"Join us as we gather to create beautiful holiday mailbox decorations using fresh greenery from our gardens and yards." That is how the Garden Hills Garden Club describes its Holiday Mailbox Assembly. The club calls it "our beloved holiday fundraiser," and this year it is set for Saturday, December 5.
The greenery comes from Garden Hills gardens. The mailboxes are in Garden Hills. The morning runs on "coffee, donuts, and holiday cheer," in the club's words. Then, by late afternoon on the same Saturday, Buckhead's public holiday season gets started a short drive up Peachtree. Livable Buckhead has put its Buckhead Village District Hot Chocolate Crawl, its Miracle on Peachtree Holiday Market and its Holiday Tree and Menorah Lighting all on December 5.
A week later it happens again. The Garden Club's Holiday Party is on Saturday, December 12, the same evening as Livable Buckhead's second Hot Chocolate Crawl along Peachtree Road. In 2026, the neighborhood's own December and Buckhead's public December share the same two Saturdays.
The Season at a Glance
| Date | Event | Where | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| Thu, Nov 12 | A Little Chili, A Lot of Cheer | Garden Hills | 7 to 9:30 p.m. |
| Wed, Nov 18 | Fresh trees arrive at Big John's Christmas Trees | 302 E. Paces Ferry Road NE | 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily |
| Sat, Dec 5 | Holiday Mailbox Assembly | Garden Hills, address by Evite | Morning, exact time to come |
| Sat, Dec 5 | Wreath Decorating for Atlanta's Heroes | The Veranda, Buckhead Village | Noon to 2 p.m. |
| Sat, Dec 5 | Miracle on Peachtree Holiday Market | Charlie Loudermilk Park | 3 to 7 p.m. |
| Sat, Dec 5 | Hot Chocolate Crawl | Buckhead Village District | 5 to 7 p.m. |
| Sat, Dec 5 | Holiday Tree and Menorah Lighting | Charlie Loudermilk Park | 7 p.m. |
| Sat, Dec 12 | Hot Chocolate Crawl | Lenox Square, Phipps Plaza and Peachtree Road | 4 to 7 p.m. |
| Sat, Dec 12 | Garden Club Holiday Party | Garden Hills | 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. |
Before the Greenery Gets Cut
The club's season starts this Thursday, November 12, with A Little Chili, A Lot of Cheer, from 7 to 9:30 p.m. in Garden Hills. The listing says tickets are not required.
Six days later, on November 18, fresh trees arrive at Big John's Christmas Trees. Its Buckhead lot is at 302 E. Paces Ferry Road NE, near Bolling Way, and it is open from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. every day of the week. Big John's has sold trees in Atlanta since 1949 and is still family owned, so this is its 77th season. Along with trees, the lot stocks wreaths, roping, stands, lights and ornaments.
That date sets up the rest of the month. Once Big John's opens, anyone in Garden Hills can have a tree on the porch and roping on the railings about two and a half weeks before the Garden Club starts on the mailboxes.
December 5, Hour by Hour
On the first Saturday in December, the Garden Hills event comes first and the Buckhead Village events follow from noon into the evening, with the market and the crawl overlapping from 5 to 7 p.m. Here is the order, using the times each organizer has posted:
- Morning: Holiday Mailbox Assembly. The Garden Club spends the morning making mailbox decorations from greenery out of its members' gardens and yards. Tickets are not required, and the address goes out by Evite. The exact start time will come in that Evite.
- Noon to 2 p.m.: Wreath Decorating for Atlanta's Heroes. Livable Buckhead sets up tables in The Veranda in Buckhead Village with wreaths and supplies. Volunteers decorate wreaths and sign cards for all 43 of Atlanta's fire rescue stations and police precincts. First responders pick up the wreaths between 2 and 3 p.m.
- 3 to 7 p.m.: Miracle on Peachtree Holiday Market. Artisans, makers and specialty vendors fill Charlie Loudermilk Park with handmade goods, artwork, home décor and seasonal pieces.
- 5 to 7 p.m.: Buckhead Village District Hot Chocolate Crawl. Admission is free. For $8 plus tax, paid to Livable Buckhead, you get a commemorative campfire mug to keep. Participating stops serve hot chocolate, cocktails and seasonal treats, and local musicians play around the district. Alcoholic drinks are sold at participating locations.
- 7 p.m.: Holiday Tree and Menorah Lighting. Livable Buckhead lights a 24-foot holiday tree from Traditions in Charlie Loudermilk Park and holds a menorah lighting at the same free event.
The two halves of the day are made differently. The morning in Garden Hills uses clippings from local gardens and the club's own coffee and donuts. The afternoon and evening in Buckhead Village use wreaths decorated for 43 fire rescue stations and police precincts, a market of outside vendors and a tree brought in from Traditions. The neighborhood event is built from what's already in its yards, and the Buckhead events are staged for the whole district.
The Garden Club has its own tree tradition too. Last year its Neighborhood Tree Lighting took place on December 7 at the Garden Hills playground at 335 Pine Tree Drive, and the Garden Hills Civic Association listing said all were welcome, with no club membership needed.
A Brunch Stop on the Neighborhood's Peachtree Edge
On December 5, there is a gap between the end of the mailbox morning and the 3 p.m. market opening. The closest new option is at the south end of Garden Hills' Peachtree frontage. High Noon Brunchery is open at 2285 Peachtree Road NE, Suite 103, from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily.
It is a new arrival. In June, What Now Atlanta reported that High Noon was moving its Douglasville flagship to this Buckhead address. This holiday season is the restaurant's first on Peachtree Road.
High Noon closes at 4 p.m., which works for a December Saturday. Brunch fits easily between the morning's greenery and the market and crawl in the Village later in the afternoon.
December 12 Repeats the Pattern
The second Saturday follows the same shape with less space between events. Livable Buckhead holds its second Hot Chocolate Crawl in the Buckhead Business District from 4 to 7 p.m., with stops around Lenox Square, Phipps Plaza and nearby shops along Peachtree Road. Like the Village crawl, it has free tickets, seasonal drinks and live performers.
That evening, the Garden Club's Holiday Party runs from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. in Garden Hills, with wine, cocktails and hors d'oeuvres. Partners are welcome, and tickets are not required.
The times overlap by half an hour. The crawl on Peachtree ends at 7, and the club party starts at 6:30. That makes December 12 an evening to pick one or to visit both briefly, while December 5 spreads its events from morning to night.
Here are the two Saturdays side by side:
- December 5: The Garden Club event comes first, in the morning, and Buckhead's events follow from noon into the evening.
- December 12: Buckhead's crawl comes first, in the late afternoon, and the Garden Club party follows into the evening.
Either way, both calendars fill the same days.
What Arrives Next Spring
Next season's walk up Peachtree will have one more stop. Rough Draft Atlanta reported in September that James Beard Award-winning chef Linton Hopkins and Hopkins & Company will open Linton's Bar and Grill at Buckhead Center, in the Buckhead Village district, in the space Brio Tuscan Grille used to occupy. The Buttery bakery-cafe returns there too, with its own entrance and a patio overlooking Peachtree Road that it shares with Linton's. The Buttery closed in 2024 after four years in Morningside-Lenox Park. Both are scheduled to open in late spring 2027.
According to the same report, the Buttery will serve coffee, pastries, breads and croissant sandwiches starting in the morning. For now, a December Saturday in Garden Hills starts with coffee and donuts at the mailbox assembly and ends under the tree in Charlie Loudermilk Park.
At The Stowe Group, we pay attention to these Saturdays because they show how a neighborhood lives from one season to the next. If a Garden Hills home is part of your plans for the coming year, we would be glad to talk privately about what it is worth. Request a Confidential Valuation.
