12 Days of Christmas

#1 First Monday Trade Days

December 2 thru December 5

This week is when you can make your pre-Christmas pilgrimage to the east for First Monday Trade Days (801 First Monday Ln, Canton, 903-567-6556), which happens monthly Thu-Sun before the first Monday of the month. (Get it?) Browse, shop, and trade your way across 450 acres of vendors from dawn to dusk. I need a nap just thinking about it.

#2 Santa Crawl at the Tub

December 3

At 7pm, the Tub Bar (2500 E 4th St, 817-222-9500) is hosting a pub crawl — dare I say, a Tub crawl. “Meet at the Tub all dressed in red,” they say. “It’s Friday night, no time for bed!” Along with dressing in red, you should also wear a Santa hat. (Extras will be on hand.) After gathering at the Tub, the group will travel on foot to Martin House Brewery (220 S Sylvania Av, Ste 209, 817-222-0177) and Top Golf (201 E 4th St, 817-349-4002) and then go back across the bridge to the Tub. Drink specials will be available for purchase along the way, and free snacks are provided. There is no cost to participate.

#3 Lewisville Lights & Holiday Stroll 

December 4

The City of Lewisville and its merchants in Old Town Lewisville are hosting its annual Holiday Stroll & Christmas Parade from 8am to 9pm, with the parade beginning at noon. Other holiday-related events include a pancake breakfast with Santa 8am-noon at Seven Mile Cafe (201 W Church St, 469-444-7055), Selfies with Santa 8-11:30am, and a Motorcycle Toy Run at 8am. After sunset (around 5:30pm), enjoy the Lewisville Lights! Old Town Lighting Ceremony and then head to Wayne Ferguson Plaza (150 W Church St, 972-219-3401) to screen the movie Elf.  For a complete list of activities, visit CityofLewisville.com.

#4 Cirque Winter Wonderland

December 4 thru January 2

Among the other amazing shows and concerts going on during #ChristmasattheGaylord, you can watch aerial acrobats, balancing acts, and contortionists — plus, the furry creatures pictured — at Cirque Winter Wonderland at Gaylord Texan Hotel (1501 Gaylord Trl, Grapevine, 817-778-1000). Performances are at 3pm and 6pm Sat-Sun, plus various dates throughout December (including all Christmas week) and early January. Tickets start at $24.99 at GaylordTexanTickets.com.

#5 Country Christmas Celebration

December 5

From 11am to 2pm, head to the intersection of N University Dr and W 7th St for Crockett Row’s Country Christmas Celebration. Activities include axe throwing and photos with Santa (book a time slot in advance), kids’ games, live music, an ornament-decorating station, and a human snowglobe booth. The area’s restaurants and retailers are offering brunch, drink specials, and gift deals. Bring an unwrapped toy for Toys for Tots and be entered into a contest for $500. Tickets are $10 at Eventbrite.com.

#6 Go Green Gifty Wraps Workshop

December 11

If you are ecology-minded, holiday gift wrap is concerning. Rather than filling up the landfills, personally, I love using gift bags that can easily be reused every year. For those who are into arts and crafts, the Welman Project (3950 W Vickery Blvd, 817-924-4000) has a Go Green Gifty Wraps Workshop 10am-noon, where you can learn to make reusable gift bags from cracker boxes and magazines and make DIY holiday cards and aluminum-can gift tags that can also be used as ornaments. This class for those 14 and older is $30 per person but includes all your supplies. Register in advance at WelmanProject.Square.Site/Product/Gifty/157.

#7 Holidays in the Garden

December 11

From 10am to 4pm, head to the Fort Worth Botanic Garden and Botanic Research Institute of Texas (3220 Botanic Garden Blvd, 817-463-4160) for their annual Holidays in the Garden free event. Artisan vendors will be on hand selling gift items, enjoy snacks and treats from food trucks, and there will be live music from local bands, plus you can sing along to Christmas carols sung by the Fort Worth Opera. (P.S., Santa will also be making an appearance, of course.)

#8 A Drag Queen Christmas 

December 11

At 8pm, A Drag Queen Christmas: The Naughty Tour will be at the Music Hall at Fair Park (909 1st Av, Dallas, 214-565-1116). Hosted by Trinity the Tuck and Monet X Change, this national touring troupe includes contestants from reality television, including Alyssa Edwards, Heidi N Closet, Kylie Sonique Love, Shea Couleé (pictured), Brooke Lynn Hytes, Crystal Methyd, and more. Tickets are $36-$155 at TicketMaster.com. For more information about the tour, visit DragFans.com.

#9 Punks & Painters Festival

December 16

At 6pm, Punks & Painters — a local collective of artists and musicians — hosts the Punks & Painters Festival at Killer’s Tacos (424 Bryan St, Denton, 940-514-1920), featuring music by the Wee Beasties with Ashes, Birds Fear Death, Drifter’s Atlas, Posival, and Remain. Local artists and vendors will be on hand for your holiday shopping needs, including Anastasia Likes Art, CHM Creations, Existential Hans, Kinky Confessions, Lavendelapfel, Local Langston Essentials, Meat Geyster, Storytime Artist, and more. This all-ages event is free to attend, but a $10 donation is suggested at doors.

#10 Pentatonix in Concert

December 22 and December 23

Nationally renowned a cappella vocal pop group and hometown favorite Pentatonix — hailing from Grand Prairie — is here for their annual holiday performances at Texas Trust CU Theatre (1001 Performance Pl, Grand Prairie, 972-854-5050). Tickets start at $77 at TicketLance.com.

#11 Scrooge in Rouge at Stage West

December 2 thru December 24

Billed as an “English musical hall Christmas carol,” Scrooge in Rouge will be performed at Stage West (821 W Vickery Blvd, 817-784-9378) thru Fri, Dec 24, at 7:30 Thursdays, 8pm Fridays and Saturdays, and 3pm Sundays, with additional performances on Tue, Dec 21, and Wed, Dec 22, at 7:30pm. (Note: If pandemic safety is still a concern for you, there will be a unique Safe Sunday performances on Sun, Dec 19, requiring proof of vaccination.) Streaming will also be available from 6pm on Thu, Dec 9, until 10pm Fri, Dec 24. Tickets start at $20 at StageWest.org.

#12 The Toadies at Billy Bob’s

December 30

Make up your mind. Decide to walk with me. Behind the Stockyards tonight … for the Toadies concert! The Toadies are touring again, this time in support of the 25th anniversary of their seminal album Rubberneck. In celebration, hear them perform the album in its entirety at Billy Bob’s Texas (2520 Rodeo Pl, 817-624-7117). Doors are at 6pm, an opening act (TBD) goes on at 9pm, and then Vaden Lewis and the boys hit the stage at 10pm. Pit passes are $40, and general admission is $20 at BillyBobsTexas.com. (UPDATE: The opening band has since been announced. Get there early and see Eleven Hundred Springs!)