The Lone Star State, Texas, is home to the Holiday Trail of Lights, a string of cities in the eastern region of the state. Each of these cities, which includes Marshall, Kilgore and Jefferson, decorate their downtown areas with Christmas lights. Many of East Texas' larger cities, such as Houston and Tyler, have Christmas-themed festivals and amusement parks. Does this Spark an idea?
Greater Houston
From late November through early January, the Woodlands -- a northern suburb of Houston -- hosts its annual Winter Wonderlands festivity. During this annual event, The Woodlands sets up storybook scenes that feature Christmas lights and elf figurines. The indoor ice skating rink at The Woodlands also features Christmas d cor. Admission is free for the Winter Wonderland, but a fee is required for ice skating. Every year the Alley Theater (alleytheatre.org), a professional theater in downtown Houston, presents its version of Charles Dickens' "A Christmas Carol." This stage play runs throughout the month of December.
Nacogdoches
One of the largest Christmas-themed festivals in East Texas, the Nine Flags Festival, occurs in downtown Nagocdoches. This one-month long event commences in mid-November and ends in early December. Activities during this event include a gingerbread house competition and a float parade that occurs on the Saturday night after Thanksgiving. The festival also hosts a float competition. Nacogdoches' hometown university, Stephen F. Austin University (sfasu.edu), offers Christmas-themed productions, including the "Nutcracker," via its Fine Arts Department. These performances occur in November through mid-December before students go on winter break.
Tyler
Lindale, Texas, a northern suburb of Tyler, is home to Santa Land (santalandtexas.com), a Christmas-themed amusement park that is only open during the Holiday season -- November and December. This 24-acre amusement park features over two million lights on its Christmas tree. Activities at Santa Land include a ride on Santa Claus' trailer or driving past the lights in your own vehicle. Santa's trailer runs every night between Thanksgiving Day and Christmas. In Canton, Texas -- approximately 45 minutes west of Tyler -- tourists may visit the Canton Christmas Tree Farm (cantonchristmastreefarm.com), which features carnival-style rides, a rock-climbing wall and a pony farm. Both Santa Land and Canton Christmas Tree Farm have gift shops with Christmas-themed souvenirs.
Texarkana
The border city of Texarkana, which straddles the Texas-Arkansas state line, celebrates Christmas every year by hosting the Twice as Bright Lights Festival. This festival runs from Thanksgiving to January 2nd. Twice as Bright consists of holiday lights and d cor adorning downtown Texarkana, Texas, especially on Main Street. Horse carriage rides and reindeer petting zoos are available. Texarkana starts celebrating Christmas early, though, via the Mistletoe Fair, an annual event hosted by the Junior League of Texarkana (jltexarkana.org). This shopping extravaganza occurs in November at the Four States Fairgrounds; venders at the event include antique dealers and local restaurants.
Tags: East Texas, Santa Land, amusement park, annual event, Canton Christmas
