San Carlos's Holiday Season Lands at the Airport Before It Reaches Laurel Street

In November 1978, a sitcom radio station dropped live turkeys from a helicopter as a Thanksgiving promotion. On the Wednesday before Thanksgiving this year, Hiller Aviation Museum on Skyway Road will restage it. The museum is careful to note that this version uses soft, squeezable toy turkeys, which kids can take home.

In the museum's words, the Turkey Toss commemorates "arguably the greatest sitcom episode ever aired on TV," the WKRP in Cincinnati episode "Turkeys Away," and the event page quotes the station manager, Arthur Carlson: "As God is my witness, I thought Turkeys could fly!"

The drop opens San Carlos's holiday season, and it happens on the east side of town by the airport, well away from downtown. Laurel Street has one large holiday night this year. Hiller has helicopter events on the dates around it. If you plan with both calendars, you get a season that starts on November 25 and runs through December 26.

The Wednesday Before Thanksgiving Belongs to Skyway Road

The Helicopter Turkey Toss & Turkey Hunt is listed for Wednesday, November 25, 2026. The toss runs from 11 a.m. to noon. The Turkey Hunt lasts all day: kids look for turkeys hidden around the museum and win a prize if they find them all.

The date is a practical one. Hiller is closed on Thanksgiving Day, so the Wednesday before is the museum's last open day before the holiday. For a household with school-age kids home for the week, or guests who have already arrived, it fills a late morning while the kitchen is still being planned.

The turkey drop is part of a year-round pattern at Hiller. The museum's own description lists Santa and the Easter Bunny arriving by helicopter, a witch dropping pumpkins on Halloween, and a skydiving leprechaun jumping out of a helicopter for St. Patrick's Day. It's a little rotorcraft holiday calendar in its own right, run from 601 Skyway Rd.

One Weekend Connects the Two Calendars

Downtown's big night is the City of San Carlos's Night of Holiday Lights, on Friday, December 4, from 5 to 8:30 p.m. It runs along Laurel Street from San Carlos Avenue to Cherry Street, with the main stage on Cherry. The event is free. The city lists kids' activities, arts and crafts, beer and wine sales, hot chocolate and holiday goodies, a holiday show with lights and snow, and musical performances.

Hiller's Santa event is scheduled for the next morning, Saturday, December 5. That timing makes the first weekend of December the busiest stretch of the season, with both calendars landing back to back. Here is the order:

1. Friday, 5 p.m.: Emcees Lori & RJ open the Night of Holiday Lights program on the Cherry Street stage.
2. Friday evening: The city's listed lineup also includes The Tide Note Singers led by Emily Bender, Broadway Babies & Kids, San Carlos Children's Theater, Peninsula Lively Arts, the Tap Dancing Christmas Trees, and A Tribute to Stevie Wonder. Santa Claus and the Snow Queen make special appearances.
3. Friday, 6:30 to 8:30 p.m.: Wild Child closes the night on the main stage.
4. Saturday, 9:30 a.m.: Hiller opens its doors for Santa Arrives by Helicopter.
5. Saturday, 10:30 a.m.: Santa lands. He's available until noon to hear Christmas wishes, and the West Bay Community Band plays carols.

Lineups can change before the event, so check the city's page that week. Families can see Santa twice in roughly 16 hours: once on Laurel Street in the evening, and once the next morning as he steps out of a helicopter on Skyway Road.

The Saturday event has two more details worth knowing. Hiller's page says the arrival happens "Rain or Shine!" and that there is no charge for Santa's arrival. If the forecast turns, check the city's page for Friday night's plans. Hiller also lists Sky Kitchen Restaurant at 620 Airport Way as open daily for breakfast and lunch. That makes it the closest sit-down option for a 9:30 a.m. start or for after Santa leaves.

Laurel Street's Night Also Has a Job for Kids

The Night of Holiday Lights also includes youth vendors. The city is accepting youth vendor applications from students in grades 4 through 12 who are at least 9 years old. Applications are due by November 13 at 11:59 p.m.

To help young sellers prepare, the San Carlos Youth Center is running a free Entrepreneurship Workshop Series on Fridays from 4 to 5 p.m. through November 20. Sign-up goes through the city's After School Drop-In Program at cityofsancarlos.org/scyc. The city notes that attending the workshops doesn't guarantee a vendor spot at the event.

That deadline is about two weeks away. Of all the dates in the season, it's the one most likely to pass before anyone thinks about December.

The rest of downtown's holiday weeks run on its regular routine. The San Carlos Farmers' Market sets up every Sunday from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Laurel Street between Cherry Street and San Carlos Avenue, and the city's events calendar describes it as a year-round market. The Sunday market on December 6 is two days after the Night of Holiday Lights, on the same block.

The Day After Christmas Has a Cockpit Open

Hiller is closed on Christmas Day. When it reopens on Saturday, December 26, it holds Open Cockpit Day from 10 a.m. to noon. Visitors can climb into cockpits that are usually closed. The listed aircraft are a Grumman HU-16 Albatross, a Fokker Dr.1, a Boeing 737-100 and a Bell 47D.

December 26 also works for a houseful of relatives who have been indoors for two days. The museum's broader collection includes more than 40 aircraft and a Boeing 747 nose-section exhibit, which gives the morning something to fill the time after the cockpits close at noon.

What the Airport Side Costs, Compared With Downtown

The Night of Holiday Lights is free, and so is Santa's helicopter arrival. Hiller's other days follow the museum's regular admission, which its general information page lists as of October 2026:

The online price includes a $1 service fee. At these prices, a family of two adults and two kids aged 4 to 17 would pay $76 at the door for a day at Hiller. For households that plan to go on several of these dates, that total is the number to weigh against a membership, because members get in free.

There's a less expensive option too. Eligible San Mateo County Library cardholders can reserve Discover & Go museum passes through the San Mateo County Library. Passes are tied to a specific date, are limited in number, and have to be booked ahead. Around holiday dates, booking early matters.

Parking is the other difference between the two calendars. Hiller offers free parking in the museum lots. Downtown on December 4, the festivities fill Laurel Street from San Carlos Avenue to Cherry Street, so plan to park off that stretch.

Hiller's regular listed hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily. The museum notes that special events sometimes extend those hours or close the museum to the public, and asks visitors to check its calendar or call to confirm a specific date.

The Season in Date Order

• Wednesday, Nov. 25, 11 a.m. to noon: Helicopter Turkey Toss at Hiller, with the Turkey Hunt running all day
• Thursday, Nov. 26: Hiller closed for Thanksgiving
• Friday, Dec. 4, 5 to 8:30 p.m.: Night of Holiday Lights, Laurel Street from San Carlos Avenue to Cherry Street
• Saturday, Dec. 5, 9:30 a.m. to noon: Santa Arrives by Helicopter at Hiller, landing at 10:30
• Sunday, Dec. 6, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.: Farmers' Market on Laurel Street
• Friday, Dec. 25: Hiller closed for Christmas
• Saturday, Dec. 26, 10 a.m. to noon: Open Cockpit Day at Hiller

Before any of these dates, the youth vendor applications for the Night of Holiday Lights are due on November 13 at 11:59 p.m.

Our office is in San Carlos, and we track the town's calendar the same way we track its housing market: by date and by address. If the holidays have you thinking about a move or a sale in the new year, Vision Real Estate offers a free property valuation. That way your January plans can start from a real number for your home.