The 2024 Winter Holiday Event at Shavano Park City Hall was cold and rainy, and Shavano Park Women still poured 500 cups of hot chocolate. The Grinch was back and posed for photos with kids, parents and pets while a police escort kept watch over him. Santa took pictures. Children and adults played in snow. The Blattman cheerleaders and choir performed, and the night ended with the Christmas tree lighting. That is the account in Shavano Park Women's recap of the 2024 event.
The same recap says the group's poinsettia sale "was a tremendous success once again." Most of what made that evening possible was done before the gates opened. The poinsettias were ordered and paid for weeks earlier. The trees on the lawn were sponsored and decorated by people who signed up in the fall. City Hall was decorated in November.
The 2026 season follows the same order. The festival is on Saturday, December 5, but most of the steps that need your name on a form come due in November. Here is the season in sequence, built from the City of Shavano Park's holiday event page, the city's 2026 tree sponsor form, and Shavano Park Women's own event pages.
One address carries the whole season
The city keeps its civic calendar simple. Every city-sponsored event is held on the City Hall grounds at 900 Saddletree Court, according to the city's events page. In 2026 that list runs from Arbor/Earth Day on April 11, through Independence Day on June 27 and National Night Out on October 6, to the Holiday Festival on December 5.
Because every event happens in one place, the holiday season works like a single project on one lawn, with different groups adding their part at different times. The groups are the city itself, a women's nonprofit that dates to 1952, and any resident, business or group willing to sponsor a tree.
Here is the season in order:
- November 8: RSVPs close for the Shavano Park Women Friendsgiving.
- November 12: Friendsgiving brunch and City Hall decorating, 10 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.
- November 19: Payment deadline for poinsettia orders. No refunds after this date.
- November 23: Poinsettia pickup at City Hall, noon to 5 p.m.
- November 30: Sponsored trees are in place and ready to decorate.
- December 5: Winter Holiday Festival, 3 to 6 p.m.
- January 4: Trees stay up through this date.
The group that decorates City Hall first
Shavano Park Women is the first group on the calendar, and it has been doing this kind of work for a long time. The organization says it has served the community since 1952 and describes itself as a nonprofit focused on charitable, philanthropic, educational and community initiatives. Membership is open to women who live in Shavano Park, according to its About page. A 2013 Express-News report traced the group to Shavano Park Gardeners, which organized in 1952 and became the women's club in 1970. The women's club and the gardening club became separate organizations in 1978.
The group's 2026 Friendsgiving is on Thursday, November 12, from 10 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. at 900 Saddletree Court. The listing combines a potluck brunch, a quarterly business meeting where the group elects its 2027 board, and decorating City Hall. RSVP registration closes November 8 at 11:59 p.m. The 2025 version, held November 13, also included a plant exchange alongside the decorating.
It is a members' gathering, and the event listing is the place to start for women in Shavano Park who are thinking about joining. By the time the rest of the city arrives in December, City Hall has already been decorated by this group.
Poinsettias are paid for in November
The poinsettia sale is where the November deadlines start to matter. The city's November 2025 newsletter called the annual sale a key fundraiser supporting the group's charitable work and community giving.
The 2026 order page lists three sizes of red poinsettias, each in a foil cover:
- 6.5-inch: $15 each
- 8-inch: $23 each
- 10-inch: $30 each
Payment is due by November 19 by cash, check or Zelle, and payment instructions arrive in an order confirmation email. No refunds are made after November 19. Pickup is Monday, November 23, from noon to 5 p.m. at City Hall. Orders of $45 or more are delivered free, but only to addresses in Shavano Park.
The $45 threshold is easy to reach. Three 8-inch plants total $69, two 10-inch plants plus one 6.5-inch total $75, and three 6.5-inch plants come to exactly $45. Anyone who wants more than one plant for an entry, a mantel and a dining table has probably cleared the delivery minimum already, and that saves a weekday afternoon trip to Saddletree Court.
The timing also puts the plants in homes the Monday of Thanksgiving week, a week before the sponsored trees are ready outside City Hall.
The trees go up November 30
The tree sponsorship is the part of the season most open to everyone. The city's 2026 sign-up form challenges "all local individuals, businesses, and groups" to sponsor a tree for December. Each sponsored tree stands in front of City Hall for the month with a sign naming its sponsor. A sponsorship is $75 for a 7-foot tree.
Three details on the form shape how a sponsor plans.
There is no power at the trees. The form says batteries and solar are both allowed. Plug-in string lights that work on a porch will not work on the City Hall lawn, so lighting has to be planned around battery packs or solar strands before decorating day.
The trees are ready by November 30. That gives sponsors the first days of December to decorate before the December 5 festival, when the most people will see the trees.
Decorations stay outside into the new year. Trees remain up through January 4. After that, sponsors can collect their decorations or donate them to the city, and the city says it is not responsible for lost or damaged decor. Weather-resistant ornaments and secure ties are the practical choice for a display that runs from late November into the new year. The 2024 festival happened in cold rain.
The city's holiday page links to the form but does not post a sign-up deadline. Questions about space or timing go to the City Secretary's office at [email protected] or 210-581-1116, the same contact the city lists for anyone who wants to volunteer, donate or sponsor.
December 5 is when it all comes together
By Saturday, December 5, City Hall has been decorated, the poinsettias are in living rooms, and a row of sponsored trees stands on the lawn. The festival runs from 3 to 6 p.m. on the City Hall grounds. The city says a map and timeline are "coming soon."
Two parts of the festival have their own sign-ups, and both need attention before December.
The vendor marketplace. The city invites vendors interested in selling at the event to apply through its online form and notes that "spaces are limited." No fee is posted on the page. For a local maker or small business, a limited number of spaces at a three-hour event is a reason to apply early.
The cookie contest. The holiday page promotes the contest with a call for "amazing bakers," but the 2026 rules, categories and entry cutoff are not spelled out on the page. Bakers can get details from the City Secretary's office before baking a batch.
Past years show what the afternoon looks like. Community Impact's preview of the 2025 festival listed a cookie contest, a choir performance, appearances by Santa and the Grinch, and a tree lighting. The city's December 2024 newsletter described hot chocolate, decorated spaces and a chance to meet Santa. The 2024 recap from Shavano Park Women adds face painting, snow, and a Grinch who arrived with his own police escort.
The city's 2026 page lists the tree sponsorships, the marketplace and the cookie contest, with the map and timeline still to come. Recent years have included Santa, the Grinch, a choir, cookies, hot chocolate, and a tree lighting to close the evening. The city's page says "All are welcome!"
The display outlasts the party by a month
The festival ends at 6 p.m., but the trees stay up for another month. The sponsored trees remain in front of City Hall through January 4, so the display on Saddletree Court is up for the rest of December and through New Year's. Battery- and solar-lit trees will still be glowing after dark well after the festival. That makes the lawn a short evening stop for anyone in town during the holidays, including family visiting for the week between Christmas and New Year's.
After January 4, sponsors either collect their decorations or donate them to the city. Then the 2027 calendar begins, with Arbor/Earth Day set for April 17, 2027, on the same grounds.
If you're sponsoring a tree, ordering poinsettias, or hosting family in Shavano Park this December and want to talk about the neighborhood beyond the City Hall lawn, Aden Stiles is glad to share what he knows about how this small city works the rest of the year. Let's Connect.
