Holiday shopping in Palo Alto

Holiday shopping in Palo Alto centers on one place and spills into several others. Stanford Shopping Center decorates its open-air walkways, extends its hours and draws shoppers from across the Peninsula. Town & Country Village, downtown and California Avenue handle the smaller gifts. A few community sales add handmade work you will not find in a store.

This guide collects what we could confirm for November and December 2026: center hours, holiday markets and sales with published dates, stores that state they gift wrap, food gifts and the shipping counters that will send it all home. Every store named here has a verified listing in our directory. For concerts, lights and the rest of the season, see our holiday season guide.

The 2026 holiday shopping calendar

These dates come from organizers' own pages or from pages on our site that cite them. We left out events that had not posted 2026 dates by late October.

Holiday sales and markets

Palo Alto Art Center Studio Holiday Sale

Artists who work in the Palo Alto Art Center studios sell their own work on Saturday, December 5, 2026, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. The city lists jewelry, functional and fine art ceramics, paintings and prints. Admission is free. Details are on the city's event page. The center is at 1313 Newell Road. Our holiday markets roundup covers more holiday markets and craft fairs near Palo Alto.

Gamble Garden Holiday Marketplace

Gamble Garden runs three days of winter events. An Opening Night party is on Thursday, December 3, from 5 to 7 p.m. The Holiday Marketplace follows on Friday and Saturday, December 4 and 5, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., with more than 30 vendors in the house and garden and free admission for children 12 and under. The garden also lists its Over the Garden Fence sale of loved and vintage items in the same program. Check the Gamble Garden winter page for tickets.

Neighborhood and nearby markets

The Barron Park Association's Celebration and Craft Fair is set for November 15 at Juana Briones Park. See our Barron Park guide. In Los Altos, the Los Altos Village Association lists a Holiday Stroll on November 13 and Thursday evening holiday markets on December 10 and 17. Our downtown Los Altos guide has details.

Shopping center hours

Stanford Shopping Center has posted its full 2026 holiday schedule. Department stores and restaurants keep their own hours. For the outlets and independent shops on the two days after Thanksgiving, see our Black Friday and Small Business Saturday guide. The center's directory listing notes that Macy's and Nordstrom stay open later than the center most evenings.

Confirm any date not shown, such as December 13 and 14, on the center's hours page. Town & Country Village has no center-wide holiday schedule. Each shop sets its own hours, as do the independents downtown and on California Avenue. The Stanford Shopping Center directory listing has phone numbers, EV charging and transit details.

Department stores

The center's department stores make one-stop gift lists easier. All three below are within a short walk of each other.

• Macy's: three floors of fashion, beauty, home, kids' clothing and toys, with a gift registry and a cafe.
• Nordstrom: fashion, shoes and beauty, with alterations, Style Help and order pickup.
• Bloomingdale's: three levels of fashion, beauty and home, with stylists and a gift wrapping service.

Stores that state they gift wrap

We list only stores whose own pages mention wrapping or gift boxes. Others may wrap on request, so ask at the counter.

• Bell's Books: a downtown bookstore founded in 1935, selling new, used and rare books. Gift wrapping is free.
• The Cobblery: a California Avenue shoe store and repair shop that wraps gifts free with any purchase.
• Gorjana: a jewelry store at Stanford Shopping Center offering complimentary gift wrap in store.
• Tory Burch: a designer store at Stanford Shopping Center whose gift concierge includes gift wrapping and shipping.
• De Novo: a downtown contemporary jewelry gallery that packs every purchase in its signature gift box.

If you prefer to wrap at home, Paper Source at Town & Country Village sells cards, gift wrap and stationery. The Container Store at Stanford Shopping Center runs a holiday shop with gift wrap, gift boxes and bags.

Food gifts

• See's Candies: a candy shop at Stanford Shopping Center with a counter for custom mixed boxes.
• Timothy Adams Chocolates: a Bryant Street shop selling small-batch truffles by the piece and in gift boxes of 6, 12 and 24.
• K. Minamoto: a Japanese wagashi shop at Stanford Shopping Center whose holiday gift boxes are sold by pre-order with set delivery windows in December.
• Sigona's Farmers Market: a produce and specialty food market at the center with gift boxes of dried fruit and nuts, olive oil sets and seasonal panettone.

Order pre-sale items such as K. Minamoto's boxes early in November, since delivery windows are fixed. Our gifts and souvenirs guide has more ideas, including Stanford gear.

Shipping gifts home

If you are visiting, shipping can be easier than packing. These counters pack and ship.

• The UPS Store, Bryant Street: a downtown shipping, packing and printing center open seven days, with custom packaging.
• The UPS Store, Town & Country Village: a shipping and printing center in the same center as many gift shops.
• The UPS Store, Midtown: a Middlefield Road center open seven days, with freight service for larger items.
• FedEx Office Print and Ship Center: a California Avenue store with packing and shipping.
• FedEx Office Ship Center: a shipping, packing and printing counter at 3000 El Camino Real near Page Mill Road.

The Bryant Street UPS Store notes that there is no UPS pickup on Sunday, so packages dropped off that day leave on Monday. Stanford Shopping Center lists a USPS drop box for stamped mail. The White Plaza post office on the Stanford campus closes on October 31, 2026, so plan postal errands elsewhere.

If you are coming from out of town for the season, our Palo Alto in December guide covers weather and events. You can also compare Palo Alto hotels for December if you plan to stay near the shopping center.

Frequently asked questions