On Monday, November 16, Leawood City Hall turns its lights on at 5:45 p.m. Five days later a storefront behind Whole Harvest Kitchen on West 119th Street opens for Santa photos and stays open daily until December 23. The next afternoon, Sunday the 22nd, The Lodge at Ironwoods Park fills with local vendors for a free holiday market.
That puts three of Leawood's dated holiday events in a seven-day window. Two of them are on the north end of the city, along a stretch of Town Center that added several new storefronts this fall. If you live here, the week of the 16th sets up the season, and most of it happens within one corner of town.
| Date | Event | Where | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mon., Nov. 16, 5:45 to 6:30 p.m. | Mayor's Holiday Lighting | Leawood City Hall, 4800 Town Center Drive | No cost listed |
| Nov. 18 to 22 | Kansas City Holiday Boutique | Overland Park Convention Center, 6000 College Blvd. | $18 in advance, $20 at the door |
| Sat., Nov. 21, through Dec. 23 | Photos with Santa, daily | 4872 W. 119th St., Town Center Plaza | By appointment |
| Sun., Nov. 22, noon to 5 p.m. | Ironwoods Holiday Market | The Lodge at Ironwoods Park, 3640 Ironwoods Court | Free |
| Mid-November, date not yet posted | The Ice at Park Place opens | Park Place | $12 admission, $4 skate rental |
Monday night at City Hall is short and early
The city's listing gives the lighting 45 minutes, from 5:45 to 6:30 p.m. on a Monday. The city says Mayor Marc Elkins and the Leawood City Council will host, with cookies, hot beverages and caroling by local students, and that everyone will "help light up City Hall for the season."
Since it's a weeknight, you'll likely come straight from work or school pickup, and the event is over by 6:30. That leaves most of the evening open. Town Center Plaza and Town Center Crossing are close by on West 119th Street, and their lineup looks different from last holiday season.
West 119th Street has new storefronts this year
Several of the recent openings are ones a Kansas shopper would otherwise have had to travel for.
- Alo opened Friday, September 11, at 4868 W. 119th St., according to the Johnson County Post. KCTV5 reported that it's the brand's first Kansas store, at 4,603 square feet.
- Vuori is the activewear brand's first Kansas City metro store, according to the same KCTV5 report. It was listed as open in an October 5 roundup from KCinsiders, and Vuori's store locator puts it at 5004 W. 119th St.
- Coach and The Coach Coffee Shop held its grand opening on Friday, October 16, at 5000 W. 119th St. in Town Center Crossing, FOX4 reported. KCTV5 described it as the market's first Coach Coffee Shop, next to EVEREVE, serving hot coffee and exclusive sweet treats.
- Play Street Museum was on KCTV5's list of places already open at Town Center as of early September.
The Coach Coffee Shop matters most on a lighting night. It's a new place for a warm drink that didn't exist last November, and it sits on the same street as the shops above. The Santa storefront sits on that street too.
The Santa storefront is easy to miss
Jordan Photography is running its 18th season of Photos with Santa at Town Center Plaza, open daily from November 21 through December 23. The address is 4872 W. 119th St., which puts it next door to Alo's 4868.
The company's directions are specific. The storefront is behind Whole Harvest Kitchen, with a Photos with Santa sign on the awning, and the entrance faces KC Aerial Arts and the Town Center Mall Office. You can't just walk in. Sessions run three to five minutes, appointments are booked per family and not per child, large family groups can't be accommodated, and prints are made on-site to take home. Session prices are on the company's price list, linked from the same page.
The booking setup works well with the new stores. A family can reserve a set Santa time and fill the hour around it without waiting in a line. Play Street Museum covers the kids, Alo and Vuori cover the gift list, and the coffee shop is on the way out.
"Appointments are required to reduce crowds and ensure a smooth experience." From Jordan Photography's Santa booking page
Ironwoods is the south end's one afternoon
The north end gets a Monday night plus a month of Santa visits. The south end of Leawood gets one Sunday afternoon, and it's a different kind of event.
The city describes the Ironwoods Holiday Market as an indoor shopping event at The Lodge at Ironwoods Park, with local boutiques, artisans, makers and specialty vendors selling gifts, seasonal décor, handmade goods, clothing and accessories, plus holiday music and refreshments. It runs from noon to 5 p.m. on Sunday, November 22, and admission is free.
The vendor terms show what kind of market it is. The Leawood Chamber's vendor notice set a $25 vendor fee for a 10-by-10 booth. Vendors keep all their sales, and they handle their own sales tax. With a fee that low and booths that small, this is a room full of small sellers and individual makers. Town Center's new storefronts are national brands, so the two ends of the city offer very different shopping on the same weekend.
Applications closed September 18, and the Chamber's notice was a call for vendors with no roster attached.
The Ironwoods market also overlaps with the last day of the Kansas City Holiday Boutique at the Overland Park Convention Center. The Leawood Chamber calendar lists the boutique from November 18 through 22, with general admission at $18 online in advance through November 18 or $20 starting opening day, and free entry for children 12 and under. A VIP shopping night on November 18 runs from 5 to 9 p.m. for $40. If you want both on the 22nd, Ironwoods costs nothing and the boutique closes at 5 p.m., so plan the drive between them around that.
Two things still don't have dates
Two parts of the season are still unscheduled.
The Ice at Park Place. Park Place's page for Leawood's only outdoor ice rink says it's open every day from mid-November through March 1, holidays included. The Park Place visit page still reads "2026 Season Information Coming Soon," and the skate hours listed under it are labeled 2025 to 26. The rates posted on the rink page are $12 admission and $4 skate rental, with children 4 and under free. A weekday after-school session from 4 to 6 p.m. costs $9 plus rental, and a $150 season pass includes rentals. The rink page lists themed skates like Skating with The Grinch, Frozen Sisters Skate and Fire Engine at The Ice Skate, but none of them has a date yet. Going by "mid-November," the rink could open the same week as the lighting and the market. Call (913) 663-2070 before you take the skates.
Local Lime Tacos & Margaritas. The Cali-Mex restaurant is going into 5005 W. 117th St. on the north side of Town Center Plaza, and it would be the closest sit-down dinner on this list to City Hall. Its own Leawood page still says "Coming Soon" and "Opening Fall 2026." KCinsiders' October 24 roundup still lists it under coming soon, with a November opening scheduled. The Leawood Chamber has a ribbon cutting on its calendar for Tuesday, December 8, from 3:30 to 5 p.m., with the ceremony at 4. A ribbon cutting doesn't always mark the first day of service, so it's best not to plan a lighting-night dinner around Local Lime.
A third restaurant is further out. The Johnson County Post reported in late September that Flower Child filed plans for the former Houlihan's site on Town Center Plaza's south side near 119th and Roe. The plans still need approval, and no opening date was given. Expect it after this season, not during it.
The week, in order
- Now: Book a Santa time through Jordan Photography's schedule page for any date from November 21 on.
- Mon., Nov. 16: Get to City Hall by 5:45 p.m. for the lighting. Afterward, the Coach Coffee Shop and the new Town Center stores are close by on West 119th Street.
- Wed., Nov. 18: This is the last day for the $18 advance price on Holiday Boutique tickets.
- Sat., Nov. 21: The Santa storefront opens behind Whole Harvest Kitchen.
- Sun., Nov. 22: The Ironwoods Holiday Market runs from noon to 5 p.m. at The Lodge.
- Any day that week: Call The Ice at Park Place to see whether the rink is open.
I keep a close eye on what changes along 119th Street, because each new storefront affects how a Leawood home shows to the next buyer who drives past it. If the holidays have you thinking about where your home would stand going into a spring market, I'm glad to walk you through it. When you call, I answer. Trent Gallagher | Request Your Complimentary Home Valuation.
