One of the best parts about this time of the year is the lights! So many lights!! Now, let me be clear, let’s not forget Thanksgiving. Respect the Turkey BUT gear up for all of the LIGHTS!!
Lucky for us, Denver has so many great lighting events and celebrations. It is hard to pick which ones to attend but keep in mind, some of them do run through Christmas.
Holiday Lights – Family Events In Denver
Zoo Lights – Denver
The Denver Zoo Lights span 70 acres of Denver Zoo’s campus. The illuminated animal sculptures are all over the zoo. Some in trees, some hiding in the bushes and some out on the grass. The best time we have there is trying to find our favorite animal in lights! There is always nightly entertainment, some animal encounters, and pictures with Santa!
Location – Denver Zoo
Dates – Nov. 24-25 & Dec. 1-31, 2017
Candlelight Walk – Littleton
The Candlelight Walk in downtown Littleton is a family tradition we have continued with our kids. Jeremy would attend this every year with his grandparents. While it is smaller it is a perfect way to kick off the holidays!
This Littleton tradition is a festive evening of holiday lights and music for the whole family. Sip hot cider, listen to holiday music and see reindeer! Santa Claus and his sleigh will start down Main Street at 6:30pm magically illuminating more than one million lights in the trees as he passes each block. When he reaches the end of Main Street, Santa throws the switch on the big Christmas Tree in the plaza. After that, he will make his way to Town Hall Arts Center for photos and to listen to the first wishes of the season.
Location – Historic Downtown Littleton – main street
Date – Nov. 24, 2017 begins at 6:30pm
Light The Lights – Denver
If you have ever driven downtown during the holidays you will see the City & County Building beautifully lit up. The colors are simply amazing. The official kick-off to the largest lighting display in Denver happens on November 24 at 6 p.m. at the City & County Building, where 600,000 lights deck the neo-classical building. You can enjoy fun, food, and live music in the light of the City and County Building, this is a great family friendly event. If you cannot make the kick off event you should make a point to visit sometime during the holiday season.
Location – City & County Building Downtown Denver
Date – November 24 at 6 p.m.
9News Parade of Lights – Denver
I have some great memories of being all bundled up standing on corner downtown in the Colorado winter watching the floats and giant balloons come down the street. This is a Denver favorite and a must see.
The 9NEWS Parade of Lights is the signature event of the downtown Denver holiday season. The sparkling lights, marching bands, giant balloons, floats and fun characters will wow hundreds of thousands. Viewing along the parade route is free, and grandstand tickets are sold for seating in front of the beautifully illuminated City & County Building.
Location – Downtown Denver
Dates – Dec. 1 (8 p.m.) and 2 (6 p.m.), 2017
Catch the Glow Holiday Celebration – Estes Park
While we have never been in the mountains for this time of the year pretty much every mountain town has some kind of light parade or event. If you are visiting the mountains this year make sure you check schedules because they will all be great!
Estes park has a great day event that then turns into an evening parade. Sounds great for all ages. Kick off the season in Estes Park on the day after Thanksgiving with carolers, pony rides, hay rides, shopping and, of course, Santa and his elves. When dusk falls, the magical Catch the Glow Parade begins. It’s a 45-minute lighting ceremony with bands, floats and dancers.
Location – Estes Park
Dates – Nov. 24. 2017
Blossoms of Light – Denver
A few years ago, we decided to skip the Zoo Lights and go to the Blossoms of Light at the Botanic Gardens. It was so amazing. The gardens look absolutely breathtaking. While there are not any illuminated animals or parades it really was a great show and our kids enjoyed it.
Embrace the holidays with thousands of colorful lights draped in elegant designs at Blossoms of Light. The 2017 event features new elements, including the return of the grand illuminated O’Fallon Perennial Walk and the Romantic Gardens. Warm drinks and tasty treats and seasonal entertainment will be available, and thousands of lights in the Gardens’ amphitheater are synchronized to your favorite holiday tunes.
Locations – Denver Botanic Gardens
Dates – Nov. 24, 2017 – Jan. 1, 2018
Note: Denver Botanic Gardens is closed on Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s Day.
Santa’s Village – Chatfield
This location is on our must visit list. I have heard great things about it. Explore Chatfield Farms as it is transformed into a magical village. Santa’s Village is a family-friendly holiday event including hayrides, a trail of light, holiday gifts, Santa’s Workshop and so much more. Sounds like a great event for all ages.
Christmas is my favorite time of year because of things like holiday decorations!I've always wanted to attend a holiday lights show, but never had the opportunity to.I'd love to try to make one this year.
The Zoo Lights must be so incredibly pretty! It is lights events like these that I like making a part of our family's holiday traditions. They are all so fascinating and impressive!
I absolutely love looking at holiday lights and we have several traditions each year. But one we never miss is driving around looking at Christmas lights and driving through the local displays. Denver just his my list of places I need to visit over the holidays.
I love driving around the city during the holidays just to look at the Christmas lights display! I'm going home for Christmas (they don't do this in Italy!) so I can't wait to see all the lights!
I love Christmas lights. We have a joke in our family to leave Dad home because he gives us whiplash trying to look. I have wanted to go to Denver just on a regular day but now I want to go during this season. We have a festival of lights at our zoo but these activities look amazing.
Oh that looks so wonderful. I wish I lived close enough to take my family. We went to something similar in Arkansas a few years ago and it was fantastic. So festive!
Christmas is my favorite time of year because of things like holiday decorations!I've always wanted to attend a holiday lights show, but never had the opportunity to.I'd love to try to make one this year.
The Zoo Lights must be so incredibly pretty! It is lights events like these that I like making a part of our family's holiday traditions. They are all so fascinating and impressive!
I absolutely love looking at holiday lights and we have several traditions each year. But one we never miss is driving around looking at Christmas lights and driving through the local displays. Denver just his my list of places I need to visit over the holidays.
I love driving around the city during the holidays just to look at the Christmas lights display! I'm going home for Christmas (they don't do this in Italy!) so I can't wait to see all the lights!
I love Christmas lights. We have a joke in our family to leave Dad home because he gives us whiplash trying to look. I have wanted to go to Denver just on a regular day but now I want to go during this season. We have a festival of lights at our zoo but these activities look amazing.
This makes me want to see how many of these I can go see this holiday season!! We love Christmas at my house 🙂
Oh that looks so wonderful. I wish I lived close enough to take my family. We went to something similar in Arkansas a few years ago and it was fantastic. So festive!
We have some beautiful light shows in our area. However, Denver seems to be booming with the lights. We may have to make a special trip to Denver.