The holiday season is meant for spending time with your family. Lucky for you, the Atlanta area offers plenty of things to do this December for you and yours. Here are just five of the many family-friendly activities you can do this holiday season in and near Atlanta.
Watch The Nutcracker
Taking the family to see The Nutcracker is a time-honored holiday tradition. Watching this classic ballet performance is a great way to bring a little culture to your family fun this December, as you watch the tale of dueling soldiers, enchanting fairies and delicately dancing snowflakes. Head to The Fox Theatre December 8-28, 2017 to watch the Atlanta Ballet’s Nutcracker performed live with the Atlanta Ballet Orchestra. The Georgia Ballet will present their version of The Nutcracker December 1-3, 2017 at the Jennie T. Anderson Theatre at Cobb Civic Center. You can also catch the Moscow Ballet’s Great Russian Nutcracker in Macon, Georgia, on Saturday, December 30, 2017.
Atlanta’s annual Christmas parade features giant balloons of your favorite characters like Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer. Photo courtesy Flickr user MFer Photography.
Bring the Family to the Atlanta Christmas Parade
A favorite holiday tradition among Atlanta residents is watching the Children’s Christmas Parade in Midtown Atlanta. The parade begins at 10:30 am on Saturday, December 2, 2017, at Peachtree Street and 16th Street. This festive holiday celebration features floats, marching bands, the Distinguished Clown Corps and giant helium-filled balloons, making it the largest holiday parade in the southeast.
If you’re planning to watch the parade, we recommend taking the MARTA to the Midtown or Arts Center station in order to avoid parking hassles. The kids will enjoy riding the train. Make it even more festive and pack a Thermos or two full of hot cocoa or peppermint tea. If you can’t make it to the parade live and in person, you can also watch it live on WSB-TV Channel 2.
Grab a Seat at a Puppet Show or Play
The Center for Puppetry Arts will perform Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer November 7, 2017, through December 31, 2017, (no shows on Thanksgiving or Christmas). Based on the classic television special, this puppet performance has become an annual Atlanta tradition.
Meanwhile, the Alliance Theatre hosts another one of Atlanta’s most treasured holiday traditions: live performances of the classic Dickens tale, A Christmas Carol. This show features an all-star Atlanta cast, but it’s produced to feel as elaborate as a Broadway show. The show runs December 8, 2017, until December 24, 2017.
The Serenbe Playhouse will be producing a live outdoor rendition of The Snow Queen, based on the Hans Christian Andersen story that inspired Frozen. This magical tale will be an experience unlike any other, as this show will bring the audience along with the cast through an outdoor winter wonderland. This show has sold out for the last three seasons, so be sure to check out a performance November 30–Decebmber 30, 2017.
Spend your holiday vacation exploring Atlanta area museums including the Georgia Aquarium. Photo courtesy Flickr user Rian Castillo.
Plan a Family Museum Excursion.
Once the kids are out of school for holiday break, it’s a great time to plan a little extracurricular education in the form of visits to local museums. The Center for Civil and Human Rights is Atlanta’s newest, must-see cultural destination. USA Today’s 10Best.com named it the “Best Museum in Atlanta” for this museum’s unique ability to inspire and empower visitors of all ages. Your children can learn about the American civil rights movement as well as the history of human rights movements around the world.
Right next door is the Georgia Aquarium, which is the largest aquarium in the Western Hemisphere. Your whole family will be delighted to explore the displays, which feature 10 million gallons of fresh and marine water and tens of thousands of animals including beluga whales, bottlenose dolphins, sea turtles, sea otters, African penguins and maybe most notably, whale sharks. The Aquarium features special holiday festivities like photographs with Santa Claus and a scuba-diving Santa as well as Hanukkah celebrations.
Take a Trip to See the Twinkling Lights
If you’re in the mood for a weekend getaway, Callaway Gardens offers the perfect accommodation. Their annual Fantasy In Lights event has been named one of the world’s “Top 10 Places to See Holiday Lights” by National Geographic Traveler. The sparkling showcase features 8 million lights and runs from Friday, November 17, 2017, to January 6, 2018. Certain dates offer additional festivities like photos with Santa Claus, story time with Mrs. Claus and much more.
Likewise, Rock City Gardens offers a beautiful Enchanted Garden of Lights which is open November 17, 2017, through January 6, 2018, from 6-9pm nightly. This spectacular display offers 30 magical lighted holiday scenes, plus nightly entertainment and the opportunity to meet Santa Claus and other holiday characters.
Your Atlanta Destination For Unique Furniture
No matter what you do with your family this holiday season, we hope it’s filled with happiness and love. We’re proud to have been serving the Atlanta area’s furniture needs since 1988. We hope you will visit one of our Woodstock Furniture & Mattress Outlet locations the next time you’re in the market for a new mattress or piece of furniture. Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!
