Start off your year with a bang! From Candlelight concerts, hush hush speakeasies, and more: there’s plenty of ways to usher in the new year in style in Dallas!
1. Experience the Wizarding World of Harry Potter
Make this holiday season extra magical with a visit to Harry Potter: A Forbidden Forest experience in Little Elm. Embark on a captivating adventure along a mysterious forest path brimming with enchantment and awe, where delightful surprises await at every turn.
Prepare your wand for spellcasting, encounter Hippogriffs and Nifflers, and relish breathtaking moments inspired by the magical worlds of Harry Potter and Fantastic Beasts films. Following the exhilaration, a charming village awaits, inviting you with hearty meals and a crackling fire.
2. Party in the World of Barbie
Experience the World of Barbie in Dallas at Stonebriar Centre! Immerse yourself in this engaging exhibit that allows you to bring your life-size Barbie® fantasies to life.
Explore the Barbie® Dreamhouse, Sound Studio, and Science Lab, among other exciting attractions. Enjoy entertaining Barbie® content at the Movie Theater and delve into the World of Barbie Doll Gallery to discover how Barbie® dolls have been a source of inspiration for generations of girls, encouraging them to dream big.
3-7. Enjoy a Concert by Candlelight
Experience the enchanting Candlelight concerts in Dallas, where the brilliance of hundreds of candles combines with breathtaking musical tributes to both contemporary and classical musicians. Your evenings in the city are set to be warmed by live musicians performing beautiful classical renditions of the world’s most recognizable and influential artists.
Immerse yourself in the intimate atmosphere as the music of Beyoncé, Pink Floyd, Hans Zimmer, Bad Bunny, and more comes to life, surrounded by the flickering glow of candles. Prepare to be dazzled by these captivating performances.
- Candlelight: Featuring Vivaldi’s Four Seasons & More
- Candlelight: A Tribute to Coldplay
- Candlelight: A Jazzy Holiday ft. Ella Fitgerald, Nat King Cole, Louis Armstrong and More
- Candlelight: A Tribute to Taylor Swift
8. Dine in the Dark
Ever wondered what it is like to eat in the dark? Eminent psychologists have been advocating dining in the dark as the ultimate taste experience for many years. Studies show that 80 percent of people eat with their eyes; with that sense eliminated, the theory is that the other senses—namely taste and smell—take over to elevate your meal to a whole new level.
9. Go for a Round at this Techy Mini-Golf Course
Settling into a two-story area spanning 28,000 square feet within Addison’s acclaimed Village on the Parkway, Puttshack Dallas provides visitors with four uniquely designed, technology-driven mini-golf courses. These courses feature the brand’s cutting-edge patented TrackaballTM technology, ensuring a highly competitive experience while automatically keeping score for players as they enjoy the game.
10. 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.
11. 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!
12. 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.
13. Let the Good Times Roll at this Inventive Gaming Alley
Whether you’re young or an adult, games never get old. And while you can find a bowling alley in any given city in America, you’d be hard pressed to find pin toss anywhere else in the world (to our knowledge). Bowl Games in Dallas is a one-of-a-kind gaming bar that offers shuffleboard, foosball, and the aforementioned pin toss – a bowling and football hybrid that leaves no joy to spare.
14. Go Back to the Back to the Future Bar
The 1980s are making a come back. Be it the nostalgia-saturated Stranger Things, kaleidoscopic fashion lines, or droves of new wave, synth-driven music flooding the sound waves. Travel back in time at McFly’s, the pub made in the image of what’s been called the most ’80s movie ever made.
15. Level Up at this Boozy Arcade
Some of 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!
16. Have Some Fun on the First Glow-in-the-Dark Park
In January, the introduction of Joya at Oran Good Park in Farmers Branch will bring North Texas to life. This innovative playground spans 18,000 square feet and is embellished with LED lights that brighten up the night, providing a unique experience not found anywhere else in the United States.
17. 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.
18. Smash the Champagne Button and Ferris Wheel Cupcakes
Stylish, glitzy, and vividly pink, the XOXO Dining Room in Dallas offers one of the most dazzling and photo-ready dining experiences in town. Whether its the cupcakes served in Ferris Wheels, striking pop-art, twinkling chandeliers, or bright XOXO wall, the dining room and lounge is Dallas’s go-to place to smash that champagne button – seriously, XOXO has champagne buttons.
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.
26-29. 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
30. 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.