Which December Saturday goes to which house? The town's two big holiday traditions sit in two historic houses about a fifteen-minute drive apart. They run on schedules that barely overlap until the three Saturday nights when they suddenly do.
Georgia's Old Governor's Mansion at 120 South Clark Street is open in daylight. Christmas at the Mansion opens this Saturday, Nov. 14, and runs through Dec. 31. Tours start on the hour, Tuesday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Sunday from 2 to 4 p.m. Lockerly Arboretum at 1534 Irwinton Road is open after dark. Its Lockerly in Lights walk-thru runs Friday and Saturday nights from Nov. 20 through Jan. 2. For most of the season you can do both in a single day without any conflict. The planning gets harder on Dec. 5, 12 and 19.
The first week belongs to downtown
Between this Saturday and Nov. 20, the Mansion is the only one of the two houses decorated and open. Visit Milledgeville's Thanksgiving-week guide describes the decorating as 1851-period decor, with fresh greenery, ribbons and a 30-foot Christmas tree. Daytime admission on the Mansion's tour information page is $10 for adults, $7 for seniors and $2 for students, plus 8% sales tax. Children under 6 and the GCSU community get in free.
Thanksgiving week is the first break in the Mansion's schedule. After Tuesday, Nov. 24, the house is closed until Saturday, Nov. 28. Lockerly's lights are lit on Friday, Nov. 27, and Saturday, Nov. 28. So the day after Thanksgiving is a Lockerly night, and the Saturday after is a full day with both houses open. That Saturday is also Small Business Saturday on the Milledgeville Main Street calendar. That makes Nov. 28 the cleanest day of the season to put downtown shopping, a Mansion tour and an evening at Lockerly in order.
If your downtown loop hasn't reached Wayne Street lately, it has two newer storefronts. The Union-Recorder reported in October that Quill & Castle Books, an independent bookstore at 118 N. Wayne St., opened in September. Ray's Treasure Vault, an anime-focused hobby shop next door, opened Sept. 14.
How the week divides between the two houses
Lockerly's December schedule spreads across the week. Its events land on days and hours the Mansion isn't using, except on Wednesdays and Saturdays.
| Day | Old Governor's Mansion, 120 S. Clark St. | Lockerly Arboretum, 1534 Irwinton Rd. |
|---|---|---|
| Monday | Closed | No holiday event listed |
| Tuesday | Tours 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. | ReinDog Night, Dec. 15, 6 to 8 p.m. |
| Wednesday | Tours 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. | Christmas Past at Rose Hill, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., December only |
| Thursday | Tours 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. | Family Movie Night, Dec. 17 |
| Friday | Tours 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. | Lockerly in Lights, Nov. 20 to Jan. 1 |
| Saturday | Tours 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.; candlelight tours Dec. 5, 12 and 19 | Lockerly in Lights, Nov. 21 to Jan. 2 |
| Sunday | Tours 2 to 4 p.m. | No holiday event listed |
Wednesday is the one day when both historic houses are open in daylight. Christmas Past at Rose Hill fills the historic Rose Hill house on the Lockerly grounds with antique toys and Christmas decorations, arranged so you follow the decades back. Visit Milledgeville's listing puts the 2026 collection at more than 400 antique ornaments, toys and dolls. Tickets are $15 for Dec. 2, 9, 16, 23 or 30. Rose Hill closes at 2 p.m. and the Mansion runs tours until 4 p.m., so Irwinton Road in the late morning and South Clark Street in the afternoon fits inside one Wednesday.
The two mid-week Lockerly nights work for anyone who doesn't want to compete with Saturday crowds. ReinDog Night on Tuesday, Dec. 15, runs 6 to 8 p.m. It costs $25 per dog, the price covers two people, and dogs are welcome in festive gear. Family Movie Night on Thursday, Dec. 17, shows A Christmas Story on the meadow. Bring your own chairs and blankets, and Lockerly provides popcorn and the lights. Tickets are $20 for adults and $5 for kids ages 2 to 12, and Citizens Bank of the South sponsors the evening.
Three Saturdays, two candlelit houses
On Dec. 5, 12 and 19, the Mansion stays open after dark. Its candlelight tours start at 6, 7 and 8 p.m. and recreate a 19th-century Christmas by candlelight, with guides telling the stories behind the holiday traditions. Tickets are $15 for adults, $8 for seniors 60 and up, and $4 for students and GCSU staff. Children under 6 are free. Reservations are required, and the Mansion answers questions at (478) 445-4545.
Those same Saturdays are Lockerly in Lights nights, at $15 for adults and $5 for youth ages 2 to 12. The Dec. 4 ticket page offers entry at 6, 7 and 8 p.m., which is the same hourly rhythm the Mansion uses. On these three nights the season's two evening events run in the same hours on opposite sides of town, so each Saturday has room for only one of them.
The other Saturday events help decide which house gets which night:
- Dec. 5 opens a full downtown weekend, covered below. If you're already downtown that afternoon, the Mansion's candlelight tour is close by.
- Dec. 12 is the day of the Fall Line Christmas Festival, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. at 2809-A Irwinton Road, with local vendors, food and gospel music. That's the same road as Lockerly, so a daytime festival followed by the lights keeps the whole day on Irwinton Road.
- Dec. 19 is the last candlelight night. It's also the last Saturday the Mansion is open before it closes from Dec. 24 through Dec. 27.
Lockerly can be pushed later because its lights stay on through the holiday itself. Its ticket schedule includes Friday, Dec. 25, and Saturday, Dec. 26, while the Mansion is closed, and continues to Jan. 1 and 2. The Mansion has no evening dates after Dec. 19. If you're splitting the three Saturdays, the Mansion's candlelight nights are the ones with a deadline.
The first weekend of December fills downtown
Dec. 4 through 6 is the only stretch of the season when downtown's own events stack up alongside both houses. In order:
- Friday, Dec. 4, 6 to 8 p.m. First Friday: Holiday on Hancock centers on 117 West Hancock Street. It includes the annual tree lighting in front of Firefly Boutique, Santa at Exchange Bank, and the Grinch with cookie decorating at the Visitor's Center. Lockerly in Lights is also open that night.
- Saturday, Dec. 5, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. The Merry Milly Market brings about 50 artisan vendors and food trucks to the Mary Vinson Memorial Library parking lot at 105 East Hancock Street. The Mansion's daytime tours run during market hours, and the first candlelight tours start at 6 p.m.
- Sunday, Dec. 6, 3 p.m. The Exchange Club Christmas Parade is free, and this year's theme is America250. Visit Milledgeville's 2026 holiday guide says it starts at the South Gate of Georgia Military College and travels through downtown.
Sunday is the tightest of the three days. The Mansion's Sunday tours run only from 2 to 4 p.m., and the parade steps off at 3 p.m. A 2 p.m. tour is the only one that finishes before the parade starts. Families who want both on Dec. 6 should plan around that hour, or move the Mansion to a weekday, when tours run all day.
The same weekend falls inside Main Street's Santa Mailbox window, which runs Dec. 1 through 13. A letter dropped off during Friday's tree lighting or Saturday's market makes the deadline with a week to spare.
Counting the season backward
Your last chance at a candlelight tour is Saturday, Dec. 19. Your last Christmas Past Wednesday is Dec. 30. The Mansion's last day of the season is Thursday, Dec. 31, and its last Lockerly-free stretch is this coming week. Lockerly in Lights runs past both houses' daytime events, with its final night on Saturday, Jan. 2.
So the useful order for planning is the Mansion's candlelight Saturdays first, Rose Hill's Wednesdays second, and Lockerly's lights last, since they have the most open nights.
At The Hendrix Group, we pay close attention to how a historic house is dressed for the season: the greenery, the light, the order a visitor walks through the rooms. It's the same design thinking we bring to listing presentation. If a candlelit evening on South Clark Street has you thinking about how your own home would show, we'd be glad to walk through it with you. Schedule a Free Consultation.
