Christmas on Main Starts Later This Year. Here's How Forney's Downtown Saturday Fits Around It

Last December, Christmas on Main opened at 10 a.m. and wrapped up at 4 p.m. This year it starts at noon and runs until 5 p.m. on Saturday, December 5.

It's still the same few blocks of Main Street and Bois d'Arc, now for five hours instead of six. Moving the window later changes which downtown kitchens line up with it. The 2025 event mostly ran on the morning and lunch schedule. The 2026 event starts at lunch and ends close to dinnertime.

That matters downtown because the businesses around the event keep very different hours. Some close before the event even opens. Others are just getting into their busy stretch when the vendors pack up.

What moved between 2025 and 2026

The city's holiday dates mostly fall about where they did last year. Christmas on Main moved within its day, which makes it the biggest change.

The Turkey Trot moved up eight days on the calendar. The tree lighting and Christmas on Main each moved back one day to keep their weekday slots, Thursday and Saturday. Christmas on Main shifted its hours as well as its date. It starts two hours later and ends one hour later.

The City of Forney's listing describes the event as a festive afternoon of holiday vendors, crafts, activities and family fun. That's the same lineup the Forney Chronicle described last year, when it called the event an all-day celebration with vendors, handmade crafts, food and music. The event itself looks the same, but it now happens at a different time of day.

Which downtown spots fit the noon-to-5 window

Downtown Forney's food and drink spots sit within a short walk of each other on East Main and South Bois d'Arc. The Forney Economic Development Corporation's downtown directory lists most of them. Their listed hours line up with the new schedule in very different ways.

Before noon only. Forney Donut Shop at 201 S. Bois d'Arc lists daily hours of 5 a.m. to noon. Last year's 10 a.m. start gave you two hours when the donut counter and the vendor booths were both open. This year that overlap is gone. If donuts are part of your Christmas on Main tradition, go before the event starts.

Open for the first half. Mama's Daughters' Diner at 111 E. Main lists weekend hours of 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. That gives you three hours of overlap with the event. A late breakfast or early lunch there at noon still works. A 3:30 plate does not.

Open for the whole event and after. Latham Bakery at 106 E. Main, a bakery and coffee shop, lists Monday-through-Saturday hours of 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Stash's Table & Fable at 212 S. Bois d'Arc, an American restaurant, lists Wednesday-through-Saturday hours of 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Both are open before the noon start and stay open two hours after the 5 p.m. close.

Open on Saturday, timing varies. Forney Brewing Co. at 203 E. Main lists Wednesday-through-Sunday hours. Eno's Pizza Tavern at 215 S. Bois d'Arc lists Tuesday-through-Sunday hours. With the event now ending at 5, a pizza or a pint after the booths close falls right at the usual dinner hour.

Addison Coffee Roasters at 309 E. Main roasts its own beans and sits at the east end of the Main Street stretch. For gift shopping beyond the vendor tents, the downtown directory lists boutiques including Pittypat's at 104 E. Main, Whimsy Boutique at 207 S. Bois d'Arc and Groovy's at 211 S. Bois d'Arc.

These are listed hours from local directory pages. None of these businesses has posted special holiday hours for December 5, so a quick call before you head over is worth it.

Put together, here's one way the day lines up on the new schedule:

1. Morning at Forney Donut Shop, before it closes at noon.
2. Noon at the vendor booths when Christmas on Main opens, or a late breakfast at Mama's Daughters' Diner before it closes at 3.
3. Mid-afternoon coffee and pastries from Latham Bakery between rounds of shopping.
4. 5 p.m., when the event wraps, an early dinner at Stash's Table & Fable before its 7 p.m. close, or pizza at Eno's.

Under last year's 10-to-4 hours, the final step came an hour earlier and the first one overlapped with the event.

Thursday night is downtown's other holiday event

Two days before Christmas on Main, the Bell Park Tree Lighting fills the same part of town on Thursday, December 3, from 6 to 8 p.m. The city's listing promises Christmas music, free hot chocolate and a visit from Santa.

Bell Park sits at Bois d'Arc Street and Trinity Street, just south of U.S. Highway 80, according to the city's parks guide. That's the same Bois d'Arc that runs past Stash's, Groovy's and Eno's. The tree lighting and Christmas on Main happen just a few blocks apart, so one week in early December brings two downtown evenings or afternoons.

The tree also has a short history. Last year the Forney Chronicle reported that the 2025 ceremony was the tree's "inaugural lighting." December 3 will be the second time it goes up.

Weeknight hours change the dinner math again. Stash's Table & Fable is open Thursdays until 7 p.m., so an early dinner there before the 6 p.m. lighting fits. Forney Brewing Co. and Eno's Pizza Tavern both list Thursday among their open days.

November's holiday events happen outside downtown

Before the December events downtown, the November calendar spreads across town.

The Holiday Kick-Off Event comes first, on Saturday, November 14, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at 204 FM 1641. The Forney Police Department and Community Life Church are hosting it. The city's listing includes crafts, food, music, bounce houses, vendor booths and a visit from Santa. All vendor booth fees go to Special Olympics Texas. Its 10 a.m. start is the morning slot Christmas on Main gave up, so the season still has a morning holiday event, just away from Main Street.

The Gobble Games Soccer Tournament follows on November 21 and 22 at 241 S. FM 548, the address of Forney Community Park. If you have a player on the roster, that's the weekend before Thanksgiving taken care of.

Thanksgiving week has nothing on the city calendar. Then the three December events all happen downtown: the tree lighting on the 3rd, Christmas on Main on the 5th, and the New Year's Eve Ball Drop, which runs from 8 p.m. on December 31 to 12:15 a.m. on January 1.

If your December takes you out by U.S. 80 instead, two newer spots sit along that stretch. Luna Grill Mediterranean Kitchen is now open at 11470 E. U.S. Hwy 80, and Target at 11520 East U.S. 80 opened on July 26 with a Starbucks Café inside.

Jeanie and the team at The Marten Team keep track of what's changing across Forney and the rest of the eastern suburbs, from event hours to new openings along U.S. 80. If you're planning a December around downtown Forney and want a local opinion on where to start the day, call Jeanie. She's always happy to talk shop about the neighborhoods we serve.