The Yountville Veterans Home Cemetery holds 6,000 graves and markers. In December 2022, more than 200 volunteers laid nearly 800 wreaths there, and the Yountville Chamber of Commerce called it a beautiful day. Nearly 800 wreaths for 6,000 graves meant more than five of every six graves went without one.
This year, Holidays in Yountville runs from November 22, 2026, through January 1, 2027. The Chamber's announcement lists more than 50 events. Many of them are hosted by tasting rooms, restaurants, shops and hotels, and they welcome locals and visitors alike. Two dates have a different shape. The season opens with a free gathering at the Community Center and winds down with a Saturday morning at two cemeteries. Both rely on people who live here showing up, and the second one has the biggest gap to close.
The Sunday Before Thanksgiving
The Town & Tree Lighting is Sunday, November 22, at the Yountville Community Center, 6516 Washington Street. Admission is free. The Town of Yountville's event page lays out the evening:
- 4 to 5:45 p.m.: holiday crafts and activities for families inside the Community Center
- Shortly before 6 p.m.: everyone moves outside for performances on the outdoor stage
- 6 p.m.: the Town and the holiday tree light up, with Santa as the special guest
The Town asks that pets stay home.
Last year's lighting fell on Sunday, November 23, 2025, also the Sunday before Thanksgiving, at the same venue with the same 4-to-7 window. That places the town's biggest free event in the quiet stretch before holiday-week visitors fill the inns along Washington Street. Thanksgiving is Thursday, November 26. Small Business Saturday follows two days later, and the merchants' part of the season begins.
Five Weeks on Washington Street
From that Saturday on, much of the calendar runs through local businesses.
The 2nd annual 12 Days of Yountville Cheer runs from November 28 through December 9, with offers covering wine, food, wellness, lodging and shopping. According to the Chamber's 12 Days page, the offers go live on Small Business Saturday. The program first ran in 2025, from November 29 to December 10.
The Holiday Artisan Faire is the next fixed date. It runs December 5 and 6 at the Community Center, opening at 10 a.m. both days, with around 40 artists selling handmade gifts. Santa will be there for photos. Last year the faire was held December 6 and 7, so this year it is a day earlier on the calendar.
The rest of the season is a mix of tastings and pairings, holiday movies and music, grapevine wreath-making, trivia, Christmas karaoke, bingo with bad holiday sweaters, and the 6th annual Latke Throwdown. Restaurants also offer Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's menus. The Napa Valley Wine Trolley has brought back its Holiday Lights Tour. If it rains, a bus replaces the open-air trolley car, and private charters are available Monday through Thursday.
Natalie Leighton, President and CEO of the Yountville Chamber, described the season this way in the Chamber's release, republished by Wine Industry Advisor:
"From craft classes and wine tastings to seasonal open houses and holiday shopping, we hope Holidays in Yountville lights up the season for family and friends in downtown Napa Valley!"
Those five weeks keep Washington Street busy, and the lights are free to enjoy every evening. The calendar's last community date is a different kind of event.
Two Cemeteries, Two Hours Apart
On Saturday, December 19, the Chamber and the California Veterans Home–Yountville host Wreaths Across America in town. There are two ceremonies, one after the other:
| George C. Yount Pioneer Cemetery | Yountville Veterans Home Cemetery | |
|---|---|---|
| Ceremony time | 9 a.m. | 11 a.m. |
| Wreath goal | 120 | 6,000 |
| Wreath placement | Right after the ceremony | Right after the ceremony |
The smaller ceremony is run by a sponsorship group called "Veterans in George C. Yount Pioneer Cemetery," listed as CA0703 on the Wreaths Across America site. In early November 2026, the Veterans Home Cemetery page showed 93 wreaths sponsored and "5,907 To Go."
The date matters too. The Veterans Home ceremony was held December 17 in 2022, December 16 in 2023, December 14 in 2024 and December 13 in 2025. This year it moves to December 19, the latest date in that run and six days before Christmas.
What the 6,000 Goal Has Looked Like
The 2022 ceremony gives a sense of the event. Mayor Marjorie Mohler led it. Wreaths were laid for each branch of service, and the morning closed with Taps. After that, the crowd of volunteers spread out across the cemetery and placed nearly 800 wreaths. In its recap, the Chamber said its goal was to keep increasing donations "in hopes of laying a wreath on each of the 6,000 graves and markers."
The 2022 count of nearly 800 is the most recent completed total the Chamber has published. Set against 6,000, it means the volunteers covered roughly one grave in eight. The 93 wreaths sponsored by early November this year are an early snapshot, since sponsorships keep arriving through the fall. Even so, the distance between the goal and past results is far bigger than anything else on the holiday calendar. A craft table at the Artisan Faire works with 30 shoppers or 300. At the Veterans Home, every unsponsored wreath means a grave goes bare on December 19.
The Chamber pairs this effort with a second partner, the Boys & Girls Clubs of Napa Valley, which takes gift and cash donations through the Holiday Giving page on the Chamber's site.
How the Morning of December 19 Works
There are three ways to take part, and they don't conflict:
- Sponsor a wreath. A $17 donation through the Veterans Home Cemetery page places one wreath at a veteran's grave on ceremony day. The Pioneer Cemetery page takes sponsorships for its 120-wreath goal.
- Volunteer to place wreaths. Both cemetery pages have a Volunteer button. Volunteers place wreaths right after each ceremony and are asked to follow the site coordinators' instructions. The Veterans Home page says there is plenty of parking. Since the Pioneer ceremony starts at 9 a.m. and the Veterans Home ceremony starts at 11, one person can attend both.
- Help with cleanup. Wreaths Across America welcomes cleanup volunteers and asks them to check with the local coordinator for timing.
The tree lights go on Sunday, November 22, at 6 p.m. and stay up through New Year's Day. The town's last community event of the season comes four weeks later, a Saturday morning at a cemetery with 6,000 graves where a wreath costs $17.
If Yountville's yearly traditions are part of why you love living here, Heather Dene would be glad to talk about them, along with whatever plans you're making for the year ahead. Schedule a Private Consultation, and maybe we'll see you at the Community Center on November 22.
