Hampton Bays' Holiday Season Runs on Drop-Off Deadlines. Here's the Calendar.

The Hampton Bays Public Library has a collection box in the Children's Room for new toys. Down the hall from it, a Mitten Tree takes hats, scarves and socks. Starting in mid-November, a stand of paper stars arrives, and each star asks for one specific gift. All three sit in the same building, and each one sends its donations somewhere different. They also close on three different dates, weeks apart.

The order of those dates shapes the season. Many people think of the Chamber of Commerce tree lighting on Sunday, December 6 as the high point of December in Hampton Bays. On this year's calendar, it lands in the middle. The toy drive has closed three days earlier. The Holiday Star gifts are due a week later. The Mitten Tree stays open until nearly New Year's. If you plan around the tree lighting alone, you'll miss half of it.

The Season at a Glance

These dates all come from the library's November/December 2026 newsletter and the Heart of the Hamptons Holiday Star page.

The table shows one building at the center of nearly everything. Five of the six dates either run through the library or start with a library sponsor. The sections below go in calendar order, because the deadlines line up that way.

Mid-November: The Salute, Then the Stars

The season starts with lunch. On Thursday, November 12, from noon to 1 p.m., the library holds its 10th Annual "Salute to Our Hampton Bays Veterans!" The newsletter describes it as a chance to "meet some of our local residents who are also brave wartime heroes." The Rotary Club of Hampton Bays sponsors the lunch, and the library notes that the meal is served to Hampton Bays veterans and their families only. This is the program's tenth year, so it has a longer run than most things on the hamlet's fall calendar.

Four days later, on Monday, November 16, the Holiday Star program begins at the library. Heart of the Hamptons runs it. The program is in its 34th year, and the library calls itself "once again participating." Here's how it works. You pick up a star, and each star names one item requested for a child. You buy that item and bring it back unwrapped. Heart of the Hamptons asks for every gift by December 13 and says to return each one to the location listed on the star. At the library, questions go to Donna Valle at [email protected].

The library isn't the only place in Hampton Bays with stars. Heart of the Hamptons lists three Hampton Bays locations: Canoe Place Inn, the Hampton Bays Library, and Hampton Maid. The library and Hampton Maid both have drop boxes. So you can pick up a star over breakfast at Hampton Maid and drop off the gift on your next visit. Stars are displayed at Canoe Place Inn too, so if you take one there, check the star for its return location, as the program asks.

The program reaches well past this hamlet. On the same list, Heart of the Hamptons shows a much longer run of Southampton locations, plus stops in Sag Harbor and Bridgehampton. Hampton Bays has a smaller share of display points, but the stars here feed the same East End program.

A Thanksgiving Without the 5K

One familiar date is missing from this year's list. Registration for the 2026 Hampton Bays Fire Department Turkey Trot 5K Run/Walk is closed, and the race page says, "We regret to inform you that the race will not take place this year." The same page still links photo galleries from the 2023, 2024 and 2025 races.

Without the race, there's a gap in the middle of the season. No hamlet event ties the November start to the December finish this year. That makes the dates on either side of Thanksgiving carry more weight, and the next one comes up fast.

Early December: The Toy Box Closes Before the Sleigh Arrives

On this calendar, timing matters most for the children's toy drive. The library is collecting new toys for children in the area and will give all of them to Blaze Church in Flanders for its annual "Free Toy Store" program. The box is in the Children's Room. Donations are accepted through Thursday, December 3.

That's three days before the sleigh ride. So if you're waiting for the tree lighting to get in the holiday mood, the toy box will already be closed by then. The other two drives are more forgiving. The early deadline makes sense, because a Free Toy Store needs its shelves stocked before families come to shop. Either way, if you're buying a toy, buy it in November.

Then comes the event that gets the most attention. The Magical Sleigh Ride Through Hampton Bays runs on Sunday, December 6, from 3:30 to 5 p.m. It starts at the firehouse on Ponquogue Avenue, travels through the hamlet and ends at the Chamber of Commerce Tree Lighting Ceremony. The Friends of the Hampton Bays Library sponsor it, and the newsletter adds, "Who knows, it might even pass your house!"

The sleigh ride is the clearest source for this year's tree lighting date, since it ends there. The ceremony's own 2026 start time will come from the Hampton Bays Chamber of Commerce, so watch for its announcement before you set an evening schedule. For a sense of the evening, the Chamber's 2025 tree lighting listing ran from 5 to 7 p.m. on December 7, 2025, and promised a tree ceremony, Santa photos, a Parade of Lights, cocoa and treats, and local performances. That was last year's program. This year's may differ.

After the Lights: Two Drives Still Open

Holiday Star gifts are due Sunday, December 13, a full week after the sleigh ride. The library's newsletter repeats that deadline and adds a reminder not to wrap the gifts. If you picked up a star in mid-November, you have almost four weeks to shop. That's longer than any other window on this calendar.

The Mitten Tree stays open the longest. The Children's Room is collecting new and handmade mittens, gloves, hats, scarves and socks through December 30, and the items will be donated to the Church of St. Rosalie for distribution. Handmade items count. So if you knit, you can still finish a scarf over Christmas week and bring it in before the drive closes.

Put the three drives side by side and the closing dates fall on December 3, December 13 and December 30. Each one goes to a different organization: Blaze Church in Flanders, Heart of the Hamptons, and the Church of St. Rosalie. A household could make three separate trips to the same building and support three different groups.

The Small Program Running Underneath

One more item in the newsletter has nothing to do with deadlines. It's worth knowing about because it keeps people coming to the same building all season. The library has started a Spice Club. Members pick up a monthly "spice of the month" kit, made possible through the library's Library Chef resource. November's spice is thyme and December's is basil. To join, contact the Adult Reference desk.

The timing works out neatly. A December pickup for basil can share a trip with a Holiday Star return before the 13th or a bag of mittens for the tree. The newsletter's front page also lists no late fees.

Your Dates, In One Line Each

• November 12: Veterans salute lunch, noon to 1 p.m., for Hampton Bays veterans and their families
• November 16: Holiday Star pickup opens at the library; stars also at Canoe Place Inn and Hampton Maid
• December 3: Last day to drop a new toy in the Children's Room box for Blaze Church's Free Toy Store
• December 6: Sleigh ride from the Ponquogue Avenue firehouse, 3:30 to 5 p.m., ending at the Chamber tree lighting
• December 13: Unwrapped Holiday Star gifts due
• December 30: Last day for Mitten Tree donations for the Church of St. Rosalie

Bridget is a Hamptons native, and December dates like these are part of how she knows the East End. If you'd like to talk about anything happening in Hampton Bays this season, or you just want a quick local answer, Bridget Terry is glad to hear from you. Let's Connect.