Schertz's Holidazzle falls on Saturday, Dec. 5, 2026. It really works as two separate events that share a name. The morning is indoors at the Schertz Civic Center, and Breakfast with Santa there requires a $10 ticket. The evening is outdoors around Community Circle and costs nothing, and Santa shows up there too. The city describes Holidazzle as the first-weekend-in-December kickoff to the season. It lists Breakfast with Santa, the Kris Kringle Market, winter activities, Mt. Schertz, a snow angel play area and the lighted night parade as one package, but each piece has its own venue, hours and sign-up rules.

Planning gets easier once you see which pieces need action now and which only need you to show up. Two of them reward signing up early.

The morning runs on tickets and the Civic Center clock

The city lists Holidazzle at the Hal Baldwin Municipal Complex, and the City of Schertz gives the Schertz Civic Center's address as 1400 Schertz Parkway, Building 5. Each of the Civic Center's two rooms hosts one of the morning events.

Breakfast is pancakes, sausage, milk and juice. Santa comes in after everyone has been served, then visits with families and poses for photos. The city's Holidazzle page says sessions have limited capacity and calls the tickets "LIMITED," so this is the one Holidazzle event you can miss by waiting too long.

The three sessions fit well with the market. If you take the 9:15 or 10:30 breakfast, you can walk into the Grand Ballroom when the market opens at 10 or soon after you finish eating. The market sells handmade crafts, specialty foods and other seasonal gifts. All $50 vendor booths are taken, and the city says the vendor list is coming soon. Families on the 8:00 session will have finished eating before the market opens.

The Schertz Public Library has an event that same morning on its own schedule. Its Holiday Puzzle Swap runs from 10 a.m. to noon on Dec. 5. It's open to all ages, and you just bring gently used jigsaw puzzles to trade. No registration is needed, and the two-hour window fits between breakfast and the end of the market.

The afternoon gap is part of the plan

The market closes at 3 p.m. and Holiday Hoopla opens at 4 p.m. somewhere else. That hour is your chance to go home, drop off what you bought and get everyone into warmer layers for the evening.

Holiday Hoopla is at the Johnie McDow Sports Complex. The city's parks directory lists it at 955 Community Circle. Keep that street name in mind, because it shapes the rest of the evening.

The evening is free, and the parade comes to you

Holiday Hoopla runs from 4 to 8 p.m. and charges no admission. Santa takes photos until 5:30 p.m. The city describes his exit like this:

"Visit with Santa for photos before he heads back to the North Pole at 5:30 p.m., and don't miss the return of Mt. Schertz—our beloved sledding hill!"

That sentence is why the two halves of Holidazzle compete for the same families. If you mainly want a Santa photo, Hoopla offers one for free, as long as you're there in the first ninety minutes. Breakfast with Santa adds a sit-down meal and a smaller indoor room, and you pay $10 a person for those. Hoopla adds Mt. Schertz, the sledding hill the city brings back for the event, along with treats and other activities. The city is still recruiting food vendors, and it says the list is coming soon.

The Festival of Angels lighted parade starts at 6 p.m. at Pickrell Park and ends on Community Circle Drive. That's the same street as the Johnie McDow Sports Complex, where Hoopla will still have two hours to go. The city promises floats, music and lights. The parade starts half an hour after Santa leaves Hoopla, and it ends on the street where families are already gathered.

For families with young kids, the simplest evening is to get to Hoopla around 4 p.m. and do the Santa photo first. Then sled until dark and stay put while the parade comes to Community Circle. You never have to move the car between the end of the parade and the end of Hoopla.

Why getting there early matters

Road closures are what make arrival time matter. For the 2023 Holidazzle, KSAT reported that roads on the parade route started closing at 4 p.m., major roads closed at 5 p.m., and full closures were in place by 5:30 p.m.

Line that 2023 pattern up with the 2026 schedule and the timing matches closely. Hoopla opens at 4 p.m., about when the first closures began in 2023. Santa's 5:30 p.m. departure matches the time full closures took effect. If this year's closures run on a similar clock, families who arrive at the 4 p.m. opening will get both the easiest drive and the Santa photo. Families who arrive near 5:30 may have trouble with both. Check the city's announcements that week for the 2026 closure plan.

What to handle before Dec. 5

Most of Holidazzle needs nothing more than showing up. Two pieces need you to act ahead of time:

• Breakfast with Santa tickets. You buy them through the city's Holidazzle page, and every session has limited capacity. The city gives no cutoff date, so they're available until they sell out. If your family wants the 9:15 slot so you can go straight to the market, this matters most.
• Festival of Angels parade entries. Registration is free and closes Sunday, Nov. 29. That's the Sunday after Thanksgiving, so a neighborhood group, business, team or church that wants a float should register before the holiday week.

The city is also signing up two other groups, and both close their own gaps in the day. Food vendors for Holiday Hoopla can apply online or call Schertz Parks and Recreation at (210) 619-1850. Volunteers are needed at Breakfast with Santa and at Hoopla activities, so a volunteer could cover the paid morning and the free evening from either side of the table.

Choosing your half of the day

The morning suits families who want a quieter, seated visit with Santa and an early start on holiday shopping. It costs $10 a person and requires a ticket purchased ahead. The evening suits families who want sledding, the parade and a Santa photo without spending anything, and it depends on arriving by about 4 p.m. Families doing both can take a late breakfast session, shop the market, go home during the 3 to 4 p.m. gap and be back on Community Circle when Hoopla opens.

Schertz Parks, Recreation and Community Services runs Holidazzle from 10 Commercial Pl., Building 1. For questions about tickets, vendors or the parade, the department is at (210) 619-1850 or [email protected].

At Melissa Boehringer, we follow the Schertz calendar as closely as the Schertz market, because a city's events show how its streets and neighborhoods connect. If you'd like to talk over how life around Schertz Parkway and Community Circle fits your plans for the coming year, schedule a free consultation.