This list of the best DFW Christmas attractions to do with your family during the holiday season includes the Fort Worth-Dallas area in 2024.

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Note: This post is updated annually, but always check details with the venue before making a trip. Click the links for details to get the current dates, times, and prices.

There is no shortage of things to do with the family in DFW on just about any day of the year. During the holiday season – Thanksgiving through Christmas – the festivities get more… well, festive!

I rounded up my family’s favorite Christmas attractions, plus a few that are on our bucket list, below. Some of these attractions offered my family complimentary admission during a media preview event.

DFW Christmas attractions

This list includes 10+ different things to do with the family. Most are appropriate for kids of all ages, but always use your best judgment and bundle up if it’s cold.

1. Holiday at the Arboretum – Dallas

Christmas at the Dallas Arboretum includes the 12 Days of Christmas, a 50-foot tall musical tree, a kid-friendly Christmas village, and a full calendar of special events, including visits with Santa.

Quick info:

• Dates: November 13, 2024 – January 5, 2025
• Times: Viewable during regular daytime admission hours plus evenings, 6-9 p.m.
• Admission: $13-$35, plus parking
• Location: Dallas Arboretum, 8525 Garland Road, Dallas, Texas 75218
• For more info: Dallas Arboretum

The Dallas Arboretum has created an amazing display themed on the classic Christmas song, The 12 Days of Christmas. Throughout the arboretum, there are a dozen 25-foot-tall gazebos, each with one of the days inside. The setups are elaborate and each one moves and plays a different tune.

In the Christmas village, cute little houses and shops are set up to look like a European hamlet surrounding a 23-foot-tall German Christmas pyramid. Visit and take a photo with Santa, shop local vendors, as well as other events including a magician, karaoke, and bird show.

New for 2021, the 50-foot-tall musical Christmas tree sits overlooking the lake. It plays music timed to the lights, which I could sit and watch for hours.

2. Holiday in the Park – Arlington

Six Flags theme park is open for Holiday in the Park from November through January.

Quick info:

• Dates: November 24 – December 31, 2024
• Times: hours vary nightly
• Admission: $49+
• Location: 2201 Road to Six Flags, Arlington, TX 76011
• For more info: Six Flags Over Texas

Enjoy the usual rides, shows, food, and entertainment. There are also holiday festivities, including tons of lights and decorated trees. Sled down a real snow hill, ride the Santaland Express train, listen to a story with Mrs. Claus, or catch a holiday performance. Plan to spend some extra cash on seasonal snacks, drinks, and souvenirs.

3. Fort Worth Parade of Lights – Fort Worth

The City of Fort Worth has hosted an annual parade with nearly 100 floats since the 80s. In recent years, it has been really cold, and at least once it was snowing during the parade. We usually watch from home (local channel CBS 11). The parade is usually the weekend before Thanksgiving.

Quick info:

• Date: November 24, 2024
• Time: 6 p.m.
• Admission: free, but reserved seating is also available for $15-$30
• Location: Downtown Fort Worth and Sundance Square
• For more info: Parade of Lights

There is also a Dallas Christmas parade on December 7, 2024, beginning at 9 a.m.

5. Grapevine – Christmas Capital of Texas

There is so much to do in the City of Grapevine that it needs to be rounded up into a single destination. Many of these Christmas attractions sell out extremely early, so you may need to plan ahead.

• Grapevine Christmas Passport – Elf Adventure
• North Pole Express train rides on the Grapevine Vintage Railroad
• Bricktacular Holiday at LEGOLAND Discovery Center
• Snowland at Great Wolf Lodge
• Tons of shopping, photo ops, and downtown decor

Details: Grapevine Convention and Visitors Bureau

6. Radiance! – Weatherford

Radiance! is a drive-through holiday light display in Weatherford (as well as Frisco, Decatur, and Ennis). The drive is about 2 miles long and lasts approximately half an hour.

Quick info:

• Dates: November 22, 2024 – December 28, 2024
• Times: 6-9 p.m. (until 10 pm. on select nights)
• Admission: $35+ per vehicle
• Location: Parker County Sheriff’s Posse, 2251 Mineral Wells Hwy., Weatherford, Texas 76088
• For more info: Radiance! A Holiday Light Spectacular

7. Snowday Dallas

If you are looking for the most instagrammable Christmas fun, you are going to love Snowday Dallas, located at the Galleria. It’s an indoor hands-on exhibit and an immersive holiday photo experience.

Starting in 2021, Snowday added a second experience called Santaland. It’s a separate ticket, but it takes you on a similar experience through cute photo-ops to meet Santa at the end – perfect for little kids! There are also special dates that allow you to bring a well-behaved pet.

Quick info:

• Dates: November 22 – December 24, 2024 (Closed Thanksgiving Day)
• Times: general mall hours
• Admission: $10-$30
• Location: The Galleria Dallas, 13350 Dallas Parkway, Suite 1020 Dallas, TX 75240
• For more info: Snowday Dallas

We attended the influencer night in 2019 and had so much fun! Snowday is one of the newest DFW Christmas attractions. Basically, it’s an interactive photo experience with several different rooms and places to take photos.

You start with a card that you will scan at each photo station. Watch the timer count down and pose for the camera. There are also places to take your own photos.

I recommend you take your time going through and exploring every corner. You can also cut back through and visit rooms again if you want. Snowday estimates about an hour.

8. Lightscape – Fort Worth

Lightscape is a walk-through Christmas light park at the Fort Worth Botanic Garden. Go on a self-guided 1.2-mile walk among lights and music. There’s also a Christmas village with fire pits, food, and photo ops. Santa visits with kids on select dates.

Quick info:

• Dates: November 22, 2024 – January 5, 2025 (select dates are closed)
• Times: Tickets are timed-entry only, every 15 minutes from 5:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.
• Admission: General $12-$30, plus booking fees and parking
• Location: Fort Worth Botanic Garden, 3220 Botanic Garden Blvd., Fort Worth, TX 76107
• For more info: Lightscape

9. Prairie Lights – Grand Prairie

Grand Prairie has one of the largest outdoor drive-through light shows and it’s one of the DFW Christmas attractions my family attends every year. It’s open from Thanksgiving to New Year’s Eve.

I did a full preview of Prairie Lights with photos from several years of light displays!

Quick info:

• Dates: November 28 – December 31, 2024
• Times: opens 6 p.m. nightly; watch social media because they will close when the park gets too full.
• Admission: $50+ per car
• Location: Lynn Creek Park, 5610 Lake Ridge Pkwy, Grand Prairie, TX 75052
• For more info: Prairie Lights

Tune your radio to a local Christmas channel (I like 102.9) or download the Prairie Lights Spotify playlist and dim your headlights for 2 miles of drive-through displays of over 4 million lights. Every year there is something new!

There is a stop in the middle – Holiday Village – where there are snacks and gifts for sale. You can also snap a photo with Santa and walk through a lighted forest. My kids’ favorite part is riding the carousel and other carnival rides!

The drive takes about an hour when it’s not crowded, plus however long you stop midway. I recommend you plan 3 hours total to account for traffic and the Holiday Village on a busy night. Weeknights earlier in the season are the least busy.

If you really want to plan ahead, check out the Prairie Lights FAQ and sign up for text message updates on the day of your planned visit by texting GPLIGHTS to 888-777. They’ll let you know instantly if the park closes early because it’s full.

10. TX Christkindl Market – Arlington

Christkindl Market is a German-style outdoor shopping venue with artists, handmade crafters, and unique one-of-a-kind gifts.

Quick info:

• Dates: November 22-24 and November 29-December 23, 2024
• Times: 11 a.m. – 8 p.m. daily
• Admission: free, but you’ll likely pay for parking
• Location: North Plaza at Globe Life Field, 734 Stadium Dr., Arlington, TX 7601
• For more info: Texas Christkindl Market

Many of the vendors sell German products like nutcrackers and some demonstrate their craft during the event. One year we found an amazing vendor who sells historic coat-of-arms artwork with the history of your family surname.

The Texas Christkindl Market began in 2015 and the Arlington CVB invited me and my family to join several other bloggers in a fun preview event. The market is a German-style outdoor shopping venue with tons of extra holiday activities. On weekends, the Kinder Market includes gingerbread house decorating, a marionette show, pony rides, and a real snow playground. Other highlights include a Warming Hut {because you know you’re going to get cold!}, a children’s lantern parade on Wednesdays, and German food and drinks.

Check out some other fun and creative ideas on One Mama’s Daily Drama:

• 10 Things to Do in Arlington, Texas
• Fall Festivals and Pumpkin Patches in DFW
• 10 Things to Do in Fort Worth