The Clocktower at Vinings Jubilee, 4300 Paces Ferry Road, is where the center holds its annual tree lighting. This December it hosts three gatherings in ten days, each with its own program, and one of them is run by Chabad of Smyrna. A Thursday evening tree lighting opens the stretch, a Sunday menorah lighting with a fire show follows, and a Saturday afternoon market closes it. The market is new this year.
With three dates in ten days, the season works as a run of outings: two evenings and a Saturday afternoon. A household can plan for several of them instead of one. The center's dining has also changed since last winter, which affects where dinner happens before or after the lights.
Three Dates in Ten Days
Here is the December calendar at the Clocktower, in order.
- Thursday, December 3, 6 p.m.: the annual Christmas Tree Lighting. The program has the lighting of the Jubilee tree, visits with Santa, a train ride, an ornament to make and take home, face painting and balloons.
- Sunday, December 6, 5:30 p.m.: the Chanukah Festival and Menorah Lighting. Chabad of Smyrna hosts the menorah lighting with a fire show, hands-on Chanukah crafts, face painting, seasonal treats and refreshments. The listing says all are welcome and recommends an advance RSVP through Chabad of Smyrna.
- Saturday, December 12, 1 to 4 p.m.: the inaugural Vinings Jubilee Holiday Market. Local makers set up around the Clocktower, with live jazz, seasonal refreshments and Santa from 1 to 3 p.m.
The three events have little in common beyond the location. The tree lighting starts after dark on a weeknight, the Chanukah Festival is a Sunday evening, and the market fills a Saturday afternoon. Someone who has to miss one of them can still catch the other two.
The Tree Lighting Is a Local Stage
The December 3 program draws heavily on nearby performers. The Vinings Jubilee events page lists Whitefield Jazz Academy, Piccadilly Puppets, the Campbell Middle School Chorus, the Griffin Middle School Choir, Lady V and the Candy Canes, and Tinseltown Carolers.
That is six acts for a single evening, so the program is long enough to plan around. The 6 p.m. start on a Thursday leaves time to get to Paces Ferry Road after work. With the train ride, Santa and the ornament table all at the Clocktower, the evening can easily run past the lighting itself.
The Sunday Lighting Comes With Fire
Three days later, Chabad of Smyrna holds its menorah lighting at the same Clocktower. The program pairs the menorah with a fire show, and crafts, face painting and seasonal treats fill out the evening.
The 5:30 p.m. start falls close to sunset in early December, so the fire show will run in early darkness. Chabad of Smyrna recommends RSVPing in advance, which suggests counting heads matters for this one in a way it doesn't for the tree lighting.
The Saturday Market Is the New One
The Vinings Jubilee events page calls the December 12 market the center's first. It describes an afternoon for finding a thoughtful gift among local makers around the Clocktower, with live jazz and a stop at the center's shops and restaurants.
Bloom & Branch runs a mini-wreath decorating workshop during the market.
| Detail | As listed |
|---|---|
| Host | Bloom & Branch |
| Date | Saturday, December 12, 2026 |
| Workshop window | 1 to 3 p.m. |
| Price | $50 per person, materials included |
| Registration | Online in advance; onsite while supplies last |
The workshop and Santa's visit run in the same two hours, 1 to 3 p.m. A family that wants both will need to split up or plan the timing carefully. The last hour of the market, from 3 to 4 p.m., is quieter: makers and jazz without the two scheduled draws.
Where Dinner Fits Now
Vinings Jubilee's dining has changed since the last holiday season. Chef Scott Kinsey and Alexis Kinsey ran Stockyard Burgers & Bones in the center for nine years. In late September they reopened the same space as Cotto Modern Italian, according to Atlanta Magazine.
Cotto's format suits event evenings. Atlanta Magazine reports that it serves dinner nightly and brunch on weekends, takes both reservations and walk-ins, and seats 75 inside and 40 on an open-air patio. Most of the menu is designed for sharing: antipasti, pasta, mains and 10-inch wood-fired pizzas. Early favorites include gnocchi, pollo saltimbocca and cacio e pepe. The wine list carries 85 Italian offerings.
Each Clocktower date lines up with one of those services:
- December 3: Cotto's nightly dinner follows a 6 p.m. tree lighting, and walk-in seating helps on an evening when the end time is hard to predict.
- December 6: Dinner is also open on Sunday, after a menorah lighting that starts at 5:30 p.m.
- December 12: Weekend brunch comes before a market that opens at 1 p.m.
The renovation changed the room as well as the menu. According to Atlanta Magazine, the Kinseys moved the bar, removed half walls to open up the dining room, and added arches, niches, stucco wall coverings, neutral tones and olive-green accents. The bar mixes Italian staples like limoncello and spritzes with old fashioneds and espresso martinis. The Tuscan Ember combines bourbon, amaretto, apple liqueur, amaro, apple juice and lemon, and the seasonal Fly Me to the Moon mixes vodka, lemon, apricot, Italicus and amaro.
November Builds Up to It
The center's calendar already has seasonal listings before the Clocktower dates arrive:
| Listing | Dates |
|---|---|
| Thanksgiving and Friendsgiving at HOBNOB | November 11 to 26 |
| November seasonal pies at Southern Baked Pie Company | Through November 30 |
| bartaco High Tide Happy Happy, weekdays 3 to 6 p.m. | Through November 30 |
| Rare Beauty x Warby Parker collection | Through November 30 |
bartaco's happy hour lists small bites, drinks and 2-for-1 mocktails, with new menu items including Salt + Vinegar Taro Chips, Korean Deviled Eggs and Blistered Shishitos. The Warby Parker shop is in Suite 226. It held its grand opening on July 25, so this is its first holiday season in the center.
Thanksgiving falls on November 26, the final day of HOBNOB's listing. A week later the tree lighting starts the December run.
By Daylight, Paces Mill Is Open
The Clocktower calendar covers two evenings and one Saturday afternoon. The daylight hours of those same weekends can go to the river. Paces Mill, on the Chattahoochee, is open. The New Day Palisades project reports that Phase One of the renewal is complete and labels Paces Mill "Now Open."
The park will see more work. Phase Two would add a visitor information center, restrooms, changing facilities, an open-air pavilion, and river-entry steps and overlooks. New Day Palisades now plans to start that phase in fall 2027, contingent on $9.5 million in funding. Until then, the reopened Phase One park is the version available this winter. A morning walk there on December 6 leaves the rest of the day clear before the 5:30 p.m. menorah lighting.
Past the Market, Toward December 31
After the December 12 market, the next holiday listing in Vinings belongs to Old Vinings Inn, which lists a New Year's Eve event on Thursday, December 31, from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. A December 31 that starts at 11 a.m. and ends at 8 p.m. leaves the late evening open, for a quieter New Year's Eve or for plans elsewhere.
For readers who follow how Vinings spends its seasons, and how that shapes the homes around it, Debra Johnston is glad to compare notes on the neighborhood over the coming months. Let's Connect.
