The Christmas Corner sale in Cousins Hall at Big Canoe Chapel takes place on Saturday, December 5. The merchandise starts arriving a month earlier, when Women's Fellowship begins taking donated holiday décor at the Chapel's lower parking lot on the first Monday of November. That pattern runs through most of this season. Nearly every holiday gathering already on the Big Canoe calendar has an ordering window, a registration cutoff or a ticket release that comes weeks before the event. Online casserole ordering for Women's Fellowship opens October 29.
This week's posted events still belong to fall. Big Canoe's Trunk or Treat is Saturday, October 24, from 4:30 to 6 p.m. at the Wildcat Recreation Soccer Field, according to the POA calendar. After that weekend, the dates that decide the holidays are mostly sign-up dates.
The Date to Plan Around Is the Sign-Up Date
Women's Fellowship published its full fall and holiday lineup in Smoke Signals. Set side by side with the Chapel's event pages, the season looks like this:
Event | When it happens | When to act | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|
Beads & Beyond ornament workshop, Cousins Hall | Thu., Nov. 12, 1–3 p.m. | Registration Oct. 12–Nov. 5 | $20 |
Casseroles to Go, first sale | Pickup and in-person sales Sun., Nov. 15 | Online ordering opens Oct. 29; Smoke Signals has printed both Nov. 12 and Nov. 15 as the closing date | $25 each |
Christmas Corner décor collections, Chapel lower lot | Mondays in November, 10 a.m.–noon | Drop off on any of those Mondays | Donation |
Christmas Corner: 'Twas the Night Before | Fri., Dec. 4, 7–9 p.m. | Tickets online Nov. 15–Dec. 4, or at the door | $10 |
Christmas Corner sale, plus second casserole sale | Sat., Dec. 5, 9 a.m.–3 p.m. | Casseroles while supplies last | Free admission |
A Very Merry Gathering luncheon, Cousins Hall | Thu., Dec. 10, 10:30 a.m.–1 p.m. | Registration Nov. 1–Dec. 2 | $45 |
Some of the gaps are long. Workshop registration closes a full week before the November 12 workshop, and Women's Fellowship notes that space is limited. The casserole cutoff appears in Smoke Signals two ways. The Women's Fellowship lineup gives November 12. An earlier Smoke Signals item gives November 15 and adds that casseroles can also be bought in person that day with no advance order. Ordering by November 12 works under both versions. Luncheon registration closes December 2, eight days before the luncheon. Anyone who waits for the event to come to mind may find the window already closed.
How Christmas Corner Gets Built
Christmas Corner is the clearest case of a December event that starts in November. Its inventory comes from residents. The Chapel's collections page lists drop-offs every Monday from November 2 through November 30. Donated holiday décor is taken car-side at the Chapel's lower parking lot from 10 a.m. to noon. The page's summary line lists different hours from its description, so check with Women's Fellowship before planning around anything outside that late-morning window.
This year the fundraiser is "now expanded to a two-day event," Women's Fellowship wrote in Smoke Signals. Friday, December 4 is 'Twas the Night Before, an evening of early shopping from 7 to 9 p.m. with refreshments, music and door prizes. Saturday, December 5 is the main sale, open from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. with free admission. The $10 Friday ticket buys first access to the same donations collected on those November Mondays.
The second Casseroles to Go sale shares the Saturday, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. while supplies last. The December batch has no ordering window, so the first sale's online orders are the only way to reserve a particular dish. There are six ready-made choices at $25 each: Jambalaya, Chicken Spectacular, Stuffed Shells, Chicken & Stuffing, a gluten-free Crustless Quiche, and Sausage & Cheese English Muffins.
November 15 Is the Busiest Sunday Before Thanksgiving
Several of these schedules meet on Sunday, November 15. First casserole orders are picked up that day at Stand Around and after the second Chapel service, when casseroles are also sold in person. Online tickets for 'Twas the Night Before go on sale the same day. That afternoon, the Chapel's Music in the Mountains series presents the Jared Cooper String Trio from 4 to 6 p.m. Daniel Butman and Hilary Gamble-Villareal perform with Jared Cooper, and the concert is supported by donations.
Women's Fellowship's annual PruittHealth Christmas Gift Collection runs from November 1 through November 29, so November 15 falls in the middle of it. The announcement does not give a drop-off location or an item list. For those details, the group directs questions to [email protected] and posts updates at women.bigcanoechapel.org.
The Clubhouse Side of November
The Clubhouse also has events in the first half of the month, though with fewer posted details so far. The POA calendar lists a Clubhouse Wine Dinner on Wednesday, November 4, at 6 p.m. As of mid-October, the menu and reservation information were still marked as coming soon. Reservations for Big Canoe guests go through the Clubhouse at 706-268-1253.
On Saturday, November 7, the Election Committee and Smoke Signals host Meet the Candidates from 1 to 3 p.m. in the Clubhouse Overlook. Smoke Signals reported that three candidates, Charlie Armstrong, Jonathan Foulkes and Joan Puls, are running for two expected vacancies on the POA Board of Directors in the November election. That article gives the forum's day as Sunday, but the POA calendar lists Saturday, and November 7, 2026 is a Saturday. The POA board meets October 29 and November 19 in the Clubhouse Overlook.
What Last Year's Calendar Suggests Is Still Coming
Some of the season's biggest community events are not on the POA calendar yet. Last year's versions show why it is worth watching for them.
In 2025, the POA held its first Christmas Market on the Friday after Thanksgiving, November 28, from noon to 7 p.m., in the area between the cart barn and the Overlook Room. According to the Smoke Signals recap of the November 2025 board meeting, the event folded Santa's arrival and the community tree lighting into one day. It included photos with Santa, arts and crafts, food vendors and a walk-in buffet at lunch and dinner. The Artists Club holiday market moved there from the Beach Club, and shuttles ran from the three-tiered lot near the Chapel and from the Wellness Center while the upper lot was reserved for the event. The day ended with the evening tree lighting. No 2026 date has been posted, so those details describe last year only.
The 2025 Thanksgiving Buffet sold out and had a waitlist, as reported in the October 2025 board meeting coverage. Thanksgiving falls on November 26 this year, and the 2026 buffet details are not yet on the calendar. If the buffet returns, last year suggests reserving soon after it is announced. Last Thanksgiving, all amenities closed for the day, and the POA offices also closed on Friday.
The same recap described the first Walk Across the Dam, where 60 residents turned out in 30-degree weather. The POA said the turnout led it to consider making the walk an annual event. A 2026 walk has not been scheduled publicly.
The Chapel has two December listings with times still to come. The Big Canoe Chapel Christmas Concert is listed for Tuesday, December 8, and Christmas Eve Services are listed for December 24 in Cousins Hall and the Chapel. Both pages show only all-day placeholders so far.
December, Once the Sign-Ups Are Done
By December the planning is mostly finished, and the month runs on a steadier schedule. The Chapel's Advent Book Study meets Tuesdays from 10 to 11 a.m. on December 1, 8, 15 and 22. The luncheon on December 10 is the last event on Women's Fellowship's 2026 calendar.
The Clubhouse serves Sunday brunch on November 29 and December 27 from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., with rotating seasonal entrées. Brunch is $34 for adults and $14 for children ages 5 to 12. Duffer's posts its own holiday hours on the Clubhouse page. It is closed Thanksgiving, open 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Christmas Eve, and closed Christmas Day and New Year's Day.
The Season in the Order to Act
- Saturday, Oct. 24: Trunk or Treat at Wildcat Recreation Soccer Field, 4:30 to 6 p.m.
- Thursday, Oct. 29: Casseroles to Go online ordering opens.
- Sunday, Nov. 1: Registration for the Dec. 10 luncheon opens, and the PruittHealth gift collection begins.
- Monday, Nov. 2: First Christmas Corner décor drop-off at the Chapel lower lot.
- Wednesday, Nov. 4: Clubhouse Wine Dinner at 6 p.m.
- Thursday, Nov. 5: Beads & Beyond registration closes.
- Saturday, Nov. 7: Meet the Candidates in the Clubhouse Overlook, 1 to 3 p.m.
- Thursday, Nov. 12: The safe date to place casserole orders, and the ornament workshop meets.
- Sunday, Nov. 15: Casserole pickup, Christmas Corner preview tickets go on sale, and the string trio plays at 4 p.m.
- Wednesday, Dec. 2: Luncheon registration closes.
- Friday and Saturday, Dec. 4–5: Christmas Corner, with the second casserole sale on Saturday.
Keep an eye on the POA calendar between now and Thanksgiving week. The Christmas Market, the tree lighting and the Thanksgiving buffet would be the most likely events to appear there next.
Carolyn has spent years inside the gates, and she knows how a Big Canoe November and December actually go. If you're weighing a move into the community, or wondering how a winter here would fit the way you live, Tom and Carolyn at North GA Properties are glad to talk it through at your pace. Start Your Home Search.
