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Houston, the wait is over.
The holiday season has returned in full force and this weekend you can relive your favorite festive traditions -- mind-bogglingly massive holiday markets, dizzyingly dazzling light displays, electrifying stage spectaculars, and more.
Scroll below for 23 festive ways to while away your weekend.
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Houston-area holiday happenings 🎄
Read on for a smorgasbord of seasonal offerings and holiday happenings.
Dec. 1-3 — Dickens on The Strand, Galveston: “The annual holiday street festival, based on 19th-century Victorian London, features parades, non-stop entertainment on four stages, new additions like Tiny Tim’s Play Land, Shopkeeper Skills Village, and roaming characters throughout the festival. Costumed vendors peddle their wares from street stalls and rolling carts laden with holiday food and drink, Victorian-inspired crafts, clothing, jewelry, holiday decorations, and gift items.”
Dec. 1 — Deck the Park 2023, Memorial Park: “Join us on December 1st for a family-friendly kick-off to Memorial Park’s Holiday Lights, featuring a beautiful new 26-foot Holiday Tree on Bowden Terrace lit against Hines Lake in Clay Family Eastern Glades. Guests will toast with hot cocoa and enjoy holiday-themed activities including arts and crafts for children, cookie decorating, and letters to Santa. There will be music, food trucks on site for purchase, festive photo opportunities, and an outdoor movie screening of ‘Home Alone 2.’ Guests will have the opportunity to pre-order or purchase onsite a Deck the Park Holiday Bundle while supplies last, which will include Memorial Park Conservancy-branded treats and swag.”
Dec. 2 — Houston tree lighting ceremony, Hermann Square: “American Idol” star and Grammy nominee, Jordin Sparks, will headline the event featuring hit songs from her certified platinum self-titled album. The holiday variety show will also include performances by Mariachi prodigy Eduardo Trevino, the Houston Children’s Chorus, the Kinder High School for the Performing and Visual Arts theatre department, the Dance of Asian America, Theatre Under the Stars, Segundo Barrio Children’s Chorus, and Ernest Walker and the Official Holiday Band. The event finale will feature the lighting of the tree and the “Hallelujah Chorus” from Handel’s Messiah, orchestrated and timed with fireworks.
Dec. 2 — Deck the Depot Tree Lighting, Tomball Railroad Depot Plaza: “‘Tis the season to bring your family and friends to the magical Deck the Depot Tree Lighting event in Tomball. Get ready to immerse yourself in the enchanting Christmas spirit with a wide array of activities. Delight in the joy of the season with the little ones with our trackless train, kids zone, holiday music and entertainment, and of course, SANTA!”
Dec. 2 — Santa Claus is Coming to Town, Houston Humane Society: “Grab a professional photo of your fur babies with Ol’ Saint Nick at HHS on December 2nd & 9th from 11AM-2PM! For a $5 monetary donation OR a bag of pet food, or cat litter take home a memory of the most wonderFURl time of the year!”
Through Dec. 30 — Miracle Pop Up Bar, Various locations: Sip a Christmas-themed cocktail in a kitschy holiday oasis at one of several pop-up bars coming to the Houston area for the holiday season.
Through Dec. 30 — Holly Jolly Holiday Bar, Big Casino: “The halls will be decked with floor-to-ceiling tinsel, trimmings, ornaments and more, allowing you to immerse yourself in holiday magic from every angle and capture memories of your favorite moments. Warm up with seasonal cocktails and bring your friends to partake in some holiday cheers.”
MORE: Watch the holidays come alive at these Houston tree lighting spectaculars 🎄
Holiday light displays 💡
Through Jan. 1 — The Light Park, Hurricane Harbor and Typhoon Texas: With locations at Typhoon Texas Waterpark in Katy and Hurricane Harbor in Spring, the holiday attraction features millions of lights synchronized to holiday music and features dozens of animated figures in numerous displays, including a holiday light tunnel.
Through Jan. 1 — Sugar Land Holiday Lights, Constellation Field: More than three million lights will brighten Constellation Field during Sugar Land’s annual holiday lights extravaganza, held Nov. 17, through Jan. 1. See dazzling light displays, snap a photo with Santa, enjoy carnival rides, attend holiday movie screening and more at this holiday festival.
Through Jan. 7 — Galaxy Lights, Space Center Houston: Galaxy Lights consists of several indoor and outdoor light displays composed of hundreds of thousands of lights. Some of the displays include a high-tech kinetic light show featuring hundreds of suspended LED orbs that move in move in choreographed sequences to holiday music, as well as an LED light tunnel, a simulated indoor meteor shower, a massive model of the solar system, and a 40-ft tall,100-ft long shooting star made from LED lights.
Through Jan. 7 — Magical Winter Lights, Katy Mills: At this attraction on the Houston Raceway in Baytown, journey through more than 100 lantern sets in several themed sections including a magical castle, a Christmas village, a tribute to Houston, a dino fun zone, a space maze, and an ocean paradise.
Through -Jan.7 — Cistern Illuminated, Buffalo Bayou Park Cistern: The site-specific winter light installations will cast festive colored light throughout the space. The special angle of these lights will create a mesmerizing reflection of the Cistern’s ceiling on the glassy water below.
Through Feb. 25 — Radiant Nature, Houston Botanic Garden: Sculpted in metal and covered in painted cloth, Radiant Nature’s enormous lanterns occupy several show gardens at the Houston Botanic Garden. The merry and bright displays feature dazzling, supersized flora and fauna.
MORE: Where to find holiday lights shows in and around Houston
Houston-area holiday markets 🛍️
Here are some of the best holiday markets to shop this week.
Dec. 1-3 — Hollydays Market, Fort Bend County Fairgrounds: “Shop with 130+ merchants to find lots of new, unique, and One-of-A-Kind gifts all in one place to have you ready for all your festive events!”
Dec. 1-2 — Home For The Holidays Gift Market, Humble Civic Center: “Shop with 100+ merchants to find lots of new, unique, and One-of-A-Kind gifts all in one place to have you ready for all your festive events!”
Dec. 2-3 — Holiday Vibe Market, POST Houston: Enjoy live music, complimentary cocktails, and photos with Santa while shopping from 300 locals artists, creators and makers.
Dec. 3 — Super Happy Christmas Toy Show and Art Market, Saint Arnold Brewing Company: “This all-ages event will combine the amusement of a toy show and creativity of an art market with the opportunity to purchase many examples of both. If that wasn’t enough, it’ll all be dressed up as one of the year’s best Christmas parties with a special appearance by Santa Himself.
MORE: Find one-of-a-kind gifts at these festive Houston-area holiday markets
Houston holiday shows 🎭
For theatergoers, Houston offers a rich menu from which to choose.
Dec. 2 — “Cirque Dreams Holidaze,” Smart Financial Centre at Sugar Land: “his annual tradition wraps a Broadway-style production around an infusion of contemporary circus arts. As lights dim and the music swells, audiences will have visions of sugarplums dancing in their heads as a fantastical cast of holiday storybook characters come to life on stage.”
Through Dec. 17 — “Georgiana and Kitty: Christmas at Pemberley,” Main Street Theater: “The final installment of the Christmas at Pemberley trilogy follows two close friends: Mr. Darcy’s younger sister, Georgiana, and the youngest Bennet sister, Kitty. It is Christmastime at Pemberley and the pair impatiently await the imminent arrival of Henry Grey, Georgiana’s shy, secret correspondent. When Henry enters a family holiday in full force and is met by the unwelcoming presence of Mr. Darcy, Georgiana fears her chance at love will be lost forever. But somehow, love always finds a way!”
Through Dec. 23 — “A Texas Carol,” A.D. Players: “The Dinkel family is back by popular demand! This laugh-out-loud funny and heart-warming story was a huge success for A.D. Players last season and returns for another year! The Dinkel family is headed to Mee-Maw Jane’s East Texas ranch for what might be her last Christmas. The only problem? When the first grandchild arrives, Mee-Maw is already gone! Now how to keep that fact (and her body) from the rest of the family and save Christmas?”
Through Dec. 24 — “A Motown Christmas,” The Ensemble Theatre: “Celebrate the most wonderful time of the year with this festive holiday revue. It’s the perfect blend of traditional Christmas carols paired with the soulful sounds from such Motown celebrities as Marvin Gaye, Stevie Wonder, The Supremes, and The Jackson 5.”
Through Dec. 27 — “The Nutcracker,” Houston Ballet: “Following the annual Stahlbaum Christmas party, journey through the glittering Land of Snow to the bright and joyful Kingdom of Sweets with Clara, Drosselmeyer and the Prince as he reunites with the Sugar Plum Fairy amongst the clouds, where the real magic happens.”
Through Dec. 30 — “A Christmas Carol,” Alley Theatre: “Celebrate the holidays with the Alley’s hit new adaptation with colorful Victorian costumes, special effects, lively dancing, stunning sets, and just the right blend of Christmas carols. It is a dazzling Christmas feast with the beloved story of Ebenezer Scrooge and his miraculous transformation.”
MORE: These electrifying Houston stage spectaculars scream ‘Christmas’
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