Downtown Houston gets all dressed up during the holiday season! You can find festive celebrations, dazzling lights, and other fun winter activities to get you into the spirit. Here are some of the highlights that you should explore 🎄
Explore Holiday Attractions
Experience 12 different unique themed villages that celebrate the holiday season throughout downtown until Dec. 31. Want to put on your ugly Christmas sweater and party? Check out the Ugly Sweater Holiday Jam on Dec. 12 at Trebly Park, where you can grab a warm beverage from Tout Suite, enjoy music, and holiday-themed photo opps. Meanwhile, over at Market Square Park, grab your pups for photos with Santa on Saturday evenings and sip on free hot chocolate. Finally, check out Snow Glow on the Bayou, where you can take a boat tour of holiday lights along Buffalo Bayou from Dec. 20 - 29.
Have a Festive Night at Discovery Green
One of my favorite winter activities is to go ice skating at Discovery Green. Some nights are discounted, like Cheap Skate Night on Mondays, so pay attention to the schedule! Once you’re done ice-skating, go to the fabulous Phoenicia Specialty Foods and grab a coffee, hot chocolate, or their legendary pita bread. Finish your evening at Hearsay with a hot toddy. If you’re feeling extra fancy, grab a drink to toast the holiday from Bandista, a speakeasy inside the Four Seasons Hotel.
The Texas-Shaped Holiday Pool & Other Fun
If you haven’t been to the Texas-shaped lazy pool atop the Marriott Marquis’s roof, then what are you doing?! Only in Texas can you float in a heated lazy river (80 degrees!), with a view of downtown, underneath Christmas lights.
Want to take it up another level? Book your own private igloo on the roof, and enjoy a two-hour experience with hors d'oeuvres and premium bottle service. Meanwhile, over at POST Houston, book tickets for their Winter Wonderlawn experience to take in their five-acre roof decked out in lights and their 25-foot Christmas tree. Finally, want to enjoy a movie night with the fam? Check out this free screening of Elf at Market Square Park on Dec. 19.
