When the Thanksgiving rush winds down and bellies are full, it’s time to switch into winter holiday mode.
And what better way to do that than exploring San Antonio’s Christmas lights scene? Here are some merry and bright experiences to choose from.
San Antonio Lights Alive!
Pack the car with your family and head to Alamo Ranch on the city’s far West Side for Lights Alive!, a drive-thru Christmas light experience with more activities when you’re done. After seeing the lights, head to the Winter Wonderland and find escape rooms, axe throwing, inflatable games, Santa, toys, concessions and more.
The experience is open now and continues through Dec. 31 from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. each day at 5931 Roft Rd. This year’s show will have new displays and a longer drive path than previous years. Tickets start at $36.95 on select nights and $42.95 at standard price.
Elf Acres: A Christmas Light Experience
Enjoy a one-mile trail of Christmas lights, Santa’s Village and visit with Santa at Elf Acres: A Christmas Light Experience now through Jan. 7 on the far West Side.
Pack your car with up to eight people and head to 1475 Grosenbacher Rd. to enjoy a synchronized music light show. Tickets start at $26.95 to $36.95 per vehicle; there’s an additional fee of $5 per person for vehicles with more than eight people.
Lightscape
The Christmas experience at the San Antonio Botanical Garden is back, “bigger, brighter and bolder” than ever before, with a mesmerizing one-mile outdoor walking path adorned with over 1 million Christmas lights.
Now open from 5:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. at 555 Funston Place, enjoy a stroll through holiday views like the Winter Cathedral, a Fire Garden and a special display of bluebonnets.
The garden is not open on the following dates: Nov. 23, 27, 28 and 29 and on Dec. 4, 5, 6, 11, 12 and 25. Tickets range from $18 to $28 for adults and $7 to $18 for children, not including a $3 convenience fee per ticket.
Zoo Lights
The San Antonio Zoo transforms into a Winter Wonderland as acres of the park are decorated with LED Christmas lights every day through Dec. 31.
Different parts of the zoo become holiday areas like the Peppermint Path, where red and white lights adorn the path and nearby buildings and trees are transformed into candy canes. You can also enjoy 36 light-up versions of the zoo’s flamingos with Fa La La Flamingo, or catch a ride on the Holiday Sing-A-Long Express train through Brackenridge Park.
The zoo also has Locals Day, where Bexar County residents can get in for just $8 a person with a photo ID or CPS Energy bill showing the local address. The next locals day is Friday, Nov. 24.
Tickets start at $31.99 for adults and $27.99 for children.
Light the Way
For a free holiday lights experience, check out the University of the Incarnate Word’s 36th annual Light the Way. Located on the UIW campus at 4301 Broadway, self-guided walking tours are available free of charge through Jan. 6 as lights adorn the trees and surroundings.
The 2023 Ford Holiday River Parade and Lighting Ceremony
See 28 illuminated holiday floats coast along the San Antonio River at the 2023 Ford Holiday River Parade starting at 6 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 24. Seating is ticketed, but it’s possible to watch the hour-long parade free of charge from vantage points along the parade route.
For the parade route, a map of free viewing areas, ticket areas and parking options, click here.
More than 100,000 lights will illuminate the bald cypress trees that adorn the River Walk when the switch is flipped at the official lighting ceremony Friday at 7 p.m.
The River Walk lights will stay up through the weekend following New Year’s Day.
Museum Reach River of Lights 2023
The San Antonio River Authority and the San Antonio River Foundation are once again extending the River Walk’s holiday lights north of downtown and up to the Pearl District.
The Museum Reach River of Lights 2023 event will celebrate the season beginning with the Dec. 2 Holly Jolly Kayaking event at the Museum Reach Lofts at 1500 N. St. Mary’s Street.
Admission is free, but registration is required ahead of the event, which starts at 6 p.m. Bring your own kayak or rent one for $15 to paddle with one other person between Pearl and the Locks & Dams near Brooklyn Ave. Proceeds from kayak rentals will go to the San Antonio River Foundation.
If you can’t make it to the kayaking event, celebrate the twinkling lights on Dec. 9 from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the San Antonio River Lock & Dam at 550 Brooklyn Ave. The event kicks off with music performances at the Santa Stage, and local school bands performing at the Holiday Stage.
Holidays on Houston Street
From Nov. 24 to Jan. 2, head into downtown for the new Holidays on Houston Street. All season long, there will be lights, decorations and entertainers featured along five blocks of Houston Street — from Legacy Park to the Alamo.
A Taste of Holidays on Houston Street on Dec. 12 features a block-long communal table, where two people can eat under glistening holiday lights for $120 from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. between Navarro and North St. Mary’s Street.
From Dec. 15 to Dec. 17, visit the free Holidays on Houston Street Market from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. and support local vendors and artists. At the same time, enjoy carolers, festive photo opportunities and holiday lights. On Dec. 17, the last day of the market, hours differ, from noon to 5 p.m.
H-E-B Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony 2023
A 50-foot Christmas tree from Oregon will be illuminated at the H-E-B Christmas Tree Lighting on Friday, Nov. 24, at 6 p.m. in Travis Park, where the trees shine with thousands of additional lights.
The free event offers an array of holiday activities for families to enjoy beginning at 4 p.m., including a visit with Santa, a movie screening of “The Grinch ” at 7 p.m. and holiday crafts like letters to Santa.
At the same time, enjoy watching — or joining — ice skaters at the Rotary Ice Rink at Travis Park at 301 E. Travis Street. The ice rink operates daily through mid-January 2024. Skating general admission tickets start at $15.
Alamo Lights
At the Alamo, trees wrapped in lights and a massive Christmas tree will be the center of a holiday experience at the historic grounds beginning Nov. 24.
Until Jan. 2, there will be “new surprises” this year, and light-decorated figures of Alamo defenders. The Lights of Tribute honor some families’ loved ones through displayed luminarias, traditional Mexican Christmas lanterns that hold a candle set in sand inside a small bag, around the green lawn in front of the Alamo Church.
Enjoy lights from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Tickets start at $5 for adults and $4 for children.
Lights of Esperanza
The eighth annual Lights of Esperanza returns to the South Side with a holiday display of 40,000-plus lights and a laser light show on Tuesday, Nov. 28.
The free, family-friendly celebration kicks off at One University Way and will feature musical entertainment by TAMU-SA alumnus DJ Tonyc, the KIPP Texas Ballet Folklorico, university mariachi group Mariachi Los Jaguares del Sur and a live ice sculptor.
There will be food vendors, opportunities for photos with Santa Claus, a snow globe and snow zone, a mechanical reindeer, trackless train, s’mores area and ornament decorating.
Winter Wonderland at Palo Alto College
Lighting up the South Side with holiday spirit is the aim of Palo Alto College’s fifth annual Winter Wonderland.
Opening night is Nov. 30, when the college holds a lighting ceremony and community festival from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m at 1400 W. Villaret Blvd. There will be live performances from the Palo Alto choir and band, a life-size snow globe, meet-and-greets with Santa and his reindeer, and a movie on the lawn. The Winter Wonderland event is free and open to the public.
If you can’t make it to the event, enjoy self-guided tours across the central courtyard from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. through Dec. 22.
Ford Holiday Boat Caroling
If you want to see all the holiday lights at the San Antonio River Walk and sing holiday carols, get a group together and grab a one-hour holiday caroling boat rental starting Nov. 30. You can play your own Christmas music via Bluetooth and wear festive clothing to wow passersby.
Holiday boat caroling for groups of up to 12 people is available weekdays from 6 p.m. to 8:15 p.m., and starting Dec. 1, individual carolers can join a caroling boat from 6 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. on weekends. Tickets start at $15 to $25 per person, or $125 to $200 for groups of 12.
Reservations should be made in advance.
The annual Windcrest Light-Up
If you’re from San Antonio, you know that driving through Windcrest’s neighborhood during the holidays is a decades-old tradition. In this incorporated city in Northeast Bexar County, residents light up their homes with elaborate displays to compete in various categories of the Windcrest Light-Up Contest.
Many homes in the 78239 zip code in Windcrest participate. This year’s theme is “‘Twas the Night Before Christmas” in honor of the 200th anniversary of the poem, “A Visit from St. Nicholas,” by Clement Clarke Moore.
And if you want to see more than just the Christmas lights this year, go to the City of Wincrest’s Light Up Market, which starts at 3 p.m. on Dec. 2. A tree lighting ceremony will take place at 6:30 p.m. The People’s Choice Awards also opens for voting on Dec. 2.
Judging night for the Windcrest Light-Up Contest takes place Dec. 11 and the lights will be up until Dec. 31.
Christmas at the Caverns
For the 10th annual Christmas at the Caverns, enjoy lights, carols, Santa and s’mores in a venue unlike any other: underground.
From Dec. 2 to Dec. 30 at 26495 Natural Bridge Caverns Rd., hear the echoes of carols, walk through a trail of lights and find Santa’s reindeer as you navigate a decorated 5,000 square-foot maze. Other activities include skating, storytime with Mrs. Claus, ice skating, live music and campfire s’mores.
Tickets start at $27.50 to $30 for adults and $10 to $20.75 for children.
Black History Holiday River Tour 2023
Enjoy a 90-minute boat tour on the San Antonio River Walk on Dec. 9 as the lights twinkle all around and learn about San Antonio’s deep-rooted Black history.
The San Antonio African American Community Archive and Museum will start the tour at 4 p.m. at La Villita, travel north through the Museum Reach to the Pearl, then back downtown to the Alamo, Henry B. González Convention Center and back to La Villita.
Tickets must be purchased online before the tour and start at $40 per person.
Christmas Fest drone show
For holiday lights of a different type, Toyota Field is hosting Christmas Fest on Dec. 9, 16 and 21 featuring a Christmas-themed aerial drone show.
Sky Elements Drone Shows is producing the shows using a fleet of drones fitted with LED lights to create animated designs and patterns in the sky above San Antonio FC’s home pitch. The events also feature holiday food and drinks, activities for kids and an opportunity to visit with Santa. Tickets are $19 for adults and $16 for kids 12 and under, with family packs available.
See Christmas lights from your car
If you’re OK taking a short drive out of the city, visit the Enchanted Springs Ranch in Boerne for the Old West Christmas Light Fest starting Friday, Nov. 24, and continuing through Christmas Eve. Tickets start at $20.
For a drive-thru Christmas light experience, visit the locally owned Jones Christmas Ranch in Boerne open now until Jan. 2. Tune into 94.5 FM as you drive through and see over 3 million synchronized lights. Tickets start at $30 per vehicle.
Another entirely drive-thru experience, Santa’s Ranch in New Braunfels, offers more than a mile of 2.5 million Christmas lights now through Dec. 31. You don’t have to get out of your car to get hot chocolate, kettle corn and more. Tickets start at $37 per vehicle.
You must purchase your tickets in advance before you head to The Light Park, another entirely drive-thru Christmas light experience in Selma. Open now through Jan. 1, general admission starts at $29.
