With more than 1,400 Christmas-themed events, Grapevine has earned the title of Christmas Capital of Texas. Christmas shop along Main Street, a throwback thoroughfare dotted with Victorian buildings and gas lamps, or take in the sights of the twinkling lights that cover the city’s homes, private businesses and public buildings.
On weekends from late November through late December, the North Pole Express departs from the Cotton Belt Depot. Kids can enjoy a ride in Victorian coaches filled with elves and carolers. Children are entertained at the depot with Christmas stories. A Christmas-tree maze leads to a stage where Santa appears to serve hot cocoa and pose for pictures. Grapevine Vintage Railroad’s Christmas Wine Train is an excursion for guests ages 21 and up. Held twice during the month of December, the 90-minute ride includes appetizers, dessert and wine served in a souvenir glass. Passengers also enjoy Christmas music and a visit from Santa.
The Parade of Lights held in downtown Grapevine showcases more than 100 floats with elaborate light displays and Christmas characters, and a variety of marching bands from local schools. The Twinkle Light Boat Parade is a unique three-hour parade that takes place on the waters of Grapevine Lake in late December. Stand on the shores of the lake and watch as an assortment of vessels float by, decked out in Christmas lights. All boats depart from Scott's Landing, Silver Lake and Twin Coves Marinas.
Some Grapevine resorts get into the Christmas spirit as well. From mid-November through early January, the massive Gaylord Texan Resort hosts Lone Star Christmas, where the lobby is decorated with a 54-foot-tall rotating Christmas tree, 15,000 ornaments and 1.5 million lights. Make your way through a 7-foot-tall gingerbread house, view Christmas-themed characters carved out of two million pounds of ice and 12 lanes for outdoor snow tubing. Great Wolf Lodge in Grapevine stages Snowland. In addition to the assortment of waterslides and spraygrounds, the hotel’s indoor water park has nightly Christmas story sessions, carol singalongs, visits from Santa and a workshop for writing letters to Saint Nick. You must be a guest of the hotel to enter Snowland.
Pay a visit to the Palace Theater, an ornate 1940 Art Deco movie theater, as it often shows Christmas films during the holiday season, such as “It’s a Wonderful Life.” The historic venue hosts the Grapevine Opry Show Christmas Spectacular, a family-friendly musical revue with holiday songs. The show runs on various dates throughout the month of December. Based inside the Grapevine Convention and Visitors Bureau headquarters, Le Theatre de Marionette holds its shows inside the Grand Gallery. From late November through late December, the puppet troupe stages Christmas performances featuring winter creatures such as as elves, penguins and snowmen. Geared toward children, the show runs for approximately 40 minutes.
