Melissa Holtzlander brought tea towels home from her travels the way other people bring home shot glasses. Over a decade she added china and antique furniture for a tea house she had no opening date for. On Sept. 29 she opened it in Suite 8 at 251 Front Street. The towels, the china and the furniture all made it into the room, according to The Monument Independent.
Ruby Rae's Vintage Tea House is the newest stop on Front Street heading into the holidays. For residents, its timing points to a bigger pattern on the Tri-Lakes calendar this year. Through November, the season runs one event at a time across separate weekends and weeknights. Then on Saturday, Dec. 5, most of it happens on the same day.
Dec. 5 carries three events
Start with the date that has the most on it, because the rest of the calendar makes more sense once you see it.
| Event | When | Where | What's confirmed |
|---|---|---|---|
| Monument Hill Kiwanis Club, 20th Annual North Pole at Tri-Lakes Arts and Crafts Fair | 9 a.m. | Not listed in the calendar entry | Date and start time on the Monument Independent community calendar |
| Small Town Christmas | 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. | Historic downtown Monument | The Chamber lists it every year for the first Saturday in December, which is Dec. 5 this year |
| Monument's Annual Tree Lighting | Time not yet published | Limbach Park | The Tri-Lakes Chamber lists Saturday, Dec. 5, 2026 |
The Kiwanis North Pole comes first on the Monument Independent community calendar, starting at 9 a.m. That listing marks its 20th year.
Downtown, the Tri-Lakes Chamber lists Small Town Christmas for the first Saturday in December from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. It includes visits from Santa and Mrs. Claus and their reindeer, hay rides, crafts and other traditional Christmas activities. The Chamber describes this as a yearly pattern, so check for a 2026-specific listing before you plan the whole day around it.
The same Chamber page gives the tree lighting an exact date: Saturday, Dec. 5, 2026, at Limbach Park. It promises festive activities, live entertainment and food trucks before Santa arrives to light the trees. Guests are asked to bring nonperishable food donations for Tri-Lakes Cares and local families in need.
Put together, that's a craft fair in the morning, downtown Christmas activities through the afternoon, and Santa at Limbach Park to close it out. The tree lighting has no published start time yet. Put a few cans of food in the car now so you don't scramble for them that evening.
November hands you each event on its own day
If Dec. 5 is the busiest day, the November calendar is the opposite. Each event gets its own date, with gaps in between:
- First Friday and Saturday of November: Downtown Monument Holiday Open House. By the calendar, that's Nov. 6 and 7, the weekend after this post goes up.
- Saturday, Nov. 14, 9 a.m.: Holiday Boutique at the SPCS school gym, 124 First St., with vendors and a bake sale.
- Thursday, Nov. 19, 7 to 9 p.m.: "History of the Yule Log" with Patricia and Gary Atkins at Palmer Lake Town Hall.
- Friday, Nov. 20 and Saturday, Nov. 21, 10 a.m.: Tri-Lakes Women's Club "Joys of the Holiday Season" Holiday Home Tour.
- Sunday, Nov. 22 and Sunday, Nov. 29, 2 p.m.: Taproom Sessions at Goat Patch Brewing Company.
- Saturday, Nov. 28: Small Business Saturday in historic downtown.
That list covers four weeks. Each item gets a date with nothing else major on it. Each of the next three sections takes one stretch of it.
Downtown opens the season before the rest of the calendar does
The Chamber's listing for the Downtown Monument Holiday Open House is short: "1st Friday and Saturday in November," with food, fun, special events and sales as downtown businesses kick off the holiday season. The page doesn't give 2026 hours or a list of participating shops. Treat Nov. 6 and 7 as the expected weekend and check with your favorite shops before you go.
For anyone who hasn't walked downtown since summer, Ruby Rae's is the obvious new stop. The tea house serves afternoon tea in three sizes by reservation. Walk-ins can order a pot of tea or a cream tea, or browse the teas, china and gifts. Some of the china is for sale. Holtzlander retired from the Air Force in 2023 and runs the tea house with her husband, Gerald, and their children. She told The Monument Independent:
"After 20 years of service, being able to build this dream alongside my husband and children means everything to me."
Afternoon tea is reservation-only, and the season's busiest days are already on the calendar. If you're hosting family over Thanksgiving or want a seat on Dec. 5, book through Ruby Rae's now.
The rest of a downtown loop is already familiar. Covered Treasures Bookstore is at 105 Second Street, and The Monument Mercantile is at 183 Washington Street. The Chamber's downtown directory also lists Serranos Coffee Company, Trails End Taproom, Lolley's Ice Cream and Local Landing Bar & Bites for food and drink. It labels Bair Brew Coffee at 225 Front Street, Unit 100, as "coming soon."
Downtown gets a second shopping day on Nov. 28. The Chamber lists Small Business Saturday in historic downtown from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., with holiday events and offers. It calls the day "the most important shopping day of the year for our local economy." The Monument Independent's listing confirms the 2026 date. That gives downtown three big occasions this season: the Open House weekend, Nov. 28 and Dec. 5.
Mid-November moves to Woodmoor and Palmer Lake
Between downtown's first weekend and Thanksgiving, the calendar shifts away from Front Street.
The Holiday Boutique on Nov. 14 stays close to downtown, at the SPCS school gym at 124 First St. It opens at 9 a.m. with vendors and a bake sale, according to the Monument Independent listing.
The following Thursday, Nov. 19, Patricia and Gary Atkins present "History of the Yule Log" at Palmer Lake Town Hall, 28 Valley Crescent St., from 7 to 9 p.m. The talk is hosted by the Palmer Lake Historical Society. It's a weeknight event, and it sets up the season's last event 24 days later.
That Friday and Saturday, Nov. 20 and 21, the Tri-Lakes Women's Club runs its Joys of the Holiday Season Holiday Home Tour. The tour covers five decorated homes in northern El Paso County and benefits local nonprofits, public education and service providers. Both days start at 10 a.m. The community calendar lists Hospitality House at the Woodmoor Barn, 1691 Woodmoor Drive, for both mornings.
Goat Patch Brewing Company at 1756 Lake Woodmoor Dr. fills the Sundays on either side of Thanksgiving. Its Taproom Sessions bring Mark Gillick on Nov. 22 and Chuck Snow on Nov. 29, both at 2 p.m.
After Dec. 5, the season ends in the Palmer Lake woods
Once Dec. 5 is over, the calendar spreads out again and moves a few miles northwest.
On Wednesday, Dec. 9, the Yule Log Association holds its Yule Log Potluck at Palmer Lake Town Hall at 6 p.m., the Wednesday before the hunt. Volunteers bring a dish to share and make the souvenir lapel pins given to hunters, which are notched willow branches stamped with the year and tied with pine and red ribbon, according to the Monument Independent listing.
The hunt itself is Sunday, Dec. 13, from 1 to 4 p.m., starting at Palmer Lake Town Hall. The Palmer Lake Historical Society describes hundreds of children and adults in red and green capes searching the snowy woods near town for the hidden log. Whoever finds it rides it back to Town Hall while the rest of the party pulls it along on ropes.
The details make the case for coming back every year. Hunters cut the log with the same two-man saw that cut the town's first Yule log in 1933. Half the log burns in the stone fireplace that Palmer Lake's volunteer firemen built in 1936 just for this celebration. The other half is saved to start next year's fire.
It's also the only event on this calendar that sits a full week after Dec. 5, which leaves room to go without giving up anything else.
If Dec. 5 is going to be a full day for your household, get on Broadmoor Homes Co's list and we'll send you the tree lighting start time once the Town posts it, along with the Open House details as soon as they're confirmed. Let's Connect.
