5 Places Worth Driving to during Winter Break

December, 2023

By Atziri Martinez, Staff Reporter

Santa’s Wonderland, College Station

Also known as Santa’s Town, this is a Christmas village filled with food and fun activities. Here, you can meet santa, get a santa hybrid tour, enjoy the many food and drinks as well as holiday treats. There is also snow tubing, a playground, horse and carriage, and a trail of lights.

Tickets: Adults – $54.95, Children 2 & under are free, Kids 3 to 12 – $49.95

When: November 10th – December 30th

Trail of Lights, Downtown Austin

Located in Zilker Park, this event has live music and food from local restaurants that are brought. Here, they even have a ferris wheel and carousel rides as well as the lit up tree.

Tickets: General admission for $8, children 11 and under are free. 

When: December 1-23 

Auditorium Shores Fireworks, Austin

If you want to see fireworks for New Years Eve, then this is the place for you. At 7pm, the park grounds open for the event and there will be live entertainment and food from vendors. When the clock strikes 12, you will see a mesmerizing firework display.

Tickets: Free

When: December 31, 2023

Ice Rodeo at Lady Bird Lake, Austin

If ice skating is one of the activities you love doing for winter, then this is the best place to relax and enjoy some time ice skating. Aside from the ice skating rink, it comes along with a cabin where you can relax and has a variety of foods and drinks along with holiday treats. It has holiday decor all over the property like thousands of twinkling lights, tunneled light stars, and a Christmas tree. You can even build your own gingerbread house in the lobby!

Where: Four Seasons Hotel Austin 

When: November 18, 2023 – January 7, 2023 

Snow Factory, San Antonio

Snow factory allows you to go snow tubing and throw snowballs. There are also photos with Santa and cookie and gingerbread house decorating. You can watch a Mrs. Claus show or a light show with live music. To eat, you can get holiday treats with drinks like hot cocoa and s’mores. You can also visit their holiday pop-up shop.

Where: JW Marriott San Antonio Hill Country Resort & Spa 

Tickets: Snow Flow Mountain – $26; Snowball build and feast – $14; Mrs. Claus Christmas Traditions – $16; photos with Santa – $40; Gingerbread decorating – $29 per cookie kit 

When: November 11, 2023 – December 31, 2023

All photos via Wikimedia Commons.