Before the rebar, Cherry Street had a wind problem. Meghan O'Hare told the story in a 2004 Willow Glen Resident feature on the family behind the tradition. Residents there set potted trees in their front yards each Christmas, and the seasonal gusts kept knocking them over. A couple of blocks away on Camino Ramon, Frank Badagliacca was working part time in construction and had an idea. He drove two pieces of rebar into the ground and tied each tree to them. His whole street went along with it.
The rules that came out of that block still shape Willow Glen in December. Each tree stands 10 feet from the sidewalk, wears multicolored lights, and has a single white light on top. Each December you see the finished displays. The decisions behind them happen in November. For most streets in 2026, orders close at 11:59 p.m. on Tuesday, November 17.
One block's habits became the neighborhood standard
Willow Glen Holiday Trees, one of the groups that supplies the trees, dates the custom to 1950 and counts 2026 as its 76th year. According to the Willow Glen Resident's account, the version on lawns today comes from Camino Ramon, where Badagliacca and his wife Dolores bought a home in 1954. Badagliacca was the street captain. He handpicked trees at the lot for every house on his block, and neighbors staked them exactly 10 feet from the sidewalk and lit them together at a set time, usually sundown. Dolores came up with the white light on top.
For years the trees stayed on three streets: Camino Ramon, Camino Pablo and Cherry Street. Those blocks held an informal competition over participation. The family told the Resident there was only one dark season, 1976, when an energy shortage led residents to skip the lights. Around the mid-1980s, other parts of Willow Glen started putting up trees of their own.
That history explains how the tradition still works. It began as a block-by-block agreement among neighbors, and it still runs that way, through a volunteer on each street.
How a $25 tree reaches your lawn
Willow Glen Neighborhood Trees, a volunteer nonprofit, runs one of the two tree programs. Here is how its 2026 timeline works:
- October 30 to November 6. Block coordinators hand out paper order forms on their streets.
- Through November 17. You can order online at willowglentrees.com by entering your street address. Some coordinators also take cash or checks on paper forms, but many streets are online-only.
- 11:59 p.m. Tuesday, November 17. Orders close, or earlier if trees sell out. Each tree costs $25, and online orders add a convenience fee to cover card processing.
- Saturday, December 5. Coordinators pick up their street's trees. Nearly 2,000 trees arrive on two tractor-trailers from an Oregon tree farm, and the group has to hand them all out to coordinators within a couple of hours.
- That same weekend. Each coordinator gets the trees to the houses on the block, either by delivering them door to door or by having neighbors pick up at the coordinator's house. Some blocks turn pickup into a small get-together.
The timing explains a few details on the order page. With that many trees moving that fast, nobody gets to choose an individual tree. The trees usually stand 3 to 5 feet tall, and they're picked to be seen from the street at night, so they may be less shaped than a tree you'd bring indoors. The group doesn't sell to households outside Willow Glen. If you miss the deadline, the only option is a possible waitlist for leftover trees after the pre-orders go out.
The setup is simple. The traditional mount uses two pieces of rebar pushed into the ground and tied tight to the trunk. A small tree stand also works and keeps the tree watered, though you'll want three or four guy lines staked into the lawn in case of wind. The lighting standard is roughly 25 to 50 multicolored C-9 bulbs, with LEDs as an option.
If your street has no coordinator, you can volunteer by emailing the group. The job is handing out order forms, picking up trees on December 5, and helping elderly or disabled neighbors set theirs up. Coordinators taping forms to doors should know that some San Jose households opt out of flyers through the city's Handbill Objectors List.
Your street may order through a different group
A second group, Willow Glen Holiday Trees, supplies its own list of streets. That's why a neighbor a few blocks away may have gotten a different form, a different price and a different pickup plan.
| Willow Glen Neighborhood Trees | Willow Glen Holiday Trees | |
|---|---|---|
| How you order | Online by street address, or through your block coordinator | Only through your street's Block Captain |
| Price | $25 per tree plus an online fee | Usually under $30, with rebar available for under $10 |
| Trees | 3 to 5 feet, from an Oregon farm | 4- to 5-foot Douglas firs from a Washington State supplier |
| Delivery | Coordinators pick up Saturday, December 5 | First weekend of December; pickup has historically been at River Glen School on the first Saturday morning, subject to change |
| 2026 fundraising | Run as a volunteer nonprofit | Jeannessa's Friends |
Willow Glen Holiday Trees lists the streets it supplies, including Arbor, Blewett, Broadway, Buchser, Chabrant, Creek, Crestwood, Curtiss, Harmil, San Andreas, Settle, Thunderbird, Vernon and Milton, Kotenberg and Longley, and Cottle between Curtner and Husted. If you live on one of those streets and don't know your Block Captain, the group asks you to email [email protected].
Both groups pick up on the same Saturday, which is why so many trees go up across Willow Glen in the same few days.
December 5 is also the Holiday Bubbly Walk
The Saturday the trees arrive is also one of the busiest days of the season on Lincoln Avenue. The Willow Glen Business Association's Holiday Bubbly Walk, which the association calls its most popular wine walk of the year, runs from 2 to 5 p.m. on December 5. Check-in runs from noon to 3 p.m. in the Bank of America parking lot at 1245 Lincoln Ave. and closes at 3 p.m. sharp. Every attendee needs ID.
Early-bird tickets on the WGBA event page cost $60 plus taxes and fees through November 29, then $65 starting November 30. Each ticket includes a souvenir glass, a wristband and a map to the tasting stops, which include Mariette Chocolates, Copita Tequileria y Comida, Hidden Jewel Antiques, The Thrift Box, Aldea Home & Baby, Wheelhouse of Willow Glen and Sushi Confidential. For that day, the association says to park free in the Bank of America lot, ignore its two-hour signs, and stay out of the lots behind CVS and Orange Theory Fitness.
If you're a coordinator, December 5 means unloading trees in the morning, handing them out around your block, and maybe getting to Lincoln Avenue before check-in closes at 3 p.m. Pickup is a no-kids event: everyone stays in their vehicle until they're told to load, and only the people needed for loading should come.
The trolleys start the next night
The WGBA's Holiday Trolley Rides begin on Sunday, December 6, the day after the trees arrive, and run 12 nights through December 17. Rides leave at 5:15, 6:00, 6:45, 7:30, 8:15 and 9:00 p.m., last 30 minutes, and board in front of the Bank of America at 1245 Lincoln Ave. Tickets are $40 for adults and $20 for children, plus fees, and children under 2 ride free on a lap. Each trolley seats 32. The regular schedule adds up to at most 2,304 seats for the season, about as many as there are trees on the trucks, and the association also sets aside select nights and times for private trolley bookings.
On the trolley, no food is allowed, drinks need a secure lid, and dogs can't ride. You get a full refund if you cancel at least 72 hours ahead, but not after that or if you miss your start time. The trolley's ticket page specifically promotes the neighborhood's "traditional yard trees" as part of what you'll see.
The trolley doesn't run on the same dates as last year. In 2025 it ran December 7 to 18, and the 2026 season starts and ends a day earlier. The Mercury News 2025 holiday-lights guide said most Willow Glen homes are decorated by the first weekend of December. It pointed visitors to Glen Echo, Glen Eyrie, Glen Brook and Cherry avenues, plus Camino Ramon, Camino Pablo and Camino Ricardo. Two of the three streets where the tradition started are still on that list.
For groups, San Jose Brew Bike says its Willow Glen holiday-light tours resume in December 2026, leaving from in front of Goosetown Lounge at 1072 Lincoln Ave.
Around the rides
A 5:15 trolley leaves time for dinner afterward, and Lincoln Avenue has a new option this year. The Mercury News reported on October 21 that Black Sheep Brasserie at 1202 Lincoln Ave. has become Stacks' Wild Oak Grill. Owner Nate Habash told the paper he made the change to "better align with community preferences" and described the new place as family-friendly, with sports on TV and a cocktail list. The menu combines dishes from his Morgan Hill Wild Oak with Black Sheep favorites like the tomahawk pork chop and rack of lamb. It's open daily from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m., and until 10 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays.
The WGBA also lists Selfies with Santa at the Garden Theater, 1165 Lincoln Ave., on December 12, 13, 19 and 20 from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. They're free, with a suggested $5 donation. On Saturday mornings, the Willow Glen Farmers' Market runs from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Willow Glen Elementary, 1425 Lincoln Ave. It operates year-round, rain or shine, and the Urban Village Farmers' Market Association keeps its markets open on Christmas and New Year's weekends, though some vendors may be out. Small Business Saturday on the avenue falls on November 28, and the association says to check back for deals from Willow Glen businesses.
The order deadline comes before all of these. If you want a tree on your lawn when the first trolley goes by on December 6, you need to order by 11:59 p.m. on November 17.
Our family loves seeing these trees go up every December, and we're glad to help any neighbor whose street doesn't have a coordinator get connected with one. If you're thinking about what your Willow Glen home is worth this season, The Chiavettas are happy to talk it through. Request Your Home Valuation, and we'll put together a clear, local read on your home.
