Placed in the center of Neiman Marcus and Bloomingdales Courtyard is a 90 foot spruce tree that towers over Fashion Island’s rooftop.

For the next two weeks, a team of 10 will beautify the tree, adding 17,000 festive lights and thousands of enormous ornaments.

The spruce will officially come to life at Fashion Island’s Annual Holiday Tree Lighting Ceremony on November 15-16 at 6pm. Your hosts and entertainment for the evening will be Mickey Mouse & Friends from the Disneyland® Resort, making a one time appearance outside of the park this holiday season.

Be sure to stop by and see Santa after the ceremony for photo ops with the kids. Santa will reside in a custom-designed house on the Atrium Lawn through December 24.

After the ceremony and seeing Santa, you may be feeling famished. Luckily, Fashion Island has many dining options to choose from. Top family-friendly spots are Roy’s Hawaiian Fusion Cuisine, California Pizza Kitchen and Lemonade

Didn’t bring the kids? Date night hot spots are Flemings Prime Steakhouse & Wine Bar, Brasserie Pascal, and Canaletto Ristorante.

In addition, Fashion Island is home to over 125 shops, boutiques and department stores. You can cross everyone off your holiday list this year at one convenient location.  And Fashion Island will extend their hours until 9pm during the season.

That means late night shopping at West Coast and Orange County exclusive shopping such as C. Wonder, Brandy Melville and Trina Turk.

Can’t make it to the Tree Lighting this year? Not to worry, the lighting of the tree takes place every night at 5pm from November 17 to January 4, 2014, complete with custom Disney holiday music.