St. Joseph's Holiday Season Has Three Double-Entry Days. Here's How the Calendar Fits Together.
October 22, 2026
October 22, 2026
When does the holiday season start in downtown St. Joseph? The night the lights come on at Lake Bluff Park is December 4. By St. Joe Today's 2026 calendar, the season starts two weeks before that, on Friday, November 20. That's also the first day the receipts in your wallet start counting toward something.
The downtown events between Thanksgiving week and early December are connected. St. Joe Today's Countdown to New Year giveaway runs through all of them. Three of the events are also the three days when your purchases earn twice as many entries. If you want to plan the season around anything, plan around those three days.
The rules are posted on St. Joe Today's Countdown to New Year page. Each $25 you spend at a St. Joe Today member business earns one entry. The $25 can be a single purchase or several smaller ones added together. Purchases count if they're made between November 20 and December 13, 2026.
To get your entries, bring the receipts to the St. Joe Today Welcome Center at 301 State Street. Entry forms are handed out there. Purchases made on these three days earn double entries:
That's where the timing makes a difference. Spend $50 at member businesses on an ordinary Tuesday and you get two entries. Doubled, the same $50 on Luminary night would come to four. Prizes are $50 gift certificates from St. Joe Today member locations. Winners are drawn daily from December 1 through December 13. All the winners for December 14 through 31 are drawn on December 14, to give them more time to use the gift cards.
Only member businesses count. St. Joe Today doesn't publish a separate list for the giveaway. It points to its member directories instead, sorted into Eat, Shop, Stay and Play. Check those lists before you assume a particular shop or restaurant qualifies.
Every date shifted one day earlier this year. The 2025 Countdown ran November 21 through December 14, and its double-entry days were November 21, November 29 and December 6. If last year's dates are on your fridge, they're one day off now.
| Date | Event | Time | Where | Cost | Double entries? |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sun., Nov. 1 | Reindog registration opens | 10 a.m. | stjoetoday.com/reindog | $5 per pet, $3 each additional | Not applicable |
| Fri., Nov. 20 | Luminary | 5 to 8 p.m. | Downtown St. Joseph | Free | Yes |
| Sat., Nov. 28 | Small Business Saturday | 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. | Downtown St. Joseph | Free | Yes |
| Sat., Nov. 28 | Box Factory Makers Market | 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. | 1101 Broad St. | $5 | Same day |
| Fri., Dec. 4 | Light Up the Bluff and tree lighting | See below | Lake Bluff Park, 500 Broad St. | Free | No |
| Sat., Dec. 5 | Reindog Parade | 3 to 3:30 p.m. | Downtown St. Joseph | Free to watch | Yes |
| Sat., Dec. 5 | Santa's House | 4 to 7 p.m. | State and Pleasant streets | Free | Same day |
| Sun., Dec. 6 | Santa's House | 1 to 5 p.m. | State and Pleasant streets | Free | No |
| Sun., Dec. 6 | Holiday Artisan Market | 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. | Union+Social, 216 Court St. | Free | No |
"Same day" means the event isn't itself part of the giveaway, but it falls on a double-entry date. Anything you buy that day at a member business still counts twice.
The earliest deadline isn't a shopping day. Registration for the 2026 Reindog Parade opens at 10 a.m. on Sunday, November 1, on St. Joe Today's Reindog page. It costs $5 for the first pet and $3 for each additional pet. You can also register on parade day at the Welcome Center from noon to 2:45 p.m.
The parade is on December 5, so this matters now because of the schedule on that Saturday. If you register early, you skip the day-of line and can be outside for judging. If you register that day, your afternoon has to fit around the Welcome Center window.
Luminary runs from 5 to 8 p.m. on Friday, November 20. Luminarias line the downtown streets, and participating locations invite visitors in to eat and shop. The Countdown to New Year starts the same day, so Luminary is the first chance to earn double entries.
Two extras come with the night. The Snowflake Scavenger Hunt is a one-night event. A snowflake is hidden at each of 10 participating downtown locations, and you start by picking up a passport at the Welcome Center at 301 State St. A free, decorated Holiday Trolley loops continuously from 4:30 to 8:30 p.m. with three stops:
The trolley starts half an hour before Luminary and keeps running half an hour after it ends. You can park once near Lake Boulevard and ride from one end of downtown to the other. The 2026 list of participating businesses is still marked TBA on the event page. Check it again the week of the event.
If you return your hunt passport to the Welcome Center at the end of the night, bring your receipts too. Both go to the same desk at 301 State St.
Small Business Saturday runs from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on November 28, across downtown St. Joseph and Southwest Michigan. Admission is free. Purchases at member businesses that day count double, making it the second of the three days.
The Box Factory Makers Market is the same day and keeps the same hours, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. It's at the Box Factory for the Arts, 1101 Broad St., with a $5 admission or donation and more than 40 juried artisans across three floors. The Box Factory sits on Broad Street, a short walk from Lake Bluff Park, so it fits easily into a downtown Saturday. Whether purchases there count toward the Countdown depends on the member directory, so look it up before you save the receipt.
St. Joe Today lists December 4 through 6 as Merry & Bright Weekend, with extended shopping hours, events and special offers across the region. The participant list is still to be announced. Each of the three days has its own main event.
Friday, December 4: the lights. Light Up the Bluff and the community tree lighting take place at Lake Bluff Park, 500 Broad St., in front of the bluff staircase and restrooms. The event is free. The two organizers list different times. The City of St. Joseph calendar shows 7 to 8 p.m. St. Joe Today's Merry & Bright page has the St. Joseph High School Choir starting carols at 6 p.m., followed by the tree lighting at 6:30. If you want to hear the choir, plan to be there by 6 p.m., and check both pages that week in case one is updated. St. Joe Today says the one million lights stay on through Valentine's Day and lists daily viewing from 5:30 to 8:30 a.m. and from 5:30 p.m. to midnight. The tree lighting isn't a double-entry day. The lights stay up into February, though, long after the Countdown ends.
Saturday, December 5: Reindog, and the last double-entry day. Here's how the afternoon runs:
St. Joe Today says the parade also marks Santa's arrival. Once it ends, children can share their wish lists at Santa's House. Visits are free, and visitors are asked to bring their own camera. December 5 is also the last of the three double-entry days. Whatever you're planning to buy downtown that weekend counts more on Saturday than on Sunday.
Sunday, December 6: the slower day. Santa's House is open again from 1 to 5 p.m. The Holiday Artisan Market runs from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Union+Social, 216 Court St. Admission is free, and vendors haven't been announced yet.
Qualifying purchases stop on December 13. All the winners for December 14 through 31 are drawn on December 14. If you've been collecting receipts since Luminary, get them to the Welcome Center at 301 State Street before then. After December 13, the only part of the season left is the lights on the bluff, which run through Valentine's Day.
Brian Waite works out of St. Joseph all year. If you're hosting family for Luminary or the Reindog Parade and want to talk about the town or a property here, Brian Waite is glad to help. Let's Connect.
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