The first holiday trees in Brookhaven's parks won't be decorated by a city crew. Each one will be decorated by whoever claims it: a family, a small business, a civic group, a congregation. Explore Brookhaven runs the Brookhaven Holiday Tinsel Trail with the City of Brookhaven, and registration closes Saturday, Oct. 31.
That makes this Saturday the real start of Brookhaven's holiday season, five weeks before anything is lit at Blackburn Park. Much of the season you will walk past in December gets set in motion between now and early November, by neighbors and in parks spread across the city.
A tree is assigned before it is decorated
The Tinsel Trail is a sign-up program. The Explore Brookhaven event page invites residents, businesses, organizations and community groups to take part. Explore Brookhaven and the city then give each participant a specific tree and installation space, and decorations have to stay inside that space.
The 2026 calendar is short:
- Registration: opened Oct. 1 and closes Oct. 31, through the form linked on the event page.
- Installation: Nov. 16 through Dec. 1, between 9 a.m. and 6 p.m.
- Deadline: every tree has to be finished by Dec. 1.
That's about two weeks to decorate after a month to sign up. The trees then stay up through the season, according to Brookhaven Local Today's holiday guide, which also notes the walk is free to visitors. The event page doesn't list a fee for decorators, so ask Explore Brookhaven before you register if that matters to you.
Four sites, with one goal per district
What sets the Tinsel Trail apart from a single big display is where it goes. Explore Brookhaven says it wants a trail location in each City Council district, so the trees are spread across the city instead of grouped around one centerpiece.
| Trail location | Address | Nearby landmark |
|---|---|---|
| Blackburn Park 2, as Explore Brookhaven lists it | Blackburn Park, 3493 Ashford Dunwoody Road | Same park as Light Up Brookhaven on Dec. 3 |
| Skyland Park | 2600 Skyland Drive | Neighborhood park |
| Langford Park | 1174 Pine Grove Avenue | Neighborhood park |
| Peachtree Creek Greenway, Police Department side | 1793 Briarwood Road | Greenway trailhead |
So your nearest decorated tree may be on your regular walking route and not across town. A tree on the Greenway, for example, sits on a path people already use day to day. The event page also says locations can shift for accessibility, parking, public safety, park operations or visibility, so the final placement could differ from the list above.
No list of decorators or tree count has been published, so who fills these spaces depends on who registers by Saturday.
Before the trees, a park gets painted
The neighbor-made part of the season starts a week after registration closes, at a park the city has just voted to make bigger.
Brookhaven's Paint the Park was postponed earlier this fall due to inclement weather. The city moved it to Saturday, Nov. 7, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at a new location, Lynwood Park, 3360 Osborne Road, according to the city's rescheduling notice. The city provides art supplies and canvases first come, first served, and artists can bring their own. King of Pops and face painting are part of the day.
There are prizes, judged in three age groups: 7 and under, 8 to 13, and 14 and up. Winners are featured in the city's annual Paint the Park calendar. That puts it in the same category as the Tinsel Trail, a city program whose finished product is made by residents and stays in use long after the event day.
Lynwood is in the middle of a change of its own. On Oct. 13, the Brookhaven City Council authorized buying 1020 Mendell Circle, a parcel of about 1.3 acres next to the park, for $750,000 from the city's Stormwater Fund and Tree Fund. Together with the city's late-2024 purchase of 926 Devine Circle, the two parcels add about 1.8 acres of greenspace. That's roughly 17% of Lynwood's 10.8-acre footprint.
The new land is mostly trees. The city's announcement lists 30 to 40 specimen trees on the property, including American beech, tulip poplar, white oak, hickory and bigleaf magnolia. In the same announcement, City Arborist Jeff Dadisman said that "preserving a stand of mature trees protects benefits that cannot be quickly replaced by new plantings, including shade, habitat and natural stormwater functions." Painters setting up at Lynwood on Nov. 7 will be next to that stand of trees, which the city says will be protected from future redevelopment once the purchase goes through.
In December, the city takes over
By the time the city's own holiday events begin, the Tinsel Trail trees will be up. Installation ends Dec. 1, and the first city event is two days later. From then on the season moves through the parks in a set order.
| Date | Event | Place |
|---|---|---|
| Thursday, Dec. 3, 6 to 9 p.m. | Light Up Brookhaven | Blackburn Park, 3493 Ashford Dunwoody Road |
| Dec. 5 to 6, hours not yet posted | Brookhaven Farmers Market Christmas Market | 1375 Fernwood Circle |
| Saturdays, Dec. 5, 12 and 19, 9 a.m. to noon | City Centre Santa | Brookhaven City Centre, 4001 Peachtree Road |
| Saturday, Dec. 19 through Monday, Jan. 4 | Holidays in the 'Haven | Brookhaven Park, 4158 Peachtree Road |
| Sunday, Dec. 20, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. | Santa Paws | Dog park at Brookhaven Park |
Light Up Brookhaven is at Blackburn Park, the same park as one of the Tinsel Trail sites. The city's events calendar lists it for Thursday, Dec. 3, and Explore Brookhaven's listing gives the same date. Brookhaven Local Today reported that the city's special events page showed Dec. 2, so check the city's page again the week of the event. Explore Brookhaven's listing describes Santa arriving by helicopter, inflatables, train rides, a petting zoo, crafts and first-come giveaways. Last year's lighting, on Dec. 3, 2025, included the city's 40-foot Christmas tree and a Hanukkah menorah.
Holidays in the 'Haven at Brookhaven Park is the least settled part of the season. The dates are listed, but as of Oct. 17 the city had not said whether Rudolph's Rink is coming back, and it had not posted hours, a booking date or a price. That's according to Brookhaven Local Today's rink update. Last season the rink ran from Dec. 20, 2025, through Jan. 4, 2026. It offered free 45-minute sessions booked online, with skate rentals included, a signed waiver required for every skater, and a limited number of walk-up spots after online registration sold out. Those are 2025 details. If you plan to skate this year, watch for the city to announce registration instead of assuming last year's format will repeat.
The dates to keep
Three dates this fall belong to residents who want to add something to the season:
- Saturday, Oct. 31: Tinsel Trail registration closes on the Explore Brookhaven event page.
- Saturday, Nov. 7: Paint the Park at Lynwood Park, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.
- Monday, Nov. 16, through Tuesday, Dec. 1: Tinsel Trail installation, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.
For City Centre Santa and Santa Paws, the city's calendar is the place to check, and for weather calls it runs a Parks and Recreation rainout line at 470-704-4774, option 3.
At Jodi Fink Halpert, we care about presentation and about details that show up in the right place, and a well-dressed tree in a neighborhood park is both. If you're decorating a Tinsel Trail tree this year, whether for your family, your business or your neighborhood group, we'd love to see what you make. Reach out, and we'll share a few design ideas for working within a small assigned space.
