Mansfield's First Holiday Season at Geyer Commons: What's New on the 2026 Calendar

For decades the corner of North Walnut Creek Drive and East Broad Street was Geyer Field, and thousands of Mansfield kids played baseball there. On Saturday, November 28, that same corner will light a community Christmas tree.

Geyer Commons opened in late February, so this is its first holiday season. The new park changes the shape of the season, too. This year Geyer Commons hosts events on Thanksgiving weekend and again on New Year's Eve, on either side of the busy Hometown Holidays weekend in early December. Here's how the season lines up, starting with the newest spot.

The Old Ball Field's First December

The Mansfield Record reported that the city spent $5.6 million to rebuild the old field into 12 cottages for small businesses, a splash pad, two pavilions and two lawns. When the park opened on Friday, February 27, the shops moving into the cottages included a crafts store, a dog bakery, a bookstore, a candle maker, a soap maker, a popcorn shop, a cookie maker, a chocolate shop and a clothing boutique. That's handy if you're shopping for stocking stuffers. At the ribbon cutting, Mayor Michael Evans told the crowd, "This will be the place where Mansfield can come and play."

The site still has some history on it. The historic Mansfield High School building, which houses Mansfield ISD's administrative offices, stands on the property. The city plans to keep the 1924 MISD Administration Building, the 1940 Rock Gym built as a WPA project, and the gazebo. The Fort Worth Report described the park as the eastern gateway to downtown. That helps explain why so much of this season happens on East Broad Street.

Geyer Commons has four events on the Hometown Holidays calendar this year:

• Geyer Commons Tree Lighting, Saturday, November 28, 4 to 6 p.m., presented by Texas Health Hospital
• Tiny Turkey Market, Sunday, November 29, noon to 5 p.m. Every shop at this market is run by a kid, and young entrepreneurs can earn holiday shopping money.
• Jane Austen Day Tea Party, Saturday, December 19, 2 to 5 p.m. This birthday tea for the author of Mansfield Park includes crafts, classical music and literary trivia.
• Noon Year's Eve Baby Rave, Thursday, December 31, 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. The countdown hits zero at noon, with sparkling juice boxes and disco bouncy balls. The listing calls it the first annual.

All four are small, neighborly events, and two of them fall on Thanksgiving weekend and New Year's Eve, at the very start and very end of the season.

Three Tree Lightings, Three Different Evenings

With Geyer Commons in the mix, Mansfield has three public tree lightings this year, about a week apart.

The MISD lighting on Thursday, November 19, is the early, school-centered start to the season. The Geyer Commons lighting is on Thanksgiving Saturday and only lasts two hours, which suits families with relatives in town and small children. Hometown Holidays is still the big one, with the fireworks, and it now caps a season that has been going for two weeks.

Hometown Holidays is still at City Hall, 1200 E. Broad St. The Mansfield Record has reported that the city is building a new City Hall on Heritage Parkway and that the school district will take over the current building once the city moves. Families who have spent this Friday night on East Broad for years may want to make a point of going this year. The event page has the latest details, so check it before you head out.

December 4 to 6: The Weekend Everything Lands

Hometown Holidays starts the busiest weekend of the season, and Saturday, December 5, is the most crowded day. If you'd like to make a full day of it, here's how the listed times fit together:

1. 7:30 a.m. The Kiwanis Club of Mansfield's FALALALA 5K starts and finishes at RunUnited, 650 U.S. 287 Frontage Road. The race has been held since 2010 and is chip-timed for 5K runners. Registration is on Race Roster.
2. 10 a.m. to noon. Breakfast With Santa at Fields at Station 63, 500 Heritage Parkway, includes a catered breakfast, photos with Santa and a Santa's Swing-Off, where kids try to out-hit Santa. Tickets are $18 for adults and $13 for kids under 15. Children under 5 are free.
3. 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Holiday at the House is free at the Man House Museum, 604 W. Broad St. The house is decorated for an 1870s Christmas, and visitors can make historic gifts.
4. 2 p.m. or 7 p.m. The MISD Dance Spectacular has two shows at the Dr. Jim Vaszauskas Center, and tickets go on sale in early November.
5. 5 p.m. Mistletoe & Masterpieces opens at the Wallace-Hall Art House, 210 S. Main St., with original work by local artists. It runs through January 6.
6. Evening. "Elf Jr. The Musical" plays at MPM Studio Theater at 7 p.m., and The Fleetwood Project's "All is Calm: The Christmas Truce of 1914" plays at Farr Best Theater at 7:30 p.m.

On Sunday, December 6, the Mansfield Women's Club holds its annual Holiday Home Tour from 2 to 6 p.m. This year the tour includes the Man House for the first time, so the house you visited on Saturday becomes one of Sunday's stops. Tour details are on the Mansfield Women's Club site.

If you can only do one day, Saturday covers the most ground, with the Man House on West Broad, the art house on South Main and Station 63 on Heritage Parkway.

Main Street's Stage Season

Away from the parks, the 156-seat Farr Best Theater at 109 N. Main St. hosts more holiday shows than any other venue on the calendar. Visit Mansfield notes that the city bought the historic theater in 2017 and that local performing arts groups use it.

• "All is Calm: The Christmas Truce of 1914," presented by The Fleetwood Project. The show tells the true story in the words and songs of the men who lived it. Performances are November 27, 28 and December 4 and 5 at 7:30 p.m., plus a 2:30 p.m. matinee on December 6.
• Mansfield Live Opry, Friday, December 11, 7 to 9:30 p.m., with doors and a preshow at 6:30. It's the first show in a planned series of 13 monthly productions that runs through December 2027. The MZP Foundation presents family-friendly, opry-style country, gospel and patriotic music, along with comedy and, for this first show, Christmas favorites. The Visit Mansfield ticket listing shows all-in prices of $15.63 for adults and $12.03 for seniors, youth and veterans.
• "A Christmas Chaos," The Troupe Theatre's comedy about a show where everything goes wrong, runs nightly December 18 through 22 at 7:30 p.m.

With seats this limited, the Friday and Saturday shows are the ones to book early.

What Costs Money and What Doesn't

You can plan a full Mansfield December with very few ticketed events. Here's how the costs listed on the calendar compare:

Christmas Pops pairs the Mansfield Philharmonic with First Methodist Mansfield's 60-voice choir, directed by Dr. Scott Ferrell. Toys for Tots is one of the season's biggest evenings, with performances, photos with Santa and holiday train rides, and the toys go to Mansfield families. Santa's Station 63 includes free sleigh rides, Wiffle ball, kickball and a vendor market of local businesses, with hot chocolate, coffee and adult drinks. Art Ballet Academy's "The Nutcracker" plays the Dr. Jim Vaszauskas Center on December 19 at 2 and 6 p.m., with tickets through the academy.

Back Where It Started, at Noon on December 31

The season ends on the old ball field. On December 19, you can go to the Jane Austen tea at Geyer Commons in the afternoon and still make an evening Nutcracker across town. The last event on the calendar is the first Noon Year's Eve Baby Rave, Thursday, December 31, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at 605 E. Broad St.

I love seeing Geyer Field come back to life like this, and I'll be out at a few of these myself. If you're hosting family this season and want suggestions for where to take them, or you just want to swap notes on which Saturday is worth bundling up for, I'm happy to chat. Janna Seal would love to hear from you. Let's Connect.