13 Christmas-Obsessed Texas Towns to Visit This Holiday Season

The holidays are overrun with obligations, including decorating your home, shopping for gifts, and attending parties. So it’s easy to feel overwhelmed this time of year. Our advice: get in the car and go. Because all across the state, there are towns, neighborhoods, parks, and hotels that are bursting with holiday cheer. We’re talking about drive-through light shows, rooftop wonderlands, snow tubing tracks, scenic villages made entirely of ice, and other seasonal spectacles you don’t want to miss. These are 13 of the most Christmas-obsessed destinations in Texas.

Now through January 6
Downtown
The Adolphus rooftop got a winter makeover and now resembles a cozy ski lodge with snowscapes, private yurts, blankets, hot cocktails, and tableside s’mores. Fortify yourself with hearty fare like Jalapeno Hush Puppies, Loaded Burnt Ends Poutine, Beef Goulash Soup, and Pumpkin Sausage Agnolotti, and sip on ciders and toddies. Down in the lobby, the French Room Bar is embracing the holidays by serving as a Cocoa Lounge, with hot cocoa, fun cocktails, and a special holiday tea.

Now through December 31
Grapevine
Visiting the Gaylord Texan hotel during the holidays, whether for a weekend or an afternoon, is like getting joyfully pummeled in the face with a snowball wrapped in lights and delivered by a gingerbread man riding a one-horse open sleigh. Lights and decorations are everywhere you look, and there’s a tubing track covered in real snow, so be sure to hit that after a spin around the ice skating rink. Then it’s time for Ice! The immersive exhibit features 6,000 hand-carved ice blocks and depicts scenes from How the Grinch Stole Christmas. Wear a jacket.

Now through December 31
Houston, Texas
The Marriott Marquis Houston is known for its Texas-shaped rooftop pool and lazy river. That’s still there, and it’s been heated to 80 degrees. But right now, the Altitude Rooftop & Pool is also home to Texas Winter Lights, an interactive experience that brings thousands of twinkling lights, Christmas decor, falling snow, hot cocktails, and photo moments to the property. Stroll the roof with a spiked cider in hand, or reserve the Gastrodome Dining Experience, and you and your friends can enjoy a six-course dinner and drink pairings in a transparent igloo.

Now through February 14
Grapevine
Grapevine’s wine-soaked hotel has transformed the al fresco WineYard Grille + Bar into its Winter Wonderland experience, with eight igloo-style bubbles available to reserve online. Each sports a ski lodge theme, with fur blankets and heaters, and the bubbles are situated amidst evergreen trees and under a canopy of string lights. Keep it cozy, or bring up to five friends. Each 90-minute experience includes three-cheese fondue served with all the accoutrement and a bottle of wine.

December 15–23
Austin, Texas
In the week leading up to Christmas, swing through the Palmer Events Center in Downtown Austin for an all-day Christmas bazaar slash art and music festival. Inside, you find nearly 200 vendors selling art and gifts to cap off your holiday shopping, and live bands take the stage throughout the day to provide a soundtrack as you shop. When you need a break, score a glass of beer or wine from one of the bars, then head outside to the food trucks slinging pizzas and tacos.

Now through December 23
Arlington, Texas
Inspired by Arlington’s German sister city, Bad Königshofen, as well as holiday markets across Europe, the open-air Texas Christkindl Market features vendors selling gifts and crafts, plus traditional German food (think pork schnitzel, brats, potato pancakes) and glühwein, Germany’s aromatic take on mulled wine. If you’ve got kids in tow, score a hot chocolate and a photo with St. Nick.

December 8–10
Tomball, Texas
Located just north of Houston, Tomball celebrates its German roots each year with a festival and open-air Christmas market. More than 150 vendors will line the streets this year, selling handcrafted items and traditional foods while bands play on four stages and street performers entertain the crowds. Score a few gifts for the people on your list, or simply use that as a thinly veiled excuse to gorge yourself on schnitzel, brats, pretzels, and boots brimming with German beers.

Now through December 30
Austin, Texas
For most of the year, Circuit of the Americas is a Formula 1 track and concert venue. But during the holidays, it transforms into Peppermint Parkway, a decidedly different experience that involves a mile of holly-jolly displays, millions of lights, amusement rides, and a train. Drive through the decked out parkway to enjoy the sights from inside your car, then take a pit stop at the Peppermint Plaza, where you’ll find food, drinks, and Santa. If that’s not enough to hold you over until New Year’s, you can race go karts at speeds up to 55 mph, pet a baby goat, or take in the views from the 251-foot observation deck.

Now through December 30
College Station, Texas
The home of Texas A&M goes big for the holidays, turning a portion of the town into Santa’s Wonderland. Go ice skating, race down snow tubing tracks, and stroll through a trail of lights. There are horse and carriage rides, a playground with real snow for making snow angels and hosting snowball fights, and concessionaires selling burgers, barbecue, pizza, funnel cakes, beer and wine. So, all the essentials.

Now through December 31
Grapevine, Texas
Point your GPS to Lynn Creek Park in Grapevine, and you’ll happen upon a two-mile drive-through path festooned with millions of glittering lights. We’re not astronauts, but we’d bet you can see it from space. Drive along to view hundreds of displays running alongside and arching over the road. At the halfway point, hop out of your car to explore the Holiday Village, with carnival rides, concessions, a walk-through “magical forest,” and photos with Santa, before strapping back in to proceed through a massive, trippy light tunnel that signals your exit.

Now through January 6
Galveston, Texas
For a beachside destination, Galveston knows how to Christmas. The 242-acre Moody Gardens amusement park is billed as the largest holiday destination in the Southwest. There’s a mile-long light display featuring two million lights, a four-story tall tree, an ice skating rink, and a giant ice slide. Then there’s Ice Land, which features a colorful rainforest theme, with ice sculptures depicting ancient ruins and tropical flora and fauna. Don’t miss the ice bar, which serves drinks in a space made entirely of ice.

Now through January 2
San Antonio, Texas
Five blocks of Downtown San Antonio have been decked out with twinkling lights and festive decor, and throughout the day and evenings, visitors can stop to enjoy live entertainment and take advantage of special offers from the area’s restaurants and shops. The famous River Walk will come alive with lights each night from dusk to dawn, caroling boats float down the river, filling the air with songs, and skaters can hit the ice rink in Travis Park.

December 8–23
Austin, Texas
This annual event in Austin’s Zilker Park turns a portion of the park into an elaborately illuminated walking tour. This year, you can expect to stroll among two million lights, 90 lighted holiday trees, 70 other holiday displays, and lighted tunnels. And lest anyone goes hungry, vendors are situated throughout the park, hawking pretzels, crepes, burgers, ice cream, and more.

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