Why Colleyville Boulevard Glows Warm White This Year, and the Holiday Season Built Around It

Colleyville lights its Christmas tree outside City Hall this Saturday, Nov. 21. Up and down Colleyville Boulevard, many storefronts are lit in the same warm white, and the City wrote the rules behind that look. A matching grant for businesses on SH 26 sets the bulb type, the color and where the lights go. A second grant pays for the holiday ads you'll see from local shops through Dec. 31. Most of the season's events are on or near the Boulevard, and a surprising share of them were already full by early November.

The Boulevard's lights come with a spec sheet

The program is called Brighten Up the Boulevard, and the City of Colleyville is running it again this year. It reimburses half the cost of holiday lighting for businesses on Colleyville Boulevard, up to $5,000 for a shopping center and up to $2,000 for a single business.

The money comes with conditions. The City's program page requires businesses to use:

warm, white (c9) lights that are consistently "on" and focus on rooflines and building outlines.

Wrapped trees may also qualify. Every application has to be approved by the City's Beautification Committee, and the grant is paid only after the work is done and receipts are checked.

That's why so many centers along SH 26 show the same steady glow along their rooflines instead of blinking color displays. Applications for this season closed Nov. 13, so the lights you see during the tree lighting and through December are the ones that made the cutoff.

A small grant doing a visible job

The lighting grant is one of the smallest checks the City writes. In its Oct. 5 economic development update, the City said it has given more than $7.8 million in grants to local businesses since 2018. Brighten Up the Boulevard accounts for $12,124 of that since 2025, as Community Impact reported after the meeting.

It's also the grant residents actually see. The same update put Colleyville's retail occupancy at 96%, and city staff described the strategy as intentional growth in a city that is largely built out. With so few empty storefronts, the City's holiday spending goes toward making existing businesses easier to find and more pleasant to visit.

The companion program shows up in your feed instead of on the rooflines. #ColleyvilleGives gives eligible Colleyville businesses that collect sales tax up to $1,000 for holiday advertising, plus another $1,000 if the business donates $500 to a local nonprofit. Every funded ad has to carry the hashtag, and campaigns must run by Dec. 31, 2026. The program awarded $55,000 in 2025 and $556,100 since 2018, according to the City's report. The hashtag on a Colleyville shop's holiday ad is the program's required marker, and businesses that also give $500 to a local nonprofit qualify for the larger grant.

Main Street starts the season on Nov. 21

The official start is the Christmas Tree Lighting Celebration, Saturday, Nov. 21, from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. at City Hall, 100 Main Street. The City says almost all of its special events are free. Here's how the evening runs:

1. 5:30 p.m. Gates open with balloon artists, food trucks, choir performances and photos with Santa. Santa is also bringing his reindeer.
2. 5:45 p.m. Santa and Mayor Lindamood come down Main Street, and the tree lighting follows.
3. Around City Hall Jingle Bell Junction, a Christmas trunk-or-treat from local businesses and organizations, is among the attractions. A "magical mailbox" on the City Hall steps collects letters to Santa.
4. Inside The Community Decorated Christmas Tree Display moves indoors this year. The City invited organizations to apply for a spot, gave Colleyville community groups priority, and will announce the winners during the event.

The trunk-or-treat and the decorated trees connect the evening back to the Boulevard. Local businesses and community groups supply them, and City Hall hosts them, just as the lighting grant and #ColleyvilleGives do along SH 26.

The Boulevard's maker studio filled its December early

Atlas & Orion Creative Exchange, at 4121 Colleyville Blvd., Suite 2, opened additional retail and workshop space in September, Community Impact reported. By early November, most of its late-season workshops showed as sold out.

The holiday workshops hold only eight to 12 people each, so they filled quickly. The pop-up market on Small Business Saturday weekend is the open option. The Bag Charm Workshop on Dec. 12 hadn't posted details yet, which makes it the one class worth checking back on.

The rest of December runs on early sign-ups

Most of the season's remaining events ask you to buy a ticket or register before the day.

• Breakfast with Santa, Sat., Dec. 5, 8 to 11:30 a.m. The Colleyville Lions Club hosts it at Crown of Life Lutheran Church, 6605 Pleasant Run Road. Tickets are $20 per family of up to eight in advance or $25 at the Ticket Station. Each family's first Santa photo is free, and extra photos are $5.
• Senior Holiday Party, Fri., Dec. 11. It's at the Colleyville Senior Center, 2512 Glade Road. The cost is $15, and registration closes Dec. 4. It's open to adults 50 and older who meet the Senior Center's membership requirements, and guests bring a wrapped $10 gift for an exchange.
• Pop and Pour Book Club, Tue., Dec. 15, 6 to 8 p.m. This is the lounge's regular third-Tuesday book club, held at 5665 Colleyville Blvd., Ste. 150, with an RSVP page online.
• Holiday Ornament Workshop, Wed., Dec. 16, 9:30 to 11 a.m. Colleyville Parks & Recreation runs it at the Recreation Center, 5008 Roberts Road. It's $5, for children 5 and under, and preregistration is required.

The tree lighting on Nov. 21 is the one big event this season where you can simply show up.

Eating along the lit stretch

The Boulevard has more places to eat this December than last, and most of the new ones sit inside the centers the lighting grant is meant to brighten. Town Center Colleyville was the most-visited place in the city in the City's Oct. 5 presentation, with 2,483,276 visits. Two of this year's openings are there. Zalat Pizza opened Feb. 23 at 5615 Colleyville Blvd., Suite 310, with limited dine-in seating, according to Community Impact. Smoothie King followed on Aug. 31 at 5615 Colleyville Blvd., Ste. 140, per Community Impact's September business roundup.

For an evening out after the tree lighting, Pop and Pour, a Champagne-and-bites lounge at 5665 Colleyville Blvd., Ste. 150, opened May 23, as Community Impact reported.

Two spring openings are just off the Boulevard and work well for a morning. According to Community Impact's April roundup, Art Algebra, a coffee-and-matcha shop with curated art, opened March 19 at 1001 Glade Road, Suite 100. Rings Donuts opened March 21 at 1101 Cheek-Sparger Road, Suite 103.

One more name to watch is Lucile's, the Fort Worth restaurant. In March, Community Impact reported that it planned to open at 5204 Colleyville Blvd. in late 2026. Farther out, Bush League Bar and Grill is planned for 4843 Colleyville Blvd., Ste. 330, with a January 2027 target, according to Community Impact.

If you're out on Main Street on Nov. 21 and want to talk about what Colleyville's busy Boulevard and nearly full storefronts mean for your own home, Lorraina Moore is happy to have that conversation over coffee at one of the Boulevard's newer spots. Let's Connect.