The rocks come with a QR code on the back. Thompson's Station Community Association volunteers have painted 320 of them with Christmas designs, along with small postcards to go with them. They planned to spread them across the town's neighborhoods and through some local stores, especially around the businesses that sponsor the association's holiday event. Scan the code and it takes you to the event's Facebook page. That is the point of the rocks: each one advertises an afternoon that's coming up soon.
That afternoon is Sunday, Dec. 6. By then, the town will already have had two days of holiday events at a different property on Columbia Pike. The first weekend of December runs on a handoff. Homestead Manor hosts Friday and Saturday. On Sunday the manor and its coffee shop are closed to the public, and Town Hall on Fountain View Boulevard takes over.
Why the rocks are out now
TSCA board president Jeanne Westbrook described the rock idea in an interview with Thompson's Station Lifestyle. Her grandson had found a painted rock that a school left out, and he loved discovering it. The board took that small moment and scaled it up. "We're going to try to hit all the neighborhoods and some of the stores, especially our sponsor's areas," she said.
The Duck River Sentinel reported that the rocks would be hidden in the weeks leading up to the event. The weeks leading up to it are now. If one turns up by a mailbox or near a shop door, it leads to the TSCA Facebook page, which is also where the board takes volunteer offers.
The event's sponsors are the stores and businesses most likely to have a rock nearby. Westbrook named Tennessee Equine Hospital, Premier Pools and Spas, CAT equipment, Bradymade Events, and two local preschools. One preschool provides milk and cookies. The other runs a booth where kids make reindeer food.
Friday and Saturday on the Homestead Manor lawn
Homestead Manor sits on 48 acres at 4683 Columbia Pike. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The manor dates to 1819, and the property also has an 1814 schoolhouse, a renovated event barn, and a conservatory that now houses the coffee shop.
The holiday weekend starts there Friday evening. Christmas at Homestead Manor is sponsored by HopeUC Nashville, Homestead Manor and 1819 Coffee, and it runs two days.
| Friday, Dec. 4 | Saturday, Dec. 5 | |
|---|---|---|
| North Pole & Christmas Market | 5 to 9 p.m. | 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. |
| Live Bethlehem Experience | 5 to 9 p.m. | 5 to 9 p.m. |
| Thompson's Station Holiday Market | None | 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. |
According to the Homestead Manor events page, the North Pole side has local vendors, live music, concessions for purchase, free crafts and games for all ages, free storytime with Mrs. Claus, and pictures with Santa for purchase. After dark comes the Live Bethlehem Experience, a 30-minute hayride with actors at each scene and a Wise Man narrating. Tickets are sold on arrival, and blankets are provided on the ride.
On Saturday the lawn has a second market. The Thompson's Station Farmers Market is holding its 2026 Holiday Market on the Homestead Manor lawn from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Its October posts called it "one of our favorite events of the year" and said it runs rain or shine. Those posts asked bakers, makers, crafters and food trucks to apply through [email protected]. The FranklinIs calendar listing also shows free admission.
That means from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, two markets share the same Columbia Pike address under separate listings. The Homestead market keeps going for six more hours after the Farmers Market packs up, and the hayride starts at 5. Arriving midmorning gets you both markets. Arriving at dusk gets you the North Pole market and the Bethlehem rides.
1819 Coffee is in the conservatory on the same property. It is open Monday through Saturday, 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. On Saturday, that's a coffee stop that opens three hours before the North Pole market and stays open until an hour before the last hayride.
Sunday, when the manor is closed
Homestead Manor's posted property hours are Monday through Saturday, 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. On Sundays it is closed to the public except for booked private events. 1819 Coffee is closed Sundays too. On Dec. 6, the lawn that hosted three events in two days will be quiet.
TSCA's event takes over that day. Westbrook told Thompson's Station Lifestyle that Holidays at the Station is "always the first Sunday in December." It's held outdoors at the historic Town Hall, which the town moved into a couple of years ago, and the building's porches and overhangs serve as the backdrop. This is the fifth year. It runs 3 to 5 p.m. at 1110 Fountain View Blvd., and the board expects about 800 people.
The two hours go in a set order:
- Radio Farm, the Americana duo that has opened the show for several years, starts on the main stage.
- Students from Independence High School, Summit High School, Heritage Elementary and Thompson Station Middle School perform choral, instrumental and theatrical sets.
- Santa photos, balloon artists, holiday tattoos, crafts, games and food run throughout.
- The tree lighting closes the afternoon.
- After the lights come on, Mrs. Claus sits down with the children and reads 'Twas the Night Before Christmas, with milk and cookies.
Two details set Sunday apart from the weekend before it. The first is cost. Everything at Holidays at the Station is free, including the Santa photos. "We don't want anybody worried about bringing money or having to buy things," Westbrook told The Duck River Sentinel. "We just want people to come out and enjoy."
The second is the tree. Westbrook said the previous tree did not make it through last year's ice storm, so the tree lit on Dec. 6 is a replacement.
Parking has been part of the planning. Last year TSCA had about 14 volunteers, six of them working parking alone. Westbrook said people noticed the improvement. With activities added this year, the board expects to need about 20 volunteers on event day. Last year's event also ran a coat drive that collected about 120 coats for Nashville. The board was still choosing a charitable partner for 2026 when it spoke with Thompson's Station Lifestyle in October, so the TSCA Facebook page is the place to check before you clean out a closet.
Where Sunday's coffee and brunch move
With the conservatory closed, Sunday morning coffee shifts to Tollgate Village. Settlers Coffee & Provisions is at 1990 Tollgate Boulevard, Suite 101, and opens at 8 a.m. on Sundays, an hour later than on Saturdays. It closes at 5 p.m., the same time Holidays at the Station ends.
Circa Grill serves brunch and lunch from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Sundays. Since that ends an hour before Radio Farm starts, Circa works for a late-morning meal before the Town Hall event. The restaurant is in a former general store in historic downtown Thompson's Station, across from the town's red caboose and more than 100 acres of preserved hillside. Its Sunday full menu runs from 2:30 to 8 p.m., and the bar is open until 8, so dinner after the tree lighting is also an option.
Tollgate Wine & Spirits, also at 1990 Tollgate Boulevard, is open 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Saturday and 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Sunday. That Sunday window includes the full two hours of the Town Hall event, for anyone putting together a holiday party later that week.
Friday night and Saturday are on Columbia Pike. Sunday coffee is at Settlers, brunch at Circa from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., and Radio Farm starts at Town Hall at 3 p.m. Anyone who finds one of the 320 rocks beforehand can scan it for the Facebook page with all the Sunday details.
If you're looking at houses close to Town Hall, Tollgate Village or the Homestead Manor lawn, Sandra Hill can walk you through how each part of Thompson's Station lines up with weekends like this one. Let's Connect.
