37 Things to Do in Austin in December | Austin December Events

Austin’s most rockin’ holiday tradition returns to make merry with new music and surprises to get the party started! ZACH’s inspired adaptation of the Dickens’ classic is a musical sleigh ride through rhythm and time, infusing the traditional Victorian story with a score that spans all genres and eras. Motown meets the Ho-Ho-Holidays in this family-friendly spectacular, creating an infectious spirit that has everyone dancing in the aisles. Celebrate the season with the loving Cratchit family and three soulful ghosts as they take Ebenezer Scrooge on a joyride to rediscover his heart and love for human kindness!

Blue Genie Art Bazaar has thousands of original works ranging from serious art to fun, kitschy items. Shopping at the Bazaar is a great way to buy holiday gifts in a hassle-free environment, all while supporting local artists. All items are handmade by local and regional artists that are selected through a rigorous jury process. There will be work from more than 200 artists who offer a wide variety of imaginative and beautiful gifts. You can expect to find paintings, photography, prints, sculptures, jewelry, clothing, accessories, glassworks, ceramics, and more gifts you can’t find anywhere else! Whether your budget is large or small, you’ll find something for yourself, for your best friend, or for that impossible-to-shop-for relative!

A must-do for locals and visitors alike, Ice Skating on the Plaza at Whole Foods Flagship store on Lamar has become one of Austin’s most anticipated events of the holiday season! The ice rink is open daily from 10 am to 9 pm, beginning November 23rd through January 21st. The cost is $10 per person and includes skate rental. Every Friday throughout the ice rink season, the skating soundtrack is curated by KUTX for the KUTX Music Fridays series, so don’t miss out!

Take in the River of Lights, numerous lighted displays in a variety of seasonal themes lining Bastrop’s scenic June Hill Pape River Walk. To access this one-half mile promenade, come down the stairs west of the intersection of Main and Pine Streets or select the fully accessible entrance at Fishermans Park on Farm Street.

One of Lakeway’s most cherished traditions is the Trail of Lights! Come see thousands of twinkling lights with your friends and family! See amusing tableaus, all accompanied by delightful seasonal music! Please be aware that skateboards, scooters, bicycles, and motorized vehicles are not permitted (neither are pets).

Join your Austin Symphony, accompanied by Chorus Austin, for their annual Christmas tradition of Handel’s Messiah. This night of musical magic will comfort you through its familiarity and fill you with the joy of rediscovery. With performances being held at Hyde Park Baptist Church and at its additional location, Emmaus Catholic Church, let the Austin Symphony begin your winter celebrations with a performance full of rejoicing!

Country & Christmas starring Lee Greenwood and The Gatlin Brothers comes to H-E-B at Cedar Park December 5th for a one-night holiday engagement with special guest Billy Dean! Lee Greenwood is an ICON in country music, with more than 30 albums to his credit. In fact, MCA released an album in 2013 called ICON.

This year’s Holiday Stroll festivities kick off December 5th with the Holiday Stroll Parade! The parade will also include food vendors, pictures with Santa, and entertainment from the Seguin High School Band. Stroll through downtown tasting over a dozen varieties of homemade hot chocolate. On December 6th, Seguin’s downtown businesses will keep their doors open late for some shopping and sipping on hot chocolate. Other activities will include live entertainment from the Seguin High School Star Steppers, horse-drawn wagon rides, photos with Santa, a wiggle waggle train ride, and food vendors. North Pole Stroll will be held on December 7th and promises to be a family-friendly affair. Nonprofit organizations will be hosting activities for children in Central Park, including pictures with Santa, cookie decorating, letters to Santa, and much more!

Other Worlds Austin is Austin’s One-and-Only Science Fiction Film Festival and one of the premier SciFi Film Festivals in the US, championing filmmakers and writers and bringing the best films to the Geek Capital of the World. With a diverse and approachable team of programmers, we are building a network of SciFi fans and filmmakers, leading a loyal community, and launching SciFi films into the wider world.

Round Rock’s annual holiday festival is back to its original home on Main Street! During Christmas Family Night, Main Street is decorated with small wooden houses that host various games and activities. The event kicks off with a welcome from Mayor Craig Morgan, followed by the illumination of all NEW Hometown Holiday lights. Then Santa makes his grand entrance! This free event includes activities for the entire family, including live music, dancers, candle making, game booths, Frosty the Snowman, Santa Claus, and more! Children should bring their “wish lists” for Santa Claus, and parents are encouraged to bring their own cameras for pictures with Santa. Plus, enjoy free hot dogs, popcorn, hot chocolate, and other refreshments, activities, and snacks!

The Tree Lighting and Santa’s Workshop will feature a snow hill, snow playing areas, live music performances, games and prizes, yule fire, inflatables, photos with Santa (bring your own camera), and arts & crafts projects. Food concessions will also be available. The Cedar Park Police Department will be accepting new and unwrapped gifts for Blue Santa. Admission is free!

Texas has the most diverse fiddle traditions of any state in the union! Along with all that fiddling comes some of the best dance traditions anywhere, from polka to the Texas two-step. The Festival of Texas Fiddling is the first and only festival that brings all of the great traditions of fiddling in the state together in a truly historic Texas dance hall. Old-Time, Western Swing, Country, Texas Polish, Cajun, Creole, Tejano, Son Huasteco, blues are all the styles of fiddling in the state and will be at the Festival of Texas Fiddling! Come out and enjoy a day full of fiddling and dancing!

Head out to “the most beautiful town square in Texas” to start off the holidays! Be sure and come early and bring your chairs. There will be floats, bands, clowns, and Santa will make his debut! Plus this year, Blue Santa Elves will be collecting new unwrapped toys along the Parade Route! The parade begins at the corner of E 2nd Street and S Church Street. The parade will travel South on S Church Street, then West on 10th Street, North on Austin Avenue and East on 5th Street. After the parade, be sure to stick around for other fun stuff like Bethlehem Village and Whoo-Village, enjoy Live Entertainment, sample tempting treats in the food court, and browse arts and crafts booths!

The sights and sounds of Dripping Springs’ 15th Annual Christmas on Mercer Street will come alive on Saturday, December 7, from 10 am to 5 pm! The downtown area will transform into a hometown holiday festival featuring holiday shopping, arts and crafts booths, live entertainment, a petting zoo, trackless train, pony rides, children’s activities, and more. Hosted by the Dripping Springs Lions Club and the City of Dripping Springs, the festival admission is free to the public. Santa Claus will make a grand appearance at 10 am, and there will be opportunities for parents to take photos of their children with him until 2 pm at Santa’s Workshop on Mercer Street. The annual Lighting of the Tree will be held at the Triangle (also known as Veterans Memorial Park at E. Mercer Street, Ranch Road 12, and Hwy 290) at 6:15 p.m.

Kickstart your holiday season at the Downtown Austin Alliance’s Holiday Stroll on December 7th along Congress Avenue between 9th and 11th streets! Join the City of Austin for a night of holiday cheer in downtown, including the annual KUT Austin and KUTX 98.9 Holiday Sing-Along and the lighting of the downtown tree. A free, family-friendly event, Holiday Stroll has something for everyone, including photos with Santa, a petting zoo, live ice sculpture, holiday arts & crafts, a live mural painting, local food trucks, artisan vendors, and more!

Enjoy the German Free School’s German-Texan Annual Christmas Market this December 7th! Come for the food, entertainment and stay for a unique shopping experience. They will have authentic German, handcrafted Christmas ornaments, nutcrackers, Schwiebogen, smokers, and decor. You can also enjoy some Gluehwein (hot spiced wine), Christmas Stollen made by The New World Bakery, and gingerbread hearts made by Uwe’s Bakery!

Join the City of Pflugerville on Main St. in Downtown Pflugerville as they kick off the pfestive season. The parade begins at 4 pm and ends with the tree lighting and photos with Santa (make sure to bring your own camera)! Enjoy pfestive activities in Downtown Pflugerville including pfree cookies and hot chocolate, musical performances, and a yule log fire! Knights of Columbus Council 10373 is presenting the Christmas parade.

After blowing out the first round of shows on their Happiness Begins Tour, the Jonas Brothers have announced they are extending their tour through the end of 2019 with an additional 23 shows, including a stop in Austin on Saturday, Dec. 7. They will be joined by special guests Bebe Rexha and Jordan McGraw. Produced by Live Nation, the “Happiness Begins Tour Presented by American Airlines and Mastercard” is now officially the biggest Jonas Brothers tour ever, totaling 67 shows across Canada, Mexico, and the U.S.

Austin is our wonderful home. It is changing so fast in so many ways that, at times, it’s sometimes hard to recognize where it is headed. However, we all know what this city is and has been to each of us and that we choose to be here for so many different reasons. Recently, amazing artists from the streets of Austin took on the challenge of interpreting the topic of living in this city and what that looks and feels like to them. The colorful, dynamic, and unique responses were as varied as all of the things that make Austin so very Austin. In their Special Collection: Austin Through Our Eyes, they offer exhibition-quality prints of that beautiful body of work. Your patronage fulfills an obvious financial need and also an even more valuable emotional need that helps build a path to self-determination for their remarkable artists!

Chula League’s Cherrywood Art Fair is an art-filled two-day event showcasing local artists, live music, kids activities, and great food in a free, family-friendly environment! Since its 2002 inception, the Fair has served as a destination for discerning holiday shoppers seeking unique, hand-crafted items from Texas artists and makers. Proceeds benefit Little Artist BIG ARTIST, their free afterschool arts mentorship program in six East Austin elementary schools.

Your favorite way to celebrate the season returns for its 57th year! Ballet Austin’s annual production of The Nutcracker never disappoints, with hundreds of dancers, beautiful sets and costumes, and Tchaikovsky’s delicious score performed live by the Austin Symphony Orchestra. From a festive holiday party to an exotic court of sweets, watch as our young heroine, Clara faces her fears, rescues her prince, and dreams big during the journey of a lifetime! Make memories to last a lifetime when you share this special holiday tradition with family and friends!

Come out with family and friends, and discover the amazing events at Westlake Wonderland! There will be plenty of activities to participate in, such as a visit by Santa on a fire truck, Santa’s Village, mail a letter to Santa, a petting zoo, train rides, a bouncy house, children’s choir, face painting, live music, games and more!

For the 5th annual AMV Fest, they’ve handpicked 100+ weird and wildly entertaining music videos from around the world for you to experience. There are some fabulous ways to experience these weird and wild music videos through the magic of the silver screen, a pajama party, and VR! Let your freak flag fly high inside this one-of-a-kind music video festival!

A letter that was never meant to be seen, a lie that was never meant to be told, a life he never dreamed he could have. Evan Hansen is about to get the one thing he’s always wanted: a chance to fit in finally. Dear Evan Hansen is the deeply personal and profoundly contemporary musical about life and the way we live it. Dear Evan Hansen has struck a remarkable chord with audiences and critics everywhere, including The Washington Post, who says Dear Evan Hansen is “one of the most remarkable shows in musical theatre history.” The New York Times calls it “a gut-punching, breathtaking knockout of a musical.” And NBC Nightly News declares the musical “an anthem resonating on Broadway and beyond.”

An Austin tradition since 1965, the Trail of Lights provides miles or walking amongst thousands of lights and scenes. The Zilker Tree, another holiday favorite, stands 155 feet tall in the middle of Zilker Park and boasts 39 multi-colored streamers, 3,309 lights and bulbs, and a very bright star with 150 lights on the top. With so many lights, it’s hard to miss amongst the Downtown Austin Skyline during the holidays!

The Armadillo Christmas Bazaar is a twelve-day fine art shopping destination featuring national and local award-winning artists, live music, and two full bars in a festive, lively atmosphere! With over 160 artists, it gives you a variety of upscale art, handmade gifts, heirloom pieces, and stocking stuffers to buy as gifts for others or yourself.

Are you ready for another year of glamour, glitz, and eye-catching routines? Never miss a chance to dance this December as a fresh group of Austin philanthropists compete for your applause and the coveted mirror ball trophy. Saturday, December 14, is set to be the biggest dance party of the year, filled with competition, philanthropy, and exhilarating entertainment. It’s an event you won’t want to miss! In its 13th year, Dancing with the Stars Austin is the biggest dance party in Austin and the largest fundraiser benefiting the Center for Child Protection, raising crucial funds for our community’s most vulnerable children. Because of unwavering support during Dancing with the Stars Austin, the Center is able to provide intervention and prevention services to children who have been abused and their families in Travis County. Together, we make a difference in our community.

Join the City of Bastrop in Bastrop, Texas, for their annual Lost Pines Christmas celebration on December 14 with numerous holiday events, small-town tradition, and fun for the entire family. Expect holiday shopping, games, a festival, and an evening lighted parade with over 100 lighted floats and Santa!

On December 14th, treat yourself to a fun, unique cocktail experience at the Austin American Statesman. Shake Stir Sip is a unique cocktail festival featuring 20 different cocktails from Austin’s best Mixologists. The event was created to give the cocktail lover a new way to enjoy his or her favorite spirit. Curated with Award Winning Mixologists, Shake Stir Sip is guaranteed to be one of your favorite events. Whether you’re dancing to a new tune or eating a new treat, this event will leave you in a social utopia!

Everyone’s invited to take part in the sunniest and funniest street celebration in Sesame Street Live! Let’s Party! The inaugural production under Feld Entertainment’s new partnership with the non-profit educational organization, Sesame Workshop, features favorite Sesame Street pals Elmo, Abby Cadabby, Big Bird, and more in a brand-new sensory adventure live on stage. Sesame Street Live!

Eden East is excited to invite you to their 4th Annual Winter Solstice Party, Pig Roast & Craft Market, on the Farm! Come celebrate the Winter Solstice with them and some of their favorite local artisans while enjoying live music, a bonfire, and many more surprises. Their chefs will serve a seasonal, farm-fresh family-style buffet. Complimentary cocktails from local sponsors will keep you warm. Let’s cheers to the longest night of the year together!

Cirque Musica presents Holiday Wishes brings a holiday story to life in a full theatrical cirque event for the entire family to H-E-B Center at Cedar Park on December 24th. Featuring the world-renowned cast of Cirque Musica with your favorite holiday hits all performed LIVE by a full symphony orchestra. Audiences will be amazed by the acrobats, aerialists, hilarious hijinks, and holiday cheer. The show blends the spellbinding grace and daredevil athleticism of today’s greatest circus performers with the sensory majesty of a symphony orchestra!

The beloved TV classic Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer soars off the screen and onto the stage this holiday season. See all of your favorite characters from the special, including Santa and Mrs. Claus, Hermey the Elf, Bumble the Abominable Snow Monster, Clarice, Yukon Cornelius, and, of course, Rudolph, as they come to life in Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer: The Musical. It’s an adventure that teaches us that what makes you different can be what makes you special. Don’t miss this wonderful holiday tradition that speaks to the misfit in all of us. Based on the animated television special “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer” and the stage production directed and conceived by Jeff Frank and First Stage. Script adaptation by Robert Penola. Arrangements and orchestrations by Timothy Splain.

Bring in the New Year with a free, fun, and family-friendly celebration! Austin’s New Year will transform Vic Mathias Shores into a wonderland of music, art, special performances, and of course, Austin’s legendary food favorites, as the community closes out 2019. The New Year’s Eve event, hosted by the City of Austin, kicks off at 3 pm on December 31st, culminating with a fireworks extravaganza at 10 pm! This year’s event will feature great music on two stages, 15 local and regional bands, food trucks, kid’s activities, and multiple art installations!