Weekend Event Planner

These are the 11 best things to do in Fort Worth this Christmas weekend

Christmas Day arrives on Thursday, so naturally most of the best things to do around Fort Worth this weekend will be holiday-themed events. But there are a few new happenings, including options in movies, comedy, and music.

Below are the best ways to spend your free time this weekend. If you want more options, check out the calendar for an even longer list of the city's best events. For the best 2025 Christmas lights, go here and here.

Continuing holiday events

Gaylord Texan presents Ice featuring Elf
The Gaylord Texan Resort in Grapevine is once again presenting the Christmas tradition Ice, featuring the holiday classic Elf. The larger-than-life frozen showcase features more than 2 million pounds of hand-carved ice sculptures, for a walk-through winter wonderland filled with multiple immersive scenes, two-story ice slides, and passageways. There are also be activities like ice tubing adventures and interactive scavenger hunts, festive character dining, and photo ops with Santa. The event is open daily through January 4.

Great Wolf Lodge Grapevine presents Snowland
Great Wolf Lodge Grapevine's annual Snowland celebration transforms the indoor water park resort into a winter wonderland, featuring seasonal décor, daily snow showers, visits from Santa, themed crafts, and other festive activities like "Twas the Night Before Snowland" Yoga Tails. The event takes place through January 6.

Stockyards Rodeo Rink
Ice skating takes place in the Fort Worth Stockyards with daily skating sessions at the covered Stockyards Rodeo Rink. Holiday treats include Whataburger Tuesdays, when everyone who skates gets a coupon for a free Whataburger. Guests can also enjoy Cowboy Santa, Holiday Workshop, and more. The rink will be open rain or shine through January 4.

Texas Ballet Theater presents The Nutcracker
The Nutcracker is a cherished tradition that offers a world of enchantment where snowflakes swirl, dreams come to life, and holiday magic fills the air. Tchaikovsky’s timeless score and Ben Stevenson, O.B.E.’s choreography awaken the holiday spirit for audiences. Texas Ballet Theater's annual production will have six more performances through December 28 at Bass Performance Hall.

Fort Worth Botanic Garden presents Christmas in the Garden
The Fort Worth Botanic Garden is a presenting new tradition with Christmas in the Garden, which features a holiday light celebration that includes a giant illuminated Texas flag, 1,200 dancing LED bluebonnets, and more. There will also be nightly visits from Santa Claus through Christmas Eve, as well as food from local favorites like JD's Burgers, Magdelena's, Pulido's, Curly's Custard, and Margie's Italian Gardens. The event takes place on nightly through January 4, except Christmas Day.

The Light Park
Featuring millions of LED lights synchronized to holiday music, The Light Park invites families to buckle up, turn up the volume, and immerse themselves in a mile-long light show. It features giant illuminated tunnels, towering animated trees, dancing reindeer, and music from DJ Polar Ice. The event will be open nightly through January 4 at Hurricane Harbor Arlington.

Frostival at Howell Family Farms
At Frostival, visitors can step into a glowing winter dream, where holiday magic comes alive under a dazzling canopy of festive lights. Guests can wander through the enchanting Trail of Lights, sip on hot cocoa, and enjoy seasonal crafts. The event also includes free professional photos with Santa and a chance to meet holiday characters up close. It takes place at Howell Family Farms in Arlington through December 28.

Movies

Magnolia at the Modern: Hamnet
From Academy Award winning writer/director Chloé Zhao, Hamnet tells the powerful story of love and loss that inspired the creation of William Shakespeare's Hamlet. The movie follows the relationship between Shakespeare (Paul Mescal) and his wife, Agnes (Jessie Buckley), and how the tragic death of their 11-year-old son inspired the timeless masterpiece. The Oscar hopeful will screen 13 times, December 26 through January 4 at the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth.

Comedy

Improv Arlington presents Aries Spears
Ever since Chicago native Aries Spears was 14 years old, he has been a force to be reckoned with in the comedy scene throughout America. His quick wit, charisma, and ferociously aggressive style of comedy have earned him critical acclaim, high accolades, and above all, a busy schedule. He has been a regular on Fox’s Mad TV, starring in feature films, appeared on a number of national talk shows, and continually toured the country with his stand-up act. He'll perform six times, December 26-28, at Improv Arlington.

Music

Braxton Keith in concert
Braxton Keith calls San Antonio home, but the 20-something songwriter hasn’t spent much time there in recent years. As one of the newest exports of Texas’ country music scene, he leaves town nearly every weekend. Inspired by the traditional twang of storytellers like Marty Robbins and Merle Haggard, he writes songs that blend modern sounds with the best elements of old-school country. He'll play at Billy Bob's Texas on December 26 in support of his 2024 EP, Blue.

Eli Young Band in concert
The Eli Young Band is a prime example of how some college bands can actually make it big in the music world. After forming at the University of North Texas, they quickly gained notoriety, opening for the likes of Miranda Lambert. Six albums later, three of which reached the top 10 on the Billboard Country charts, the band remains one of the bigger success stories to come out of the Dallas-Fort Worth area. They'll play at Billy Bob's Texas on December 27, celebrating their 20th anniversary at the venue, having first played there in 2005.

Photo courtesy of Great Wolf Lodge Grapevine

Great Wolf Lodge Grapevine presents Snowland through January 6.

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Movie Review

Timothée Chalamet delivers powerhouse performance in Marty Supreme

Courtesy

Timothée Chalamet

In a time when true movie stars seem to be going extinct, Timothée Chalamet has emerged as an exception to the rule. Since 2021 he has headlined blockbusters like the two Dune movies and Wonka, and also got nominated for an Oscar for playing Bob Dylan in A Complete Unknown (his second nomination following 2018’s Call Me By Your Name). Now, he’s almost assured to get his third nomination for the stellar new film, Marty Supreme.

Chalamet plays Marty Mauser, a world-class table tennis player living in New York. But reducing Marty to his best skill doesn’t do him justice, as he’s also a motormouth schemer who will do almost anything to achieve his dreams. He doesn’t have any qualms about wooing married women like neighbor Rachel (Odessa A’zion) or actress Kay Stone (Gwyneth Paltrow), or hiding his true ping pong skills to win money in scams with friends like Wally (Tyler the Creator).

Marty is seemingly on the go the entire movie, whether it’s trying to convince Kay’s millionaire husband Milton Rockwell (Kevin O’Leary) to fund his table tennis ambitions; or trying to track down the dog of Ezra (Abel Ferrara), a man he accidentally injures; or trying to avoid the ire of the boss at the shoe store where he works. Just when you think he might slow down, he’s off to the races on another plan or adventure.

Directed by Josh Safdie and written by Safdie and frequent co-writer Ronald Bronstein, the film is an almost continuous blast of pure energy for two-and-a-half hours. So many different things happen over the course of the film that the story defies conventional narratives, and yet the throughline of Marty keeps everything tightly connected. His particular type of brash behavior turns much of the film into a comedy as he does and says things that are both shocking and thrilling.

Another thing that makes the movie sing is the fantastic characterization by Safdie and Bronstein. Almost every person who is given a speaking line in the film has a moment where they pop, which speaks to airtight dialogue that the writers have created. Characters will be introduced and then disappear for long stretches of time, and yet because they make such an impression the first time they’re on screen, it’s easy to pick up their thread right away.

Safdie, as he’s done previously with brother Bennie (Uncut Gems), calls on a host of well-known non-actors or people with interesting faces/vibes to inhabit supporting roles, and to a person they are crucial to the film’s success. O’Leary (of Shark Tank fame), rapper Tyler the Creator, director Ferrara, magician Penn Jillette, and fashion designer Isaac Mizrahi each deliver knockout performances. The relative unknowns who play smaller roles are just as impressive, making each beat of the film feel naturalistic.

Leading the way is the powerhouse performance by Chalamet. For one person to believably play both the famously reserved Dylan and also a firecracker like Marty is astonishing, and this role cements Chalamet’s status as his generation’s movie star. A’zion is a rising star who gets great moments as Marty’s on-again/off-again love interest. Paltrow pops in and out of the film, lighting up the screen every time she appears. Fran Drescher as Marty’s mom and Sandra Bernhard as a neighbor also pay dividends in small roles.

Josh Safdie’s first solo directorial effort is unlike any other movie this year, or maybe even this century. Thanks to its breakneck storytelling, a magnificent performance by Chalamet, and countless intangibles that Safdie employs expertly, the film smacks viewers in the face repeatedly and demands that they come back for more.

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Marty Supreme opens in theaters on December 25.

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