The aluminum cone at Old School Square has been up since mid-October. From Swinton Avenue it looks finished: full height, star on top, unlit. For anyone driving down Atlantic Avenue every day, the tree seems to be standing around waiting for December.
By the City of Delray Beach's own timeline, the weeks between the crane leaving and Santa flipping the switch are the longest part of the job. The City's tree page says the details inside take about a month, and that is why the structure has to go up in October. The tree is a downtown project built in two phases. Most of the work done by named volunteers and local institutions happens during the November weeks when the tree is dark.
Two Weeks of Crane Work, Then a Month of Detail
The City spells out the build, and each step depends on the one before it:
- Aluminum sections are joined into rings. Each ring is smaller than the one below it.
- A crane stacks the rings into the tree shape. The star goes on last.
- The houses go in. Setting the frame and the houses inside and outside the tree takes about 10 to 14 days.
- Volunteers and staff decorate. The inside of the tree and each of the six houses get finished down to small details. The City says this phase takes about a month, even though the tree "looks complete from the outside."
Put those numbers against the calendar. A mid-October frame plus two weeks of setting brings the job to late October or early November. A month of interior work then runs right up to Tuesday, December 1. In mid-November, the decorating is still underway. The finished tree carries 18,000 ornaments and 217,980 individual LED lights. The build schedule has to leave room to hang all of them.
The Houses Inside Belong to People Delray Already Knows
The walk-through tells the story of the "Village by the Sea" in animated holiday scenes, according to the Downtown Delray Beach Development Authority. Some of the houses carry the names of real Delray institutions, and the City credits who decorates them:
- The Spady Cultural Heritage Museum decorates the "Spady House" inside the tree.
- Designer Amanda Perna decorates the "Cornell Museum."
- St. Paul's Episcopal Church provides the crèche.
- Ten tree decorators and volunteers are thanked individually on the City's page.
The tree has been a downtown project from the start. The DDA bought a 50-foot tree in 1993 to help revitalize downtown. Two years later it grew to 100 feet for Delray Beach's Centennial, "100 feet for 100 years." This season marks 33 years of the tradition.
The City's FAQ starts with the question it gets most, "is the tree real?" Its answer: "It may not have grown from mother nature, but the blood, sweat and tears building it is real." The November build schedule shows where that effort goes.
Free to Walk Through, Priced Around the Edges
Walking through the 100-foot tree costs nothing. Santa's Holiday Village around it charges per activity, with tickets sold at the Gingerbread Ticket House:
- Holiday Carousel: $6 per ride, with free rides on December 24 and 25
- Ice Skating: $6, closed December 24 and 25
- Mini Golf: $6, closed December 24 and 25
- Ride All Day Wristband: $20
- Santa Photos: $10 take-away photo
On lighting night, the last ticket sells at 8:30 p.m., and the City notes that this can change with crowd size.
The tree also appears in the City's books. In the City's budget worksheet for budget year 2027, the Special Projects Fund carries a revenue line called "Culture & Recreation Christmas Tree," filed under Charges for Services.
| Budget column | "Christmas Tree" revenue |
|---|---|
| 2024 actual | $138,270.95 |
| 2025 actual | $144,098.36 |
| 2026 actual, year to date | $130,752.49 |
| 2026 amended budget | $120,000.00 |
| 2027 adopted | $116,000.00 |
Two things stand out. First, the 2026 year-to-date figure was already more than $10,000 above the $120,000 the City had budgeted for the year. Second, the City adopted an even lower $116,000 for 2027. On paper, the City plans for less than the tree has brought in during each of the last three budget years.
Other downtown holidays have their own lines in the same section. In 2025 actuals, St. Patrick's Day brought in $31,544.27 and the 4th of July brought in $14,350.00. The Christmas Tree line brought in roughly ten times the Fourth of July figure that year, and it has stayed above $130,000 in every actuals column.
Lighting Night Falls on a Tuesday
The 100' Christmas Tree Lighting Celebration and Yuletide Street Fair runs Tuesday, December 1, from 6 to 9 p.m. at Old School Square, 51 N. Swinton Ave. Santa lights the tree at 7 p.m. Last year's lighting was also on a Tuesday, December 2, according to Boca Post.
Lighting night spreads well past the tree:
- More than 60 vendors set up along Atlantic Avenue, at Old School Square and in Pineapple Grove.
- Food trucks line Swinton Avenue.
- A silent disco runs during the evening.
- Atlantic Avenue closes to traffic from Swinton Avenue to NE 5th Avenue, with carolers and games on the street.
That closure puts the east-west route through downtown on foot from early evening, so plan any Tuesday dinner reservations nearby with that in mind. For a sit-down meal a few blocks north, Boca Magazine reported in September that Ethereal, from the team behind Glimmer Cafe, had opened at 324 N.E. Third Ave., with chef Estuardo Mira cooking a menu that combines European and Latin influences.
After lighting night, the tree and Santa's Holiday Village stay up through New Year's Day.
The Season Around the Tree
West Delray lights its tree more than two weeks before downtown does. Delray Marketplace holds its holiday event Saturday, November 14, from 3 to 6 p.m., with a tree lighting at dusk, Santa, crafts, a train, face painting and cookie decorating. The rain date is Sunday, November 15, according to WFLX.
The City's December calendar after the lighting:
- December 5, 6 p.m.: Holiday School Spectacular
- December 6, 5 p.m.: Grand Chanukah and Menorah Lighting
- December 10, 6 to 8 p.m.: Cocoa, Cookies and Crafts
- December 11, 6 p.m.: Holiday Boat Parade
- December 12, 6 p.m.: Holiday Parade
- December 17, 5 to 9 p.m.: Twilight Tree Market
The Holiday Boat Parade affects traffic on the bridges. Boats are expected to start southbound from Lantana at about 6:30 p.m. and run to the C-15 Canal, south of Linton Boulevard. The City lists Deck 84, Veterans Park, Knowles Park and Boynton Harbor Marina as viewing spots. Its estimated Delray bridge lifts are 7:45 p.m. at George Bush Boulevard, 8:00 p.m. at Atlantic Avenue and 8:15 p.m. at Linton Boulevard. The City cautions that exact closure times are hard to predict. If you're driving between the barrier island and the mainland that Friday evening, plan around that 7:45 to 8:15 window.
The next night, the Holiday Parade runs under the theme "Neon North Pole," along Atlantic Avenue from the Intracoastal bridge to NW 5th Avenue. The City expects more than 70 floats, bands, dance teams and walking groups, with Santa riding on a Delray Beach Fire Department truck. That route passes right by Old School Square, where by then the tree has been lit for eleven nights. The City's contact for vendor questions and event details is Delray Beach Parks and Recreation at 561-243-7250, option 3.
The tree on Swinton shows how much care goes into Delray's public life, and we bring the same care to the homes around it. If you're thinking about what your Delray Beach property is worth this season, Jennifer Kilpatrick FL is glad to talk it through privately. Request a Private Home Valuation.
