During the holidays, event organizers bring out all the stops to entertain the masses, making the Fort Worth area one big smorgasbord of holiday cheer. There is no shortage of events from which to choose, including theater, music, shopping, and more, the best of which you will find below.
Ongoing events
Gaylord Texan Resort presents 13th annual Lone Star Christmas
Gaylord Texan Resort’s 13th annual Lone Star Christmas event offers a variety of holiday activities, live entertainment, and displays to celebrate the most wonderful time of the year. The property’s four-and-a-half acres of indoor gardens transform into a magical winter wonderland with 2 million holiday lights, 2 million pounds of hand-carved ice, 2 million pounds of real Texas snow, and more decorations than your brain can handle. You can experience Lone Star Christmas through January 1.
2016 Texas Christkindl Market
Now in its sixth year, the Texas Christkindl Market is one of the largest open-air holiday markets in the Southwest. Inspired by a cherished German tradition, the market features a unique shopping experience for holiday gifts, decorations, and one-of-a-kind finds. Going on every day through December 23, it also includes festive music and new features like Peppermint Park and a 200-foot-long Artic Blast Tubing Run.
Prairie Lights 2016
Upon arriving at the entrance of Prairie Lights, you're dazzled with 4 million lights set along two miles of path. Taking place at Lynn Creek Park in Grand Prairie through January 1, it features hundreds of all-new displays in shapes of all kinds that line and arch over the roads. Halfway through the drive is the Holiday Village, which has food, gifts, Santa, the all-new indoor laser show, and the Holiday Magic Lighted Walk-Through Forest.
Fort Worth Museum of Science and History presents Polar Pajama Parties
The Fort Worth Museum of Science and History's annual holiday tradition is to present screenings of The Polar Express. To make things a little more fun, they also have occasional Polar Pajama Parties, where you can enjoy hot chocolate, wintry hands-on activities, and photos with Dynamo in his holiday attire. The parties take place on various days through December 10, but the film screens almost every day through December 15.
Theater events
Casa Mañana presents Santa Claus: A New Musical
Delivering toys to children all over the world on Christmas Eve isn’t easy, especially when you’ve been doing it for over 1,000 years. When Santa announces that this will be his last Christmas, the search is on for someone to fill some very big shoes – or in this case, boots. Santa Claus: A New Musical, playing through December 23 at Casa Mañana Theatre, has brand-new original songs and lots of holiday cheer.
Jubilee Theatre presents The Gifts of the Magi
Based on the classic O. Henry short story and told through music and lyrics, The Gifts of the Magi is a story of two very poor people who loved each other so much that each sold their most prized possession to buy the other a Christmas present. Jubilee Theatre presents the musical through December 24.
Performing Arts Fort Worth presents Cirque Dreams Holidaze
Cirque Dreams lights up the 2016 holiday season with its holiday stage extravaganza, Cirque Dreams Holidaze. Taking place at Bass Performance Hall on December 3 and 4, it’s a new cirque show, Broadway musical, and family Christmas spectacular all in one. The holiday spectacle features over 300 costumes, 20 acts, and 30 artists from every corner of the globe.
Texas Ballet Theater presents The Nutcracker
Another must-see holiday theater tradition, The Nutcracker, is once again brought to life by Texas Ballet Theater. Playing at Bass Performance Hall December 9-24, the ballet features a score by Tchaikovsky and enduring characters such as Clara, the Sugar Plum Fairy, and the Nutcracker Prince. And don't forget about the adults-only version on December 16, The Nutty Nutcracker, a send-up of pop culture featuring wild characters and racy action from start to finish.
Special events
Christmas in the Stockyards
The Fort Worth Stockyards National Historic District at Stockyards Station hosts the annual Christmas in the Stockyards on the lawn of the Historical Livestock Exchange Building on December 3. Activities include live music with local children’s choirs, holiday face painters, Cowboy Santa pictures, armadillo races and cow milking, the Fort Worth Herd Cattle Drive, and Stockyards Christmas Parade.
The Gaylord Texan Resort presents the annual Lone Star Christmas through January 1.
