12 Ways to Celebrate Christmas Around the South

With destination cities like Austin, Dallas, Houston, and Fredericksburg, it’s not hard to find Christmas events in the Lone Star State. The hard part is choosing which ones to attend.Walkin’ in a Downtown Dallas Wanderland; downtowndallas.comExperience the 12 Days of Christmas at the Dallas Arboretum; dallasarboretum.orgSee the glittering displays at the Austin Trail of Lights; austintrailoflights.orgCozy up in quaint Fredericksburg Hill Country; visitfredericksburgtx.com/holiday

Escape the cold and migrate south to New Orleans to experience the holiday in The Big Easy—and trust us, few do it better. Here are some of our favorite spots around town:Explore all 25 acres of City Park during the annual Celebration in the Oaks; neworleanscitypark.comThe twinkling lobby of the Roosevelt Hotel (order a gin fizz from the Sazerac Bar); waldorfastoria.hilton.comSip a classic New Orleans cocktail at newly-opened Henry Howard Hotel in the Garden District; henryhowardhotel.comPut you pinky up at the Windsor Court’s lavish Holiday Tea in Le Salon; windsorcourthotel.com

There’s plenty of ways to celebrate Christmas in Atlanta that make braving the holiday traffic worth it.Do some Christmas shopping at merry Ponce City Market; poncecitymarket.comSwing by Macy’s Great Tree display in Lennox Square; ajc.comGet a dose of holiday humor with satiric writer David Sedaris’s comedy The Santaland Diaries; horizontheatre.comWork off your holiday indulgences at the Ugly Sweater Run; theuglysweaterrun.com

The spectacular holiday displays and events in Washington, D.C. are only fitting for our nation's capital—and certainly worth seeing (at least) once in your lifetime.Make a patriotic pilgrimage to the 2016’s National Christmas Tree: A Shining Salute to America; thenationaltree.orgCelebrate with the animals at Smithsonian Zoolights; nationalzoo.si.eduSee the city sparkle at Georgetown GLOW; georgetowndc.comSee Santa Waterski at the country’s longest-running water ski Christmas show; waterskiingsanta.com

Why should Christmas parades be relegated to land? If you’re near the water, catch one of the South’s festive Christmas parades by boat, instead.Annual Holiday Parade of Boats, Charleston, South Carolina; christmasincharleston.comSanta by Oysterboat, Apalachicola, Florida; apalachicolabay.org31st Annual Christmas on the Water Boat Parade, Biloxi, Mississippi; gulfcoast.orgSwansboro Flotilla Boat Parade, Swansboro, North Carolina; swansborofestivals.com

Asheville, North Carolina has two of our favorite Southern holiday destinations with two of our favorite festive traditions.Experience Christmas at Biltmore Estate; biltmore.comSee Grove Park Inn’s Gingerbread House Display; omnihotels.com

For all of those readers who anxiously await the release of their favorite country stars’ holiday albums, here’s where you should head:Experience the Grinch Musical, Dinner Shows, and over 2 million twinkling lights when Opryland decks itself out for A Country Christmas; marriot.comSoak up over 100 years of Christmas celebrations at Belle Meade Plantation; bellemeadeplantation.comSee the annual Dancing Lights of Christmas at Jellystone Park; thedancinglightsofchristmas.com

Forgo the cold; head to one of these tropical, beachy Florida Christmas events.Celebrate the country’s oldest Christmas celebration in our nation’s oldest city—St. Augustine. The destination city is celebrating its 60th Annual Christmas Parade; floridashistoriccoast.comEnjoy home tours and performances in Downtown Pensacola at Pensacola Winterfest; pensacolawinterfest.orgWander around 20,000 square feet of hand-carved ice sculptures and an ice slide at the Charlie Brown-themed show, ICE! At Gaylord Palms; marriot.com

These Southern destinations may make you forget that you’re still in the present-day South.Spend the holidays in historic Colonial Williamsburg, Virginia; colonialwilliamsburg.com/holidaysCelebrate with the King at Graceland in Memphis, Tennessee; graceland.com/holidaysVisit the enchanting Victorian Christmas Festival in Thomasville, Georgia; thomasvillega.comBuckle down in this tiny Bavarian town in Helen, Georgia; helenga.org

These Southern theme parks are as festive as they are fun. From roller coasters to sleigh rides, these three parks are perfect for thrill-seeking holiday adventurers. Celebrate the holidays around the world at Disneyworld’s Epcot; disneyworld.comTube down a snow-covered hill at Stone Mountain Park, right outside of Atlanta, Georgia; stonemountainpark.comVisit the world’s largest Christmas-themed park, Santa’s Enchanted Forest in Miami, Florida; santasenchantedforest.com

The small-town celebrations in North Carolina keep calling us back, every year.Wander through McAdenville, the town worthy of the title Christmastown U.S.A.; mcadenville-christmastown.comBreak tradition (or return to traditions of old) and celebrate Old Christmas on January 5 at Rodanthe on Hatteras Island; outerbanks.com/rodanthe

Because Southern Living calls Birmingham home, we all look forward to celebrating Christmas in the Magic City—and across the state. Here’s where we’ll be, this year:Ice Skating at Railroad Park in Birmingham; railroadpark.orgBrowsing through the Junior League of Birmingham’s Annual Market Noel; marketnoel.comExploring Santa’s Village in Hunstville, Alabama; facebook.com/santasvillageHSV