It’s the most wonderful time of the year!
Believe it or not, it’s already December. Between the holiday shopping, decorating, eating, and more eating, there awaits a splendid assortment of magical things to do in the city this holiday season.
Read on to discover 30 fantastic festive things to do in Dallas this December!
1. Pay homage to tallest indoor Christmas tree in the country
The monolith tree, which is decked out with roughly 10,000 colored ornaments and nearly half a million lights requires the work of 50 employees at Galleria who come together and spend days building the five-ton steel frame before installing more than 1,700 branches and decorating the enormous evergreen.
2. Immerse yourself in everything Christmas at the Gaylord Texan
It looks like Dallas is on the Nice List this year, because Santa is lugging the entire North Pole down to the Gaylord Texas Resort & Convention Center this holiday season. Gaylord Texan’s 17,000-sq. ft. pop-up is now open as a never-before-seen multi-sensory walk-thru exhibit.
3. Check out the internationally-acclaimed “Lightscape” experience at Fort Worth Botanic Garden
Having enjoyed sellout runs in cities like Chicago, Los Angeles, and New York, the internationally-acclaimed Lightscape experience is making its debut in Fort Worth Botanic Garden.
Running through to Sunday, January 8, 2023, Lightscape offers guests a one-mile-long path featuring over 1 million twinkling lights to the 120-acre botanic garden this yuletide season.
The custom-designed after-hours walking trail leads guests through a series of “spectacular artistic installations that come to life after dark with color, imagination, and sound.”
4. Revel in Christmas cheer at the Arboretum
One of the picks of the bunch can be found at the esteemed Dallas Arboretum. One of the top botanical gardens in the world and one of the city’s top attractions, the 66-acre arboretum transforms each year for its popular “Holiday at the Arboretum” event.
5. Enjoy Dallas’ Spectacular Zoo Lights Experience
The 106-acre zoological Park is once again hosting its beloved mile-long walk-thru experience inviting guests to wander beneath millions of twinkling lights between dazzling 3D lighted sculptures and installations.
6-10. Experience an Amazing Candlelight Concert
Start your winter in Dallas magically with Fever Originals’ wildly popular Candlelight series in the form of intimate concerts lit by candlelight at breathtaking venues. Highlights in December include:
Category link: https://feverup.com/en/dallas/candlelight
- Candlelight: Holiday Special featuring “The Nutcracker” and More at HALL Arts Hotel
- Candlelight: Holiday Special featuring “The Nutcracker” and More at The Filter Building
- Candlelight: The Best of Hans Zimmer at HALL Arts Hotel
- Candlelight: Sci-Fi and Fantasy Film Scores at Frontiers of Flight Museum
- Candlelight: A Tribute to Queen and More at Frontiers of Flight Museum
11. Gift a loved one a Candlelight Concert
Can’t decide? Or struggling to think of a present for somebody? Gift somebody an exclusive concert illuminated with thousands of candles with a Candlelight gift card.
Choose from concerts featuring jazz, rock, pop, classical music, and even movie soundtracks in spectacular venues around Dallas.
Candlelight gift cards are really easy to use and valid for any Candlelight event making it a unique and exciting gift for friends or family!
Get your Candlelight gift card valid for any Candlelight concert in Dallas or any other city in the U.S. here.12. Venture into The Upside Down (Store)
Ready for a new adventure, nerd? Join us at Stranger Things: The Official Store for a journey into the show’s most iconic locations, where you’ll find plenty of gnarly merch and rad moments. Take photos in Joyce’s House, shop in the Starcourt Mall, explore the Russian Lab, play games at the Palace Arcade… Just know that you might come face-to-face with a Demogorgon—don’t say we didn’t warn you!
13. Take a spin in this bowling alley hidden inside an old movie theater
Recently opened, Bowlski’s Lakewood Theater is a live concert venue, candy counter, pool lounge, arcade, bar, and bowling alley. When it came to renovating the historical venue, Bowlski’s owners salvaged what they could of their predecessor.
14.Level up at this boozy arcade
Some of us weren’t around in the ’80s, but that doesn’t stop us from the feeling of vivid nostalgia we have for new wave hits, technicolored-patterned jumpers, and all the zaniness the decade had to offer. This season, Dallasites can blast back to the ’80s at the new FlashBack RetroPub in Bishops Arts District!
15. Take the Southfork Ranch and TV Series Dallas Tour
If you are someone who enjoyed the TV show “Dallas”, your tour of Southfork Ranch will be a memorable one. Come see what the Ewing family called “home”, and see their lifestyle made famous by the watching world.
This 3-hour, small-group tour is led by a guide and has a group size of 11 people. Texans have always believed that they live “larger-than-life,” and where else is that so clearly lived out than at the infamous Southfork Ranch?
As one of the longest-running series in American television history, “Dallas” invited folks into its world each week . . . and now guests from across the US and internationally are invited yet again to be guests at the “most visited White House west of D.C.”!
16. Bask in the glow of a thousand lights at this mesmerizing sky lantern festival
A mesmerizing festival of light is about to debut in the DFW area that will see thousands of sky lanterns simultaneously rise skyward.
Taking place on Saturday, December 17th, The Lights Fest will bring its magical experience to Ennis for a special one-night-only event having dazzled spectators in several US cities
17. Watch one of the Klyde Warren Park’s come alive for nightly light & music shows
For those who have yet to see it, Dallas’ Klyde Warren Park is now home to a majestic new fountain made up of three 15-foot-stainless-steel treelike sculptures that can shoot water up to 100 feet into the air. Opened in September it is dubbed the world’s tallest interactive water fountain and features a 5,000-square-foot splash pad that can accommodate hundreds of children at a time.
The fountain’s design was inspired by the surrounding beloved green space, “with three 15-foot stainless-steel “trees,” 14 “rosebud” bubblers, and 106 small nozzles that create giant “leaves” when they are working in unison” according to the Klyde Warren Park website.
18. Go chasing waterfalls
More majestic water spectacles can be found all around Texas thanks to Mother Nature herself.
There’s no understating the natural beauty of the Lone Star State and venturing out to the state’s most gorgeous waterfalls and hiking trails can offer respite from the city clamor during the busy shopping season.
19. Escape the hustle & bustle to these gorgeous woodland cabins
Another wonderful way to escape the hustle and bustle of the big city is out in a Getaway cabin. With a bustling entertainment scene and a wealth of subcultures and interesting neighborhoods, many of us can be guilty of becoming all too comfortable passing week on week in the Dallas-Fort Worth area and forgetting to take a break from the urban monotony.
Getaway House is a chain of tiny cabin hideaways helping people in big, bustling cities like Chicago, LA, NYC, and Dallas, disconnect from their busy city lives with restorative stays in the middle of nature.
Nestled in Larue, just 1.5 hours outside Dallas, 40 tiny cabins offer immersive floor-to-ceiling windows and minimalistic yet comfortable designs to let the stress of routine slip away and focus on being in a flourishing natural environment.
20. Glamp in the stars
New resident Texan, Elon Musk, promises that humans will land on Mars by 2026. If you can’t wait that long, you can spend a few nights at Basecamp Terlingua, an other-worldly glamping experience that integrates the future with the past, giving its visitors the impression of luxury camping in the cosmos.
21. Visit the Spa Castle
Christmas is full of magic but it can also be stressful. Add to that the worsening weather and you’ve got to take your well-being into consideration during these hostile months. Especially if you’re spending time outdoors exploring nature. Luckily Dallas is full of answers to combat both the Christmas chaos and the numbing chill that settles into your bones.
There are few places better for some rest and relaxation than Spa Castle in Carrollton. The innovative spa blends together traditional Asian and European styles to create a fun and luxurious experience all on its own featuring Himalayan salt rooms, hydrotherapy pools and much more.
22. Enjoy the Adolphus Hotel’s rooftop winter village
Dallas’ iconic Adolphus Hotel has had a Christmas makeover and it looks magical. The luxury hotel’s pool deck has been transformed into a winter village complete with snow globes, themed cottages, cozy winter cabins, Croque Monsieur winter soldiers, and festive food and drink options.
Every week Tuesday through Saturday guests can now transport themselves to a chic chalet village and revel in festive cheer.
23. Sip away in a snow globe on the Statler Rooftop
Another place you’ll find igloos and a revamped rooftop is over at the Statler Hotel.” Winterproof” at Waterproof is back at the hotel’s 19th-floor rooftop and snow globes are now available to rent on Waterproof’s website.
The annual experience returned on November 21 and the rooftop now offers a wintry oasis with decorations, frosty dining igloos, cheerful seasonal fare, and much more.
24. Dine royally up in the clouds
Savor the high life this fall at Monarch Restaurant. Perched on the 49th floor of The National, Monarch is designed with floor-to-ceiling windows, giving restaurant-goers the chance to dine on their wood-fired Italian dishes with an epic view of the city.
25. Sip bubbly in Eden
Adorned with colorful artwork, bespoke furniture, and lush greenery – not to mention their gorgeous garden terrace – Paradiso offers a lovely quaint setting with its Bar Eden lounge.
26-28. Sneak into a speakeasy
There’s something special about speakeasies. The secretive, vicarious forbidden feel of transporting back to the prohibition makes imbibing cocktails all the more tantalizing.
- Hope you’ve been reading this quarantine, because you’re going to need your book smarts to get into the Rare Books Bar. In order to gain entry into this Frisco speakeasy, visitors must dial the librarian and ask for a classic piece of literature.
- The only signpost at this bar takes the form of two ambiguous As on a door in a crusty alleyway behind Henry’s Majestic. For those that can get past the initial sketch factor, however, a warm-lit cove of tantalizing libations await
29. Sweeten’ up at Dallas’ best bakeries
Treating yourself in the pandemic has become something of a lifestyle rather than a once-in-a-blue-moon event. If you need a sweet pick-me-up or want to share the love, these Dallas bakeries have got all the goods.
You can find a list of Dallas’ best bakeries here.
30. Make your own pasta
Escape to Italy without leaving Dallas for an evening to master the art of making pasta. Follow the steps demonstrated by your chef instructor to make beautiful Pappardelle noodles and Orecchiette.
Guests will learn to make dough from scratch, as well as roll it out and shape it to create their picture-perfect pasta.
[Featured image courtesy of the Adolphus Hotel]