Road-trip-worthy holiday festivals and events
Can’t-miss light displays, Santa sightings and more fun across the state
From tree lightings to Santa sightings, the Lone Star State is aglow with holiday magic this time of year. Saddle up your sleigh — here’s your guide to Yuletide fun found in Texas towns.
BASTROP
From an old-fashioned Main Street Christmas to a dazzling holiday parade, the annual Lost Pines Christmas brings five family-friendly weekends of small-town traditions to historic Bastrop. Don’t miss the Bastrop River of Lights in Fisherman’s
Park, from dusk until 10 p.m. now through Jan. 3, featuring sparkling lighted displays lining Bastrop’s scenic June Hill Pape River Walk. Catch the funny and touching holiday classic “The Best Christmas Pageant Ever — The Musical,” at Bastrop Opera House on Friday, Saturday, Dec. 8, 13, 14 and 15. On Dec. 14, book it to Bastrop for Lost Pines Christmas Snow Day in Fisherman’s Park (12-5 p.m.), the Holiday Homes Tour
(12-6 p.m.) and downtown’s famous Lighted Christmas Parade featuring more than 100 fanciful floats lighting up Main Street. More at lostpineschristmas.com.
BEAUMONT
Christmas in Beaumont means live music, lots of shopping and plenty of twinkling lights. Bring the family out for the free Holiday Tree Lighting from 4 to 6 p.m. Thursday featuring holiday activities, pictures with Santa and more. Check off the names on your list at Main Street Market of Beaumont, the Junior League’s three-day, one-stop holiday-shopping extravaganza featuring more than 100 vendors (Thursday-Saturday, tickets $10). Stick around for the annual Christmas in Boomtown at the Spindletop Gladys City Boomtown Museum on Dec. 14 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. More at beaumontcvb.com/ event-calendar/annualevents/christmas.
BUDA
Take a stroll while sipping cocoa and spying Santa at Buda’s Trail of Lights (6 to 10 p.m. FridayDec. 8; 13-15 and 20-22), a free event at Historic Stagecoach Park. More at ci.buda.tx.us/525/Trailof-Lights.
CLEBURNE
The annual Whistle
Stop Christmas glitters with millions of lights every evening through Dec. 31 at Hulen Park downtown. Don’t miss the Lighted Christmas Parade on Friday, the Candlewalk Tour of Homes 1-8 p.m. Saturday and the Brazos Chamber Orchestra Christmas Concert at 7:30 p.m. Dec. 19. More at whistlestopchristmas.org.
COLLEGE STATION
A Texas-sized Christmas unfolds at Santa’s Wonderland each evening through Dec. 30. Experience everything from nightly Texas snow and Santa’s Hayride Tours through a sparkling Trail of Lights to a Texassized Gingerbread Village and Snow Globe. More at santas-wonderland.com.
DALLAS
Kick off the holiday season in the Big D at Deck the Plaza (Friday) for the 40-foot-tree lighting and Christmas-themed celebration brimming with music, holiday snacks and vendors at City Hall Plaza.
Stay the next day for one of the biggest holiday events in the city — the 32nd annual Dallas Holiday Parade, which marches through Commerce Street downtown Dallas at 10 a.m. Saturday. The Trains at NorthPark, the largest miniature-train exhibit in Texas, returns for a seven-week run through Jan. 5 with 1,600 feet of track rolling from coast to coast on a whimsical journey across America benefiting Ronald McDonald House Charities of Dallas. The Dallas Arboretum and Botanical Garden is brightening the holidays with its annual Holiday at the Arboretum through Dec. 31. The beloved 12 Days of Christmas, which depicts each day in the carol with 12 Victorianstyle gazebos, returns to delight guests of all ages with more than 1 million lights adorning the garden and a 30-foot-tall spruce tree. More at visitdallas .com, thetrainsatnorth park.com and dallas arboretum.org.
FORT WORTH
Gaze at Fort Worth’s towering 65-foot-tall spruce lighting up Sundance Square through early January and snap pictures with Santa ($20). Head to the Texas Motor Speedway for the largest holiday-lights display in Texas — Gift of Lights is a 2-mile joy ride running through Dec. 30. Find more holiday events at fortworth.com.
FREDERICKSBURG
German holiday traditions, timeless décor and limitless Christmas cheer are flourishing in Fredericksburg. Go ice skating on real ice in the Texas Hill Country at the Eisbahn Outdoor Ice Skating Rink now through Jan. 5 — an all-day pass is just $15 and includes skate rentals.
Soak in the twinkling sights at the Chamber
Light the Night Christmas
Parade & AfterGlow on Main Street (Friday). Tour the Christmas Home Tour and Market on Saturday or head to Lyndon B. Johnson State Park and Historic Site for the 50th annual LBJ Christmas Tree Lighting on Dec. 15. More at visitfredericksburgtx.com /events/holiday.
GALVESTON
Galveston combines tropical weather and a 32-mile coast with traditional Victorian charm, a 2 million-pound ice land and spectacular light shows through early January. Don’t miss Dickens on The Strand (Friday-Dec. 8), which transforms historic Strand Street into the Victorian London of Charles Dickens as characters walk the streets and strolling carolers and roving musicians fill the air with sounds from the era. The Polar Express Train Ride rolls into Galveston to whisk passengers away to the North Pole for a magical one-hour trip to meet Santa during weekends and select dates through Dec. 29. Ice Land at
Moody Gardens brings a 28,000-square-foot ice-sculpture wonderland to tropical Galveston with 2 million pounds of ice through Jan. 12. Have a jolly workout while sporting Santa attire during the Santa Hustle 5K and halfmarathon (Dec. 15). More at galveston.com/holidaymagic.
GEORGETOWN
Jingle to Georgetown for the Christmas Stroll from 5-9 p.m. Friday and 10 a.m.-8 p.m. Saturday to watch a hometown holiday parade, enjoy live entertainment, shop from 150 vendors, visit Bethlehem Village, Winter Wonderland and Santa’s Village and more. Go swimming with Santa from 5:30-7:30 p.m. Dec. 13 at the Georgetown Recreation Center Indoor Pool or have breakfast with the big guy from 7:30 to 11 a.m. Dec. 14 at the Georgetown Community Center. More at visit.georgetown.org.
GRAPEVINE
For holiday magic 24/7, the Christmas Capital of Texas is the place to be thanks to 1,400 holiday events in 40 days spanning millions of twinkling lights, 2 million pounds of carved ice, a journey to the North Pole on the North Pole Express and more. Kick off the holiday season with two free events — the Parade of Lights at 7 p.m. Thursday featuring more than 100 lighted floats and marching bands and Santa
Clause himself, and the Twinkle Light Boat Parade, which brings a floating festival of lights on Lake Grapevine from 6-9 p.m. Saturday. Discover the magic of Christmas aboard the North Pole Express, presented by Great Wolf Lodge, and journey to the North Pole along with Santa, Mrs. Claus and the elves (Friday-Dec. 8, 13-23). Need a festive place to rest your head? Celebrate the “howlidays” at Great Wolf Lodge when the yearround indoor water-park resort transforms into Snowland with a life-size gingerbread house, nightly snow showers and festive events for the whole family or soak in the magic of the Gaylord Texan Resort’s Lone Star Christmas (both through Jan. 5). Find more Grapevine merriment at grapevinetexasusa.com /christmas-capital-of-texas.
GRUENE
The holidays are big in tiny Gruene. On Saturday, start the day with the Gruene Pony Express Ride at 10 a.m. and end it with Cowboy Kringle riding into town on horseback for the annual Gruene Town Lighting at 5 p.m. Put a Texas twist on this year’s holiday cards and pose with Cowboy Kringle, the town’s own brand of Santa (weekends through Dec. 22). Get a jump-start on your holiday shopping at Gruene Christmas Market Days (Saturday-Dec. 8), which boasts 100 vendors selling unique Christmas gifts, crafts and foods. Work off holiday treats at the 27th annual Jingle Bell 5K run/walk on Dec. 14. Or check out Gruene
Hall’s live holiday-themed lineup including Wynonna and The Big Noise Rockin’ Roots Christmas (Wednesday and Thursday), Kelly
Willis and Bruce Robison Holiday Shindig (Saturday), Kevin Fowler:
Deck the Dancehalls (Dec. 19) and New Year’s Eve with Charley Crockett (Dec. 31). More at holidaysingruene.com.
HILL COUNTRY
The Hill Country shines the brightest during the holidays, and there’s no better way to experience it than by taking a self-guided evening drive along the Texas Hill Country Christmas Lighting Trail, which stretches north from San Antonio to tiny towns including Boerne, Burnet, Dripping Springs, Fredericksburg, Goldthwaite, Johnson City, Llano, Wimberley, Marble Falls,
Round Mountain and New Braunfels. Get tickets to the Christmas Wine Affair, now through Dec. 15, to sample award-winning wines at nearly 50 Hill Country Wineries during this 17-day self-guided wine trail. Tickets are $65 per couple/$45 individual and include a full complimentary tasting at 48 participating wineries (limit four wineries per day) and a 15 percent discount on three-bottle purchases from each winery. More at texaswinetrail.com/trails.
LLANO
Llano’s Starry Starry Nights brings unique Christmas displays to Badu Park from 6 to 9 nightly through Dec. 31 as visitors stroll along the Llano River enjoying thousands of sparkling lights, sip hot chocolate and roast marshmallows. On weekends, bring your wish list and get your picture taken with Santa from 6 to 8 p.m. Be sure to bundle up for Snow Day (1 to 9 p.m. Dec. 14), when Badu Park transforms into a winter wonderland. More at llanostarrystarrynights.com.
LUCKENBACH
Luckenbach’s Christmas Bazaar on Saturday features live festive music all day, photos with Santa (2 to 5 p.m.), Hondo Crouch’s birthday celebration, Christmas shopping and crafts and a 6 p.m. treelighting ceremony. The free, no-cover event takes place from 1 to
9 p.m. More at luckenbachtexas.com.
MARBLE FALLS/LAKE LBJ
The historic and highly anticipated Walkway of Lights is open from 6 to 10 p.m. nightly through New Year’s Day. This holiday spectacle symbolizes a continuous joint effort between the city’s community and local nonprofits who bring the event to life each year: 2 million twinkling lights arranged on more than 130 sculptures, and children can visit with Santa and his elves at
Santa Land on weekends and holidays. More at marblefalls.org/walkway.
NATURAL BRIDGE CAVERNS
Christmas at the Caverns (Saturday-Dec. 8,
14-15, 21-23) transforms this geographical gem into a next-level Christmas experience featuring your favorite carols echoing through Texas’ largest underground cavern, photos with Santa “Spelunker” Claus, a 30-foottall Christmas tree, hayrides, s’mores roasts, a giant snow globe, ice skating and more. More at naturalbridgecaverns.com.
Hit Santa’s Ranch (santasranch.net) for more than 1 mile of dazzling lights, animated Christmas displays, a 50-foot Christmas tree and more through Jan. 4. In town, attend the annual Wassailfest celebration from 6-9 p.m. Thursday to stroll through the streets of downtown New Braunfels sipping warm wassail while shopping for holiday gifts. On Friday, attend Christkindlmarkt, a German-inspired open-air Christmas Market with shopping, food, drinks, craft beer, Gluehwein, German music and dancing at Schlitterbahn Resort. Enjoy the magic of the fourth annual Hometown Holiday Christmas Parade (Saturday) unfolding in downtown New Braunfels at 6 p.m. More at innewbraunfels.com.
PALESTINE
Climb aboard the Polar Express in your pajamas to hit the tracks to the North Pole, the quintessential Christmas journey that departs Palestine station now through Dec. 28. Aboard the Polar Express at Texas State Railroad, children of all ages can look forward to a one-on-one experience with the cast, conductors, elves, waiters and chefs and Santa Claus. More at texasstaterailroad.net.
SAN ANTONIO
From twinkling thrills to glowing sights, San Antonio shines bright during the holidays. The Ford Fiesta de las Luminarias lights up the River Walk with more than 2,000 traditional Mexican luminarias (Friday-Dec. 8, 13-15, 20-21). Thrill-seekers can get into the holiday spirit with seasonal experiences at Morgan’s Wonderland (through Dec. 23), SeaWorld San Antonio (through Jan. 5) and Six Flags Fiesta Texas (through Jan. 5). More at visitsanantonio.com. Ring in the New Year at Celebrate San Antonio, the city’s official New Year’s Eve Celebration, 6 p.m. to 12:15 a.m.
Dec. 31 at Hemisfair. More at saparks foundation.org/event/celebrate-sa.
SAN MARCOS
Experience the “Sights and Sounds of Christmas,” which brims with holiday cheer in the form of Santa Claus, festival food, carnival rides, a petting zoo, pony rides, ice skating, live performances and a sea of Christmas lights 5-11 p.m. Wednesday-Saturday and Dec. 11-14. More at sights-n-sounds.org.
SOUTH PADRE
Sail away to South Padre Island to celebrate the season at the Holiday Sandcastle Village featuring unique holiday sand sculptures built by talented sand artists who have created everything from Sand-ta to a Sand Snowman (through Jan.
13). An island tradition, the free public Tree Lighting Ceremony and Annual Christmas Parade features lighted floats, special guests and live music on Padre Boulevard on Friday. Stick around for the free Lighted Boat Parade launching at 6 p.m. Saturday from South Point Marina in Port Isabel with a bevy of boats decked out from stem to stern. From 9-11 a.m. Dec. 8, have breakfast with Santa himself at the Hilton Garden Inn. More at sopadre.com/events.