June 1, 2020
Due to travel restrictions, plans are only available with travel dates on or after
Due to travel restrictions, plans are only available with effective start dates on or after
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You start counting down the days until Christmas on Dec. 26.
People think you dressed as an elf for Halloween, but you’re really just warming up.
To hold all your ornaments, you require a minimum of five trees.
If you really, really love Christmas, you need to get down to Grapevine, Texas. This city, located between Dallas and Fort Worth, is famous for going all in on Christmas. Grapevine hosts more than 1,400 events for the holidays — even in 2020! The town is adhering to Texas health guidelines by requiring masks for all visitors 10 and up and limiting admission to certain attractions. Check the town’s website for the latest updates.
If you’re planning a winter road trip to the Christmas Capital of Texas, we have a few planning tips. One: book early. Hotel rooms and tickets for attractions sell out quickly. Two: Safeguard your trip with travel insurance. An affordable plan like OneTrip Basic includes trip interruption and cancellation benefits, so if you must cancel your holiday trip for a covered reason, you can be reimbursed for prepaid, non-refundable trip costs. Three: Dress for the season! While Grapevine’s climate is temperate, December highs hover in the fifties.
The Gaylord Texan in Grapevine transforms into a winter wonderland in November, with lavish decorations and unforgettable programs. This year, the highlight is the I Love Christmas Movies™ display, which lets you walk through more than 13 scenes that capture the magic of favorite movies: “The Polar Express,” “A Christmas Story,” “Elf,” and more. There also are light shows, snow tubing, ice skating, gingerbread decorating, escape rooms and photos with Santa. Buy tickets early, as the Gaylord is reducing capacity to allow for safe social distancing.1
The most beloved Christmas tradition in Grapevine is riding the Victorian-era North Pole Express train. Put on your pajamas or your best Santa hat, board the train, and get your very own "We Believe" silver bell from Mrs. Claus herself. When the train arrives at the North Pole, you get a special visit from Santa and a Christmas cookie. It’s a memory your child will never forget — but don’t wait until the last minute to arrange it! Tickets sell out months in advance.
You’ll feel like you’re in a Hallmark movie as you stroll down historic Main Street, where Victorian-era and later stores show off their holiday finery. Window-shopping is fun, but you can also find unique gifts. Texas General Store sells cowboy hats, artwork, spices and rubs. Ashlins, Ltd., is the source for luxury bedding, statement tableware and chic dresses. Main Street Jewelry specializes in estate and custom jewelry. Don’t miss seeing Captain Christmas, an animatronic talking reindeer who stands at 636 S. Main St.
On the first Thursday in December each year, more than 100 illuminated floats glide down Main Street in the Grapevine Parade of Lights. If Christmas inspires your creativity, you can even register your own float. Just remember: It has to have lights, and it can’t feature a real, live Santa Claus — there’s only one of him!2
You can also watch the Twinkle Light Boat Parade, a parade of brightly illuminated boats that circles Lake Grapevine. And if you miss both events, you can still get a chance to ooh and aah at the nightly Magic of Christmas Light Show on the corner of Main Street and Dallas Road. Be sure to check the website for details on parade dates and cancellation policies.
For just a dollar, you can ride a tractor-pulled wagon through the neighborhoods on the east side of Main Street, to see Grapevine’s old houses all gussied up in their holiday finery. There’s also a biennial candlelight walking tour of selected houses, held in early November. Step back into Victorian times with a tour of Nash Farm, including cider and cookies.3
Vetro Glassblowing Studio has created a new — and wildly popular — Grapevine Christmas tradition. For $50, you can select your color, apply it to molten glass and then heat the glass in a 2,000-degree furnace. A glassblowing artist then turns the glass into a hollow ornament, which you get to keep (once it cools!)4
Grapevine’s Palace Theatre, which dates to the 1940s, shows classic Christmas movies all season long. If you want to laugh, see “A Christmas Story” or “Home Alone”; if you’d rather cry, there’s always “It’s a Wonderful Life.”
Grapevine’s Elf Adventure invites kids and parents to wander the North Pole Neighborhood and make their own treasures to take home. At Millican’s Blacksmith Shop, you’ll stamp your own luggage tag or gift tag. At the Cotton Belt Route Section Foreman House, you’ll decorate a wooden Christmas train ornament. And at the Grapevine Tin Shop, you can make your own tinsel.
One of the best parts of a Grapevine Christmas is free. Every night, there’s a light show at Grapevine City Hall, complete with a singing Christmas tree and softly falling snow.5 Look at the decorations on Main Street, take photos in Whoville, and make memories that will last a lifetime.
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