 to 8 p.m. The family has run the restaurant since 1943. It serves scratch-made food from recipes handed down through four generations, and Joe's Bar pours cocktails, Sonoma County wine, beer and cider.
Because Negri's opens at 3 p.m. on Sundays, you can eat early, catch Santa, and still drive to Alliance Redwoods before the show closes at 8. On December 13, the Holiday Crafts Faire is open the same day a few doors away.
December 12 Brings the Most to One Stretch of Bohemian Highway
The second Saturday has more going on in one place than any other night of the season.
The Occidental Community Council's 2026 Holiday Crafts Faire runs Saturday and Sunday, December 12 and 13, at the Occidental Community Center, 3920 Bohemian Highway. That evening, Santa and Bigfoot visit 3782 Bohemian Highway, just down the same road.
The published schedule lists that stop under the address's former name, Hazel Restaurant. Hazel opened in 2015 and served Cal-Italian food, including wood-fired pizzas. In January 2025, Sonoma Magazine reported that Hazel's owners were looking for a new location because the building they leased was slated to be sold.
The room now operates as Bohemian Bistro, led by chef Ray Martinez. The Sebastopol Times reports that its prix fixe dinners have been served in Occidental since May. Sonoma Magazine's June 2026 profile notes that the building's cob oven passed from Bistro des Copains to Hazel's owners and now to Bohemian Bistro.
The same October story describes a menu that changes every week. Bohemian Bistro describes its food as seasonal, wood-fire cooking built on French technique with global influences. Dinner is a four- or seven-course prix fixe.
The restaurant's site lists dinner Thursday through Sunday from 5 p.m., with last seating at 8. It also holds community-night pop-ups on Wednesdays from 5 to 7 p.m. A multi-course dinner takes much longer than a quick dessert stop, so if you're pairing it with the 5:30 to 8 p.m. drive-through, reserve both and decide which comes first.
On the same weekend, the choir moves its concerts to the Glaser Center in Santa Rosa, at 7 p.m. Saturday and 3 p.m. Sunday. It also performs at Tomales Town Hall on Friday, December 11 at 7 p.m. If December 4 through 6 don't work for you, those are the other chances to hear the concert this season.
The Last Four Nights Center on the Inn
The final stretch, December 18 through 21, is built around Christmas at the Inn at Occidental. It runs 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. each night, starting at the same time as the drive-through and ending half an hour after the show closes. The Inn's program includes carols around the piano, fire pits in the courtyard, local wine at the bar, and free hot chocolate and Christmas cookies for kids. The Inn describes Bigfoot as an Occidental holiday tradition.
On regular weeks, the OX Wine Bar is open 4 to 7 p.m., Wednesday through Sunday. It pours nearby wines by the glass or bottle and serves cheese and charcuterie plates and spiced nuts. The Inn has also announced Local Table, a restaurant with a rotating chef residency.
Santa and Bigfoot's official stops for this stretch are Galleria Occidental on Friday the 18th and the Inn on Saturday and Sunday. On Monday, December 21, the last night of the season, they visit Lake Imagery Gallery and Studio. It is the only night of the run that falls on a weeknight, which may make it the easiest to book.
If you'd like to talk through how Occidental and the Bohemian Highway corridor fit the way you want to spend your weekends, Borrall Homes knows West County well, from the choir's Friday concerts to Sunday dinners at Negri's. Book an Appointment, and we'll share what we know about the small towns between the redwoods and the river.
