On Saturday, December 12, twelve elves will be hidden along La Mesa Boulevard. They won't be on the vendor tables or under the tents. They'll be tucked into the storefronts between Spring Street and 4th Street, and the only way to find them is to walk the block and look into the shops.
That scavenger hunt is a small part of Holiday in the Village, but it shows how the whole season is put together. The La Mesa Village Association's December calendar runs mostly through the businesses that line the Boulevard all year. The street fair is one day inside a longer stretch that starts when shop owners decorate their windows and ends after the vendors pack up.
Twelve elves, all behind glass
The La Mesa Village Association's event page sets the 11th annual Holiday in the Village for Saturday, December 12, 2026, from noon to 9 p.m. It runs on La Mesa Blvd. from Spring St. to 4th St.
The elf hunt starts at the Information Booth, where you pick up instructions. It runs from 12:15 to 7:45 p.m. Find all 12 elves in the storefronts and you can enter to win an elf of your own.
The kids' shopping program works the same way. Children 10 and under can do their own holiday shopping at more than 50 vendors offering items for $5 or less, all day from noon to 9 p.m. Participating vendors are marked with an asterisk on the event map. With more than 100 vendors on the street, roughly half of them are pricing something for a kid with a five-dollar bill.
The association's own description points past the tents too. It names the surrounding small businesses, with their apparel, home decor, antiques, jewelry and music, plus the restaurants, cafes and bars along the route.
A vote that starts before the street fair and ends after it
The shop windows go up before December 12. In the association's Holiday Storefront Decorating Contest, local businesses turn their storefronts into holiday displays for the season. The public votes online from November 30 through December 13, 2026. Look for voting flyers at participating businesses. The association plans to post the voting link on the contest page.
Line those dates up with the street fair. Voting opens twelve days before Holiday in the Village and closes the day after it. So the busiest Saturday on the Boulevard falls near the end of the voting period, when the windows have been up for nearly two weeks and the elf hunt has everyone looking into them.
That gives the season two speeds. On a quiet weeknight in early December, you can walk from Spring Street to 4th Street, see the windows without a crowd, and vote. On December 12, the same windows are packed with elf hunters, kids with shopping lists, and more than 100 vendor booths out front.
What fills the street on December 12
The windows are only part of it. The 2026 event page lists these sponsored activations along the route:
| Activation | Credited to |
|---|---|
| Ice-skating rink | The Shift Studio |
| Mini golf | The Shift Studio |
| Winter Wonderland | The Shift Studio |
| Santa Nook | La Mesa Lumber |
| Holiday 360 photo op | Pete's Place |
| Mrs. Claus Reading Nook | Event sponsor |
The page doesn't say what surface the rink will use, what it costs to skate, or where on the Boulevard it will sit. Check the association's page closer to the date for those details.
The Shift Studio may be a new name to most of La Mesa, but the company isn't new. According to its February 25, 2026 press release, McFarlane Promotions renamed itself The Shift Studio this year. Past events it lists include the La Jolla Concours d'Elegance, the San Diego Pride Festival & Parade, and the City of San Diego's December Nights. Closer to home, the association says La Mesa Oktoberfest is "sponsored and organized by The Shift Studio (formerly McFarlane Promotions, Inc.)." Ahead of this fall's 53rd Oktoberfest, Times of San Diego quoted Laurel McFarlane of The National Center for Community Enhancement, which it named as the nonprofit that produces the festival. The same article identified her as founder and producer of The Shift Studio. So The Shift Studio name is attached both to October's biergartens on these blocks and to December's rink, mini golf and Winter Wonderland.
Vendors who want a booth can still apply through the association's 2026 vendor approval form. It's open to arts and crafts makers, specialty retailers and food vendors.
Fridays have their own nook
Before the windows go up, the Village already has a weekly holiday-shopping stop. The La Mesa Village Farmers Market runs every Friday from 3 to 7 p.m. October through April. It closes on November 27, which is the day after Thanksgiving, and on December 25 and January 1, 2027.
The newest part of the market is the Market Nook, in the Walkway of the Stars breezeway. It brings together local makers and specialty retail and grocery vendors under wall murals and twinkle lights that come on after sunset. In late fall the sun sets well before the 7 p.m. close, so the lights are on for much of a November Friday. It works like one more small shopfront off the Boulevard, which fits the rest of the season.
Because the market skips November 27, the Fridays left before the contest opens are November 13 and November 20. After that, the December Fridays fall inside the voting window. A reusable bag costs $10 at the Info Booth if you forget yours.
Two dates off the Boulevard
Two other holiday events are run by the city and its partners, away from La Mesa Blvd. One of them is already underway.
The 14th Annual Holiday Toy Drive is a joint effort of the La Mesa Police Department and the La Mesa Chamber of Commerce. It benefits local military families. Toys must be new, sealed and in their original packaging. Drop them off at the Police Department lobby, 8085 University Avenue, by December 1. That's the day after storefront voting opens, and the toy drive ends before the street fair.
The other comes four days after the fair. The city's free Holiday Light Stroll is Wednesday, December 16, at La Mesita Park, 8855 Dallas Street. Check-in with cider and cookies starts at 5 p.m., and the stroll begins at 5:30. Dogs are welcome on a leash.
Here's the full calendar from publish day forward:
- Fridays, November 13 and 20: Farmers market and Market Nook, 3 to 7 p.m.
- November 27: Farmers market closed.
- November 30: Storefront Decorating Contest voting opens.
- December 1: Last day to drop off toys at 8085 University Avenue.
- Fridays, December 4 and 11: Farmers market inside the voting window.
- Saturday, December 12: Holiday in the Village, noon to 9 p.m., with the elf hunt from 12:15 to 7:45.
- December 13: Storefront voting closes.
- Wednesday, December 16: Holiday Light Stroll at La Mesita Park, check-in at 5 p.m.
- December 25 and January 1: Farmers market closed.
For more on the blocks between Spring Street and 4th Street, our La Mesa neighborhood page covers the Village and the streets around it.
At Sladek Homes, we're based in La Mesa, so the Village is our home turf too. If the holiday walk gets you wondering what your own place on these streets is worth this winter, get your free home valuation and we'll walk you through the local numbers.
