Until Saturday, October 31, Roger's Gardens on San Joaquin Hills Road is selling two holidays at the same time. Moonlight Masquerade, the 2026 Halloween Boutique, opened on Friday, August 28. The Daily Pilot reports that it stays open daily from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. through Halloween. The 2026 Christmas Boutique, The Stories of the Season, opened in early October, during a heat wave according to the Newport Beach Independent.
From here the season at Roger's Gardens moves through a fixed series of changes. One boutique hands off to the other, closing time moves from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m., the ticketed and signing dates come next, then the carolers, and the year ends with a run of short days. All of it is posted in advance. If you live a few minutes from the property, the dates are more useful to know than the theme.
Ten more days of gilded masks
The Halloween room this year has a Venetian theme. The Daily Pilot describes "Venetian intrigue," a collection of gilded masks, vintage spooky-season décor and "gourds galore." The Roger's Gardens Halloween page lists Venetian-inspired masks, jack-o'-lanterns, witches, skeletons, collectible figures, candles, lighting and tabletop pieces.
"Moonlight Masquerade captures the opulence, intrigue and haunting beauty of a Venetian masquerade," Crystal Pfeifer, Roger's Gardens' Holiday Buyer and Home Décor lead, told the Newport Beach Independent. According to the same article, the Visual Merchandising Team, led by Director of Design Christopher Nichols and Senior Visual Coordinator Emily Morgan, built the rooms. It also reports that the annual Halloween Boutique draws more than 100,000 visitors over September and October.
Halloween falls on a Saturday this year, so the masquerade's last day is a weekend day. After that, Christmas has the property to itself.
A Christmas planned more than a year out
The Christmas Boutique is a much larger operation. The Independent reports that preparation starts more than a year ahead, with Roger's Gardens' Holiday Buyers and Lead Visual Merchandisers setting the theme, and that the team travels to Europe every year to source exclusive pieces. This year's version has 20 decorated trees, more than 800 ornament styles and more than 3,000 products. The collection includes hand-turned wooden nutcrackers, hand-painted German Santas and Polish glass ornaments.
The audience is regional. Roger's Gardens, as quoted in the Independent, says it draws more than 1 million visitors between October and December each year. That total is for the whole property over three months. The Halloween Boutique alone, by the Independent's separate figure, accounts for more than 100,000 visitors over September and October. For a garden center on a residential stretch of San Joaquin Hills Road, the last quarter of the year belongs to the whole region.
November 12 is the last 6 p.m. closing
The posted holiday hours set the pace for the rest of the season. Roger's Gardens is open 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. through November 12. Holiday hours of 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. start November 13 and run through December 23.
On November 12, the last regular-hours day, the property also hosts its only ticketed evening of the season so far. Shop for a Cause runs from 6 to 8:30 p.m., benefits Susan G. Komen, and is listed at $100 a ticket, according to the event page. So that Thursday ends with a fundraiser that starts at the usual closing time. The next morning, evening hours begin for everyone.
The later closing also matters for dinner. Farmhouse at Roger's Gardens lists daily hours of 11:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. Through November 12, the boutique closes three hours before the restaurant does. From November 13 to December 23, the boutique stays open until 8 p.m., so you can shop after dark and walk straight to a dinner reservation on the same property.
The table that sits next to the trees
Farmhouse marks ten years this year. The Daily Pilot reports that owner and executive chef Rich Mead opened it in 2016 and describes him as an early adopter of farm-to-table dining in Orange County. Before Farmhouse, Mead ran kitchens at restaurants including Sage in Newport Beach.
The same Daily Pilot piece notes that the restaurant sits on Roger's Gardens' landscaped property of nearly 6 acres and features local suppliers such as Rye Goods for bread and Wong Farms for mangoes. After COVID, the restaurant added a permanent wood structure with a white vinyl cover and string lights for private parties. The paper also describes a Farmhouse table as a highly sought-after reservation.
Farmhouse's own site lists closures on Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's Day. The restaurant's hours page is undated, so call before planning a holiday dinner around it.
The season by date
Once the evening hours start, the calendar fills up quickly. Here is the full run as Roger's Gardens has posted it, from the boutique overlap to New Year's Day.
| Date | What's happening | Hours or detail |
|---|---|---|
| Through Sat., Oct. 31 | Moonlight Masquerade and The Stories of the Season, both open | 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. |
| Thu., Nov. 12 | Shop for a Cause, benefiting Susan G. Komen | 6 to 8:30 p.m., $100 ticket |
| Fri., Nov. 13 | Holiday hours begin, through Dec. 23 | 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. |
| Fri., Nov. 20 | Günther Ulbricht nutcracker appearance and signing | 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. |
| Sat., Nov. 21 | Joe Walden, Radko designer, appearance and signing | 1 to 5 p.m. |
| Thu., Nov. 26 | Thanksgiving | Closed |
| Nov. 27 to Dec. 24 | Lil' Dickens Carolers | Varying dates and times |
| Thu., Dec. 24 | Christmas Eve | 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. |
| Fri., Dec. 25 | Christmas Day | Closed |
| Dec. 26 to 30 | Post-holiday week | 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. |
| Thu., Dec. 31 | New Year's Eve | 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. |
| Fri., Jan. 1 | New Year's Day | Closed |
The signings fall on a Friday and the following Saturday, the weekend before Thanksgiving week. The Günther Ulbricht appearance runs most of Friday. The Joe Walden signing takes Saturday afternoon. Both pair well with the nutcrackers and glass ornaments already on the boutique floor.
The Lil' Dickens Carolers schedule needs a closer look. Roger's Gardens posts individual performance dates and says the schedule may change. Two of the dates, December 15 and December 24, are marked as Farmhouse-only performances, so on those nights the carolers are at the restaurant.
Down the hill on December 6
The season reaches the rest of Corona del Mar on the first Sunday of December. The Corona del Mar Chamber of Commerce lists the free 47th Annual Christmas Walk for December 6, from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., along Pacific Coast Highway through the Village. The Chamber lists music, Santa, beer and wine gardens, children's activities and merchant promotions.
That Sunday falls in the middle of the holiday-hours stretch, so Roger's Gardens is open until 8 p.m. on the day of the Walk. The Christmas Boutique stays open for the whole day the Village celebrates on PCH. The Walk closes at 5 p.m., and Roger's Gardens stays open three hours longer.
A calendar for the fridge
Roger's Gardens has been in Corona del Mar for more than 50 years, according to the Newport Beach Independent. Each fall, the region comes to it on a timetable the property posts weeks in advance. The current timetable runs through New Year's Eve: two boutiques until October 31, regular hours until November 12, evening hours until December 23, then short days at the end of the year. For holiday-hour questions, Roger's Gardens' main line is 949.640.5800.
At bouHAUS, we pay attention to how a house holds its season: a tree in a black-framed window seen from the street, or a dining table that can seat a full holiday dinner. If this year's trees have you thinking about what your own Corona del Mar home is worth while the light is low and the rooms look their best, we're glad to run the numbers with you.
