From ballets to Six Flags, DFW holiday happenings are in full swing

Lights, dance, theater — it's all about decking the halls and sharing the Christmas cheer.

Courtesy of Texas Ballet Theater

Texas Ballet Theater’s production of The Nutcracker runs November 23 to December 2 at Winspear Opera House in Dallas and December 7-23 at Bass Hall in Fort Worth.

From massive Christmas light displays to world class cultural offerings, one thing’s for sure — DFW knows how to ring in the holidays.

However, with gift buying, company parties, and other seasonal staples, calendars start to fill and before you know it, the holidays are gone.

We’ve dug through the area’s packed seasonal schedule and picked out the best and brightest offerings for a premiere holiday season.

The shows

When it comes to area stages during the holiday season, consider them winter wonderlands.

While the calendar is filled to the brim with regular staged plays (like Theatre Three’s Crazy for You) the most prevalent production is none other than The Nutcracker. What would the holiday season be without Marius Petipa’s powerful ballet set to the iconic music of Pyotrilyich Tchaikovsky’s score? DFW has more than enough Nutcracker offerings to satify the en pointe craving.

Texas Ballet Theatre’s production of The Nutcracker will make two pit stops in DFW: one at the Winspear Opera House and the other at Fort Worth’s Bass Performance Hall. The Winspear production runs from November 23 to December 2 while the Bass Hall stop runs from December 7-23.

If ballet isn’t your preferred type of performance, Addison’s WaterTower Theatre is staging It’s a Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play — a rendition of Frank Capra’s famous Christmas film that is a producorial leap for the playhouse that usually hosts a Christmas-type special during the winter months. It’s a Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play runs until December 16.

On the musical side of the spectrum, the Dallas Symphony Orchestra is putting on the event Christmas Celebration in the vein of It’s a Wonderful Life as well. The holiday centric performance will also feature appearances from the Christmas Celebration children’s choir and the Dallas Symphony Chorus. To score tickets to the event, which runs December 14-23, visit www.dallassymphony.org.

The events

Six Flags Over Texas' Holiday in the Park

Christmas at the park? Six Flags Over Texas is known for its summer attractions and thrills gets frosted over. Six Flags transitions into its traditional winter wonderland with Holiday in the Park. Guests can enjoy a spectacular Christmas celebration that includes seasonal shows and treats of all assortments.

The Dallas Arboretum is ringing in the holidays with the “Artistry of the Nativity” collection at Holiday at the Arboretum. The collection will feature hundreds of nativity scenes from around the world. Special activities will be sprinkled around the arboretum which include photo opps with jolly Old St. Nick, his favorite reindeer, Rudolph, and a live reindeer and of course Frosty. Renowned artist Dale Chihuly’s glass installations can be seen throughout the gardens as one of the main attractions. Visitors can also enjoy holiday teas at the park (reservation required).

Have you been naughty or nice this year? Let the The Turtle Creek Chorale: Naughty and Nice answer that question for you. Judy Garland holiday mixes will be performed along with many others. Local director and choreographer B.J. Cleveland and Liza Minnelli will be present. Carol Channing and Charles Nelson Reilly will help celebrate the holiday.

The lights

“The Trains at Northpark” is another local tradition that embraces the giving spirit of the holidays. Sponsored by Bank of Texas, the elaborate exhibit features toy trains whizzing by over 1,600 feet of train track across the cityscapes of Dallas, New York City, San Francisco, Albuquerque, and Washington, D.C. All proceeds from the display benefit the Ronald McDonald House of Dallas.

NASCAR and Indy Racing enthusiasts can travel to Texas Motor Speedway for a display of more than 2 million LED lights. Winterland Inc. and All Things Christmas sponsor the park event entitled the “Gift of Lights.” Gift of Lights benefits Goodwill Industries, the Tarrant Area Food Bank and local radio station KLTY’s Christmas Wish initiative. For ticket information, visit 2012.giftoflights.org.

Near and far from SMU, holiday cheer is all around Dallas this December. From Christmas trees to mesmerizing trains, it’s the most wonderful time of the year.