Tickets for the most familiar movie night in Palo Alto are sold at a single box office on University Avenue, in person, starting at noon on Saturday, Dec. 5. The Stanford Theatre's November–December 2026 calendar lists It's a Wonderful Life for Dec. 24 only, at 4:00 and 9:00 p.m. Under that it adds one line: "Advance tickets go on sale December 5 at noon at the theatre's box office, and are highly recommended."
Plenty of December events in town ask for an RSVP form or a QR code. This one asks you to show up on University Avenue. The rest of the season at the Stanford, from this weekend's Fred Astaire double bill to the holiday films in mid-December, runs the same way. Once you know that, it's easier to plan the whole month around it.
A $7 ticket you buy standing on the sidewalk
The theatre's own visitor page keeps the rules short. Tickets are sold at the box office on the day of the show. Adults pay $7.00. Seniors 65 and over and youth 18 and under pay $5. The theatre takes cash and credit cards.
There is one way to plan ahead. A $24 gift certificate covers four admissions, which works out to $6 a seat, a dollar under the adult price. For a household that expects to see several of the December double bills, or that wants a stocking stuffer for a classic-film fan, it is the only pre-purchase the ticket page describes.
Christmas Eve breaks the day-of rule in one way. Those tickets go on sale early, starting Dec. 5. You still buy them at the same window at 221 University Avenue, the building with the large neon marquee.
Why the 4 p.m. show goes first
The two Christmas Eve screenings don't sell at the same speed. In December 2024, Palo Alto Online reported that the film "typically packs the house." It cited a Dec. 23 post on the theatre's Facebook page saying the 4 p.m. screening had sold out, with tickets still left for the 9 p.m. show. The same report said the box office was open until 9:20 p.m. on Dec. 23 and reopened at 3 p.m. on Dec. 24.
The afternoon show fits around a family dinner. The late show starts after it and runs past most children's bedtimes. If your group includes younger kids or grandparents who would rather be home by evening, the 4 p.m. seats are the ones to buy on Dec. 5. If you are a pair of adults with a flexible night, the 9 p.m. show has been the one with room closer to the date.
The tradition goes back a long way. In 2009 the San Francisco Chronicle described the Stanford's annual Christmas Eve showing as a boisterous family event with a solid crowd, and noted that tickets went on sale about two weeks ahead. This year's Dec. 5 sale opens more than two weeks ahead, which gives the window more room.
The calendar between now and Christmas Eve
The Christmas Eve sale falls in the middle of the theatre's busiest weeks. When this post goes up on Nov. 12, The Gay Divorcee and Flying Down to Rio open that day's run of the Astaire and Rogers series. The holiday films follow it.
| Dates (Thu–Sun) | 7:30 p.m. feature | Second feature |
|---|---|---|
| Nov. 12–15 | The Gay Divorcee (1934), plus 3:55 Sat/Sun | Flying Down to Rio (1933), 5:50 and 9:25 |
| Nov. 19–22 | Top Hat (1935), plus 3:45 Sat/Sun | Roberta (1935), 5:35 and 9:20 |
| Nov. 26–29 | Swing Time (1936), plus 3:35 Sat/Sun | Follow the Fleet (1936), 5:30 and 9:25 |
| Dec. 3–6 | Shall We Dance (1937), plus 3:55 Sat/Sun | Carefree (1938), 5:55 and 9:30 |
| Dec. 10–13 | Miracle on 34th Street (1947), plus 3:45 Sat/Sun | Christmas in Connecticut (1945), 5:35 and 9:20 |
| Dec. 17–20 | The Shop Around the Corner (1940), plus 3:35 Sat/Sun | Meet Me in St. Louis (1944), 5:35 and 9:20 |
| Dec. 24 only | It's a Wonderful Life (1946), 4:00 and 9:00 | none |
Look at the Dec. 3–6 row. The Saturday matinee of Shall We Dance starts at 3:55 p.m. on Dec. 5, the same day and the same box office where Christmas Eve tickets go on sale at noon. You can buy your Dec. 24 seats and stay for an afternoon of Astaire and Rogers in one trip.
The two weekends before Christmas are when the holiday titles run. Each has a Saturday and Sunday matinee of the 7:30 feature. Miracle on 34th Street plays at 3:45 on Dec. 12 and 13, and The Shop Around the Corner at 3:35 on Dec. 19 and 20. Those are the slots for families who want a holiday movie at the Stanford without waiting for Christmas Eve.
Between shows, listen for the organ. The theatre says the Mighty Wurlitzer is played during the intermissions before and after the 7:30 show, by Jerry Nagano or David Hegarty depending on the day. The live organ is part of the evening at no extra charge.
Friday night and Saturday noon, on the same block
The day before the ticket sale, the City of Palo Alto holds its free Holiday Tree Lighting at Lytton Plaza, 200 University Ave., at the corner of University and Emerson. It runs Friday, Dec. 4, from 5:30 to 7 p.m. The City lists School of Rock, the Boost Class Merry Holiday Dancers and the Palo Alto Chamber Orchestra as performers, with more to be announced.
Lytton Plaza is at 200 University Avenue and the Stanford Theatre is at 221, so the two are on the same block. On Friday evening you can watch the tree lighting at 5:30 and still make that night's Shall We Dance at 7:30, or catch the 9:30 Carefree after dinner downtown. On Saturday you come back to the same block at noon for the Christmas Eve sale.
For getting there, the theatre points to two public parking structures within two blocks. One is on Bryant Street, in the first block north of University. The other is on High Street, in the first block south. The main Palo Alto Caltrain station is within walking distance. With a tree lighting on Friday and a ticket line on Saturday, the High Street garage on the Caltrain side of University is the simpler choice for anyone coming from south of downtown.
The years the screen went dark
Being able to buy these tickets at all has not always been a given. The Stanford opened in 1925. The David and Lucile Packard Foundation bought it in 1987 and restored it, and the nonprofit Stanford Theatre Foundation now owns and runs it. Palo Alto Online put the 1989 restoration at $6 million. The same 2018 report described a later three-month renovation, at a reported $650,000, that covered carpet, paint and refurbishment of more than 1,000 seats.
The theatre closed in March 2020 because of the pandemic and stayed shut for more than two years while it got renovations that included seismic upgrades. It reopened in summer 2022 with a series of classic films, then moved to occasional weekend screenings that fall while it replaced its heating and HVAC system. That December, Palo Alto Online reported that the Christmas Eve screening was canceled for the third year in a row. The screenings came back in 2023. A Palo Alto Online photo from that Dec. 24 shows the audience lining up for the afternoon show.
In June 2025 the theatre turned 100. Palo Alto Online covered the June 9 celebration, held 100 years to the day after the opening. The program included the silent film shown on opening night, I'll Show You the Town. This Dec. 24 will be the fourth Christmas Eve screening since the tradition returned in 2023. Admission is still $7 and the tickets are still sold at the box office.
A December plan built around one window
- Now through Nov. 29: Use the Astaire and Rogers weekends to try the theatre before the holiday rush. Pick up a $24 four-admission gift certificate at the box office if you expect to come back.
- Friday, Dec. 4: Tree lighting at Lytton Plaza from 5:30 to 7 p.m., then Shall We Dance at 7:30 a few doors down.
- Saturday, Dec. 5, noon: Buy Christmas Eve tickets at the box office. If your group needs the 4 p.m. show, make it your first stop of the day.
- Dec. 12–13 or 19–20: A weekend holiday matinee, Miracle on 34th Street or The Shop Around the Corner, both in the 3:30 to 4 p.m. range.
- Thursday, Dec. 24: It's a Wonderful Life at 4:00 or 9:00 p.m., 221 University Avenue.
I'm Christopher Mogensen, and I spent more than 18 years working for the City of Palo Alto before going into real estate. Downtown traditions like this one are a big part of what I mean when I talk with clients about the city. If you're hosting family who are thinking about the Peninsula this December and want a calm, local view of the area beyond the Stanford's marquee, let's connect.
