Early on the first Saturday in December, an Orange County Fire Authority engine pulls onto a Villa Park street with Santa aboard and members of the City Council riding along as elves. It stops, Santa hands out candy canes, children tell him what they want, families take photos, and the engine drives on to the next stop. The Villa Park Community Services Foundation describes the Santa Tour by Fire Engine as a tradition that goes back decades. This year it runs Saturday, Dec. 5, from 7:45 a.m. to 5:10 p.m.
Eight days later, more than fifty decorated boats covered in lights leave Villa Park High School on trailers and wheels and tour the city's streets. The Foundation calls the Dry Land Boat Parade "an asphalt harbor tour." Villa Park's biggest holiday traditions are built to travel through the neighborhoods. A household's plan comes down to two questions: which corner to stand on, and at what time.
The season, by date and by address
The fixed events all happen at one address, 17855 Santiago Boulevard, where City Hall and the Villa Park Town Center sit. Everything else moves through the city.
| Date | Event | Where it happens |
|---|---|---|
| Sun., Nov. 15 | Diwali Celebration | City Hall, 17855 Santiago Blvd. |
| Thu., Nov. 26 | 2026 Marine Thanksgiving | Host-family homes; Foundation signup |
| Thu., Dec. 3, 6 p.m. | City Council Installation Meeting | City Hall |
| Sat., Dec. 5, 7:45 a.m. to 5:10 p.m. | Santa Tour by Fire Engine | Stops throughout the city |
| Sat., Dec. 5, 6 to 7 p.m. | Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony | Town Center, 17855 Santiago Blvd. |
| Thu., Dec. 10, 4 p.m. | Boat parade registration deadline | City Hall |
| Thu., Dec. 10, 6:30 p.m. | Villa Park Chanukah Celebration | In front of City Hall |
| Sun., Dec. 13, 5 to 6 p.m. | 28th Annual Dry Land Boat Parade | Starts and ends at Villa Park High School |
In this schedule, the moving events are the large ones. The events at City Hall are shorter, and for the boat parade, City Hall is where entries get turned in.
Saturday, Dec. 5 runs on a route all day, then ends at Town Center
The Santa tour is a full day on the engine. Santa and the "VP City Council Elves" board an OCFA fire engine and make stops all over the city. The community guide VillaPark.co says the tour has traditionally made 29 stops in Villa Park. With roughly 7:45 a.m. to 5:10 p.m. on the schedule, the engine spends a short window at each stop. Families plan around a time on a map, not an all-day attraction.
That map has changed. The Foundation's event page says "New Santa Tour Map for 2026!" and labels the listing "NEW ROUTE STOP TIMES." A family that has met the engine at the same corner for years should check the Foundation's Santa Tour page for this year's stop and time before Dec. 5.
The elves have a new connection this year. Over the summer, Villa Park canceled its Nov. 3 municipal election because the three candidates for the open council seats, Nicol Jones, Jordan Wu and Chad Zimmerman, ran unopposed. The Orange County Register covered the candidate filings, and the council appointed the three to four-year terms on Aug. 19. The city calendar has the installation meeting on Thursday, Dec. 3, at 6 p.m. Two days later, the council rides through town on a fire engine.
When the tour ends, the day moves to the one fixed address. The Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony starts at 6 p.m. with ten lighted trees carrying Villa Park decorations, carols from the Villa Park High School Choir, hot chocolate, cookies and another visit from Santa. The Villa Park Women's League and the Rotary Club of Villa Park co-sponsor it. It takes place at the Villa Park Town Center, 17855 Santiago Blvd., which is also the city's listed address for City Hall.
The boat parade runs on city streets, block by block
The 28th Annual Dry Land Boat Parade starts at 5 p.m. on Sunday, Dec. 13. Villa Park High School is both the start and the finish. The Foundation's flyer says there are neighborhood boat watch parties along the route, where people gather to see friends and family go by.
The 2026 route map, printed in the registration packet, loops out from Taft Avenue and covers much of the city. The streets marked with turns include:
- Taft Avenue, the launch and return
- Center Drive, Serrano Avenue and Lemon Street
- Ludwig and Santiago Boulevard, past the Town Center
- Patrician, Ballet, Carmel and Durfee
- Francisco, Vida, Fernando, Laconia, Aberdeen, Providence and Lincoln, near Villa Park Elementary
Choosing a watch spot means finding your street on that map. Because the parade starts at 5 p.m. and returns to the high school, the boats reach different stretches of the route at different times. A house near the start sees the lead boat much earlier than a house on the far side of the loop.
The parade's size has stayed steady. The Register's 2025 holiday boat parade roundup counted about 50 vessels at Villa Park last December, starting and ending at Villa Park High School under the theme "Reeling in the Holidays." In 2021 the Register's photo gallery of the 23rd parade showed Villa Park High students riding in the back of a truck and City Council members aboard an Orange County Sheriff boat, under the theme "Joy to the World." The 2026 theme is "Stars, Stripes & Holiday Lights."
Five awards are given this year:
- Best Use of Lights
- Best Youth Group, for entrants 18 and under
- Best Holiday Spirit
- Most Original
- Best Overall
Thursday, Dec. 10 is the day to go to City Hall
For a household that wants to ride in the parade, City Hall is the place to be on Thursday, Dec. 10. The 2026 registration form costs $20, with checks made payable to VPCSF, and it is due at Villa Park City Hall by 4 p.m. that day. The form asks for the captain's contact details, the driver's insurance company and policy number, a description of the entry's decorations and theme, and a signed liability waiver. Families who miss the deadline can still register at the parade if space remains, but the form warns that late registrants, depending on when they arrive, may not be eligible for awards.
Parade-day guidelines that affect how a family plans its entry:
- Lineup begins at 3:45 p.m., heading eastbound on Taft Avenue outside the Villa Park High School parking lot, and entries check in at the launch-site table.
- Lineup order is first come, first in line. The entry number does not set your position.
- A boat cannot join the lineup until it is fully decorated.
- Everyone has to ride in a boat or "craft" of some kind. Skaters and skateboarders cannot be towed.
- No throwing items from the vessel, including candy. Doing so can get an entry removed.
The candy rule is worth keeping in mind for both sides of the curb. Children at a watch party should not expect treats thrown from the boats, and crews planning to hand some out should plan around the rule.
On the same Thursday evening, the Villa Park Chanukah Celebration takes place in front of City Hall at 6:30 p.m. A captain who turns in a form late in the afternoon is already at the same address a couple of hours before it starts.
November is quieter, and it happens at the same address
The weeks before the parade follow the same pattern. The Diwali Celebration comes to City Hall on Sunday, Nov. 15, around midday. Check the city's calendar listing for the hours. The Foundation's 2026 Marine Thanksgiving is set for Thursday, Nov. 26, from 9 to 10 a.m., and households can sign up there as host families.
After that, the season follows the timeline in the table above: the council is installed on Dec. 3, Santa's engine runs on Dec. 5, the tree lighting is that evening, City Hall takes boat entries on Dec. 10, and the parade runs on Dec. 13.
We love seeing Villa Park's streets lit up for parade night and hearing Santa's engine come around the corner. If you're thinking about how your home will present this season, or what it might be worth come spring, The O'Dell Group can prepare a free, no-pressure home valuation before the boats line up on Taft.
