Most Christmas tree lightings are a switch, a crowd, and a countdown. The one at the California State Capitol has something underneath it that almost nobody watching knows about: the ornaments hanging on that sixty foot tree were made by Californians with intellectual and developmental disabilities, through the state’s regional centers.
That single fact changes what the evening is. It is still a tree and a countdown and a lot of families in coats. It is also the only holiday event in Sacramento where the decorations are the point rather than the backdrop.
What happens at the ceremony
The Governor and First Partner host it, alongside the Department of Developmental Services and the Governor’s Office of Community Service and Engagement. The ceremony centers on lighting the sixty foot Capitol tree, and the honor of throwing the switch usually goes to a child or a pair of children chosen for the year. In 2025 it was five year old twins from Altadena.
It is free and open to the public, and for people who cannot get downtown it is live streamed on the Governor’s Office YouTube and Facebook channels.
The ornaments, and the regional center trees
The handmade ornaments come from people served by regional centers across the state. Recent years have included Santa faces, snowflakes, hot cocoa cups, snowmen and small Christmas trees, which means the tree has a slightly uneven, handmade quality that a commercially decorated tree never has.
For the last several years, twenty one regional centers have also each displayed their own six foot tree outside the Capitol. If you go, walk the outside trees before or after the main ceremony. They are the part most visitors miss and the part most worth seeing.
Practical notes for going
The ceremony has been held inside the Capitol building in recent years rather than on the grounds, which keeps it warm and dry but also caps how many people fit. Arrive earlier than you think you need to. Downtown parking on a December weeknight is easier than a weekend but still not generous, and the garages fill from the Capitol outward.
It is an early evening event, historically starting around 7pm on a weekday in the first half of December. The 2025 ceremony was Wednesday, December 10 at 7pm.
The 2026 date has not been announced. The Department of Developmental Services newsroom is where it gets posted first, and we will update this page when it does.
The Details
- Where: California State Capitol, Sacramento. Recent ceremonies held inside the building
- Cost: free and open to the public
- Typical timing: a weekday evening around 7pm in the first half of December
- The tree: sixty feet, decorated with ornaments handmade by Californians with intellectual and developmental disabilities
- Also there: twenty one regional center trees displayed outside the Capitol
- Can’t attend: live streamed on the Governor’s Office YouTube and Facebook
- 2026 date: not yet announced
Bottom Line
Go for the tree, stay for the ornaments, and walk the regional center trees outside. It is free, it is short, and it is the rare civic holiday event that is actually about somebody.
