Smyrna Has Two Holiday Markets in One Week. Here's Which Is Which.

Between Tuesday, December 1, and Sunday, December 6, Smyrna hosts two holiday markets. The city's calendar lists them separately. They have different names, run at different hours in different buildings, and suit different kinds of shoppers. The Kris Kringle Market is part of the Market Village tree lighting on a Tuesday night. The Smyrna Holiday Market is a two-day handmade show that weekend, held inside the Taylor-Brawner House and Reed House on Atlanta Road.

If you're picking one for gift shopping, choose by the kind of outing you want. The calendar date matters less.

Two markets, side by side

The city's Home for the Holidays listing calls the evening "Smyrna's annual kickoff to the holiday season." It describes local school choirs performing around Market Village and Santa arriving to light the tree, then staying for photos. The same page calls the Kris Kringle Market a "winter wonderland market, filled with twinkling lights and festive décor." The city took separate vendor applications for the market and for food trucks.

The Smyrna Holiday Market listing is pitched differently. The city calls it a "two-day handmade holiday market" and asks for vendors who make "one-of-a-kind artisanal goods, beautiful pottery, specialty candles, or baked treats." Atlanta Parent's listing has the same Sunday hours, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Tuesday night is built around the tree

Home for the Holidays runs for four hours, but the evening centers on Santa lighting the tree. Last year's schedule shows the shape of the night. The Cobb County Courier reported that the 2025 event, held on Tuesday, December 2, opened with music at 5 p.m., and Santa lit the tree at 7 p.m. The city's 2025 event page also gave a 7 p.m. lighting and described the evening as free for all ages. This year's listing again has Santa lighting the tree and posing for photos once it's lit.

That affects how you shop. The Kris Kringle Market is open the whole evening, so families who come early for the choirs can browse before the tree goes up. Anyone with Santa photos on the list should expect to wait until after the lighting. With a 5 p.m. start on a school night, many people will be coming straight from work or after-school pickup, so dinner is part of the plan too.

Eating around Market Village that evening

Several places sit right at Market Village or a short walk away:

• The Corner Taqueria, 2860 Atlanta Road. A taqueria serving tacos, burrito bowls and margaritas, and it posts about Market Village outings on its own site.
• Vintage Tavern, 2860 Atlanta Rd SE #C. Open daily from 11 a.m. to 2 a.m. Its website says parking is behind the townhomes and throughout the Market Village plaza, which helps on a busy event night.
• StillFire Brewing, 2725 King St. SE. The taproom's Smyrna page says it's open and lists current hours.

All three are close enough that you can eat before the choirs and still be back for the tree.

The weekend market fills two historic houses

The Saturday and Sunday market feels different mostly because of where it's held. The listing puts it at Brawner Hall, 3180 Atlanta Rd, and says it runs across both Brawner Hall and Reed House. Both are historic homes the city rents out for events, and each has its own story.

The Taylor-Brawner House is a Victorian home built around 1890. The city credits the Taylor family with bringing the jonquil to the region, and the jonquil is now the city's emblem. After a five-year fundraising effort, the house was restored in 2009.

Reed House, at 3080 Atlanta Road, dates to around 1910 and was designed by architect Leila Ross Wilburn. It stands on 3.6 landscaped acres and has more than 4,500 square feet inside. The city lists a 50-by-15-foot front porch, a porte-cochère, leaded glass windows, oak-paneled walls and window seats. The city also notes the house can hold 100 to 135 people mingling throughout, though no single room fits that many.

Those layouts shape the shopping. A market spread through two houses means moving from room to room and porch to porch. It's not one open floor. That's why the weekend market feels slower and more browsable than the Tuesday crowd waiting for the tree. With eight hours on Saturday and six on Sunday, shoppers have a lot more time to work with than the four-hour weeknight event allows.

The vendor list is being chosen right about now. The city planned to start reviewing applications the week of November 9 and to notify accepted vendors the week of November 16. The application fee is $25 and counts toward the $175 vendor fee once a vendor is accepted. If you know a local potter or candle maker hoping for a spot, they'll hear soon.

The fifteen days around the two markets

The two markets anchor a short run of city holiday events, from November 28 through December 12:

1. Saturday, November 28, to Friday, December 11: Letters to Santa. Children can drop off letters at the Youth Services Desk at the Smyrna Public Library during regular library hours. With that window, a letter can be dropped off before Tuesday's tree lighting.
2. Tuesday, December 1, 5 to 9 p.m.: Home for the Holidays and the Kris Kringle Market at Market Village.
3. Saturday, December 5, and Sunday, December 6: Smyrna Holiday Market at Brawner Hall and Reed House.
4. Thursday, December 10, 6:30 to 8:30 p.m.: "All I Want for Christmas is Spirits" with Atkins Park at the Community Center. It's 21 and over, and only 75 people can attend. In 2025 the city ran a 21-and-over spirits evening at the Community Center called O Bourbon Tree, on December 18, according to the Cobb County Courier. This year's version has a new name and an earlier date.
5. Saturday, December 12, 6:30 to 8:30 p.m.: Blanket Concert Series with Gwen Hughes & The Retro Kats at Village Green Park, 1250 Powder Springs St SE. It's free and needs no registration. Bring a blanket.

The December concert has moved. Last year it was held at the Reed House Event Garden on December 13, according to the Cobb County Courier. In 2026 the series splits by season: spring shows at Reed House, fall and December shows on the Village Green. The October 17 show featured Blair Crimmins & The Hookers. As a result, the season both starts and ends near Market Village and the Village Green, with the Atlanta Road houses hosting the weekend in between.

Picking your market

Go Tuesday if you want choirs, a tree lighting, a Santa photo and a few gifts picked up between tacos and the countdown. Go Saturday or Sunday if you want to take your time with handmade pottery and candles in two houses built around 1890 and 1910. On Saturday, December 5, the market is open until 6 p.m. On Sunday, December 6, it closes at 5 p.m.

If you have time for both, Smyrna's December calendar makes that easy.

Whether you're planning family time around these events or showing visiting relatives around town, I'm glad to share what I know about this stretch of Smyrna, from parking near Market Village to the stories behind the houses on Atlanta Road. Kimberly Eslinger is a phone call away, and if this season has you thinking about your own next chapter here, schedule a consultation and we'll talk it through.