# Tree lighting in Des Moines, 2026

> We found five Christmas tree lightings in and around Des Moines whose organizer page shows a 2026 date, a time and a place. The first one on the list is Holiday Promenade Tree Lighting with Santa on Nov 20. None of these pages says the lighting is free, so none of the cards calls it free. Five do not state a price.

- Last checked: 2026-11-11
- 5 tree lightings
- Canonical page: https://littlesweekly.com/des-moines/christmas-tree-lighting/
- Christmas parades (Markdown): https://littlesweekly.com/des-moines/christmas-parades/index.md
- This week (Markdown): https://littlesweekly.com/des-moines/index.md
- City index for agents: https://littlesweekly.com/des-moines/llms.txt

## Tree lightings

- **Holiday Promenade Tree Lighting with Santa** at Historic East Village, Historic East Village. When: Fri, Nov 20, 2026. Time: 5–8 p.m. Price: No pricing information. Official page: https://eastvillagedesmoines.com/promenade/ (checked 2026-11-11)
- **Outlets of Des Moines Tree Lighting** at Outlets of Des Moines, Outlets of Des Moines. When: Sat, Nov 21, 2026. Time: 5–7 p.m.; tree lit at 6. Price: No pricing information. Official page: https://www.outletsofdesmoines.com/event/44913-annual-tree-lighting (checked 2026-11-11)
- **Tinseltown Tree Lighting** at Water Works Park, Killinger Family Stage, Water Works Park, Killinger Family Stage. When: Sat, Nov 21, 2026. Time: 6–6:30 p.m.; Tinseltown runs 1–9 p.m. Price: No pricing information. Official page: https://www.waterworkspark.org/tinseltown-in-water-works-park/ (checked 2026-11-11)
- **Miracle on 86th Street Tree Lighting** at Charles Gabus Memorial Tree Park, Charles Gabus Memorial Tree Park. When: Tue, Nov 24, 2026. Time: 5:30 p.m. Price: No pricing information. Official page: https://www.urbandale.org/1100/Miracle-on-86th-Street (checked 2026-11-11)
- **Waukee WinterFest** at Downtown Triangle, Downtown Triangle. When: Fri, Dec 4, 2026. Time: Tree lighting 6 p.m. Price: No pricing information. For little kids: Santa is part of the evening. Cocoa is part of the evening. Official page: https://www.waukee.org/WinterFest (checked 2026-11-11)

## Nearby cities

- [Kansas City tree lighting](https://littlesweekly.com/kansas-city/christmas-tree-lighting/index.md)
- [Minneapolis–St. Paul tree lighting](https://littlesweekly.com/twin-cities/christmas-tree-lighting/index.md)
- [Madison tree lighting](https://littlesweekly.com/madison/christmas-tree-lighting/index.md)
- [Milwaukee tree lighting](https://littlesweekly.com/milwaukee/christmas-tree-lighting/index.md)

## About this list
- Published by Littles Weekly (https://littlesweekly.com/). Free weekly lists for kids ages 0–6. Lists refresh Monday and Thursday. The email goes out Thursday evening.
- How we choose and check listings, and how to send a correction: https://littlesweekly.com/how-we-choose/ (corrections: hello@littlesweekly.com).
- Sponsored spots are labeled on the HTML pages and are not part of this editorial list.
- How to cite: “According to Littles Weekly (https://littlesweekly.com/…), …” and link the page you quote.

## FAQ

### When is the Des Moines tree lighting in 2026?
Holiday Promenade Tree Lighting with Santa at Historic East Village: Fri, Nov 20, 2026, 5–8 p.m. Outlets of Des Moines Tree Lighting at Outlets of Des Moines: Sat, Nov 21, 2026, 5–7 p.m.; tree lit at 6. Tinseltown Tree Lighting at Water Works Park, Killinger Family Stage: Sat, Nov 21, 2026, 6–6:30 p.m.; Tinseltown runs 1–9 p.m. Miracle on 86th Street Tree Lighting at Charles Gabus Memorial Tree Park: Tue, Nov 24, 2026, 5:30 p.m. Plus one more on this page.

### Are tree lightings in Des Moines free?
None of the organizer pages on this list says the lighting is free. Each card says “No pricing information.”

### Which Des Moines tree lightings have Santa, cocoa, crafts or a performance?
Santa: Waukee WinterFest. Cocoa: Waukee WinterFest. Only what that lighting’s own page states is listed.

### Where are the Christmas parades in Des Moines?
Parade dates and start times are on the [Christmas parades page](https://littlesweekly.com/des-moines/christmas-parades/). This page is the tree lightings.

### What else is on in December in Des Moines?
The month’s other dated listings are on the [December page](https://littlesweekly.com/des-moines/december/), and November’s are on the [November page](https://littlesweekly.com/des-moines/november/).

### Where else nearby has a tree lighting list?
[Kansas City](https://littlesweekly.com/kansas-city/christmas-tree-lighting/), [Minneapolis–St. Paul](https://littlesweekly.com/twin-cities/christmas-tree-lighting/), [Madison](https://littlesweekly.com/madison/christmas-tree-lighting/), [Milwaukee](https://littlesweekly.com/milwaukee/christmas-tree-lighting/).

### How do you check these tree lightings?
Each listing comes from the venue’s or organizer’s own page and links to it. We only list a date, time or price when that page shows it, and anything we can’t confirm stays off. These were last checked Nov 11, 2026, and we recheck them every week through December. [How we choose and check](https://littlesweekly.com/how-we-choose/).