The Holidays are here. The question has been posed to me several times. "Where should I take out of town guests?"
I have favorites. Here are some of them.
For what I call destination entertainment go to Granbury. It is only 1½ hrs from Dallas so it is close enough to go and comeback in the same day even if you see the one of the evening entertainment productions. There is plenty of shopping. The town is decorated for Christmas. They have two venues for family entertainment. The Opera House http://www.granburyoperahouse.net/ and Granbury Live http://www.granburylive.com/ in the old theater. For more information on Granbury itself go to: http://www.granbury.org/ The are many events that the town does for the holiday season. Check it out and read about the town before you go. It has lots of history that has been preserved. Overnight accommodations are available, but work fast because the good ones get booked up early. My top pick is Inn On Lake Granbury. It is on the lake but it is still in walking distance of downtown. The breakfasts are wonderful. Jim Leitch and Cathy Casey are the proprietors. Check out their site for availability and a preview of the Inn.http://www.innonlakegranbury.com
For your guests who don't have gambling in the area where they live, there is always Winstar in Oklahoma.Go North on I-35 and just past the border into Oklahoma take exit 1. After that, you can't miss it. Winstar is the 5th largest casino in the world.http://www.winstarworldcasino.com This would be something the guys would like to do when they have had their fill of shopping and Christmas lights. Take the gamblers to the casino and then non-gamblers can go shopping in downtown Gainsville. Stop for lunch at the Fried Pie restaurant. It is housed in a building that, among other things, was car showroom. Look up to see the crystal chandeliers. Before you go back to get the guys at Winstar, go west on 82 for 13 miles and check out Fishers meat market. It is actually a grocery store but they process their own meat and make their own sausage which is the best ANYWHERE. http://fischersmeatmarket.com. They also have one of 4 glockenspiels in the state of Texas. Be sure to look up at the clock tower to see it. It goes off every hour on the hour. The rest of the town is quaint. Not a whole lot of shopping but what they have is very nice.
If you can't make it to Fishers, you can purchase a variety of their sausage at Rumpy's on the highway in Gainsville. The facility is a gas station and convenience store as well as a deli and a bakery. The bakery gets high marks for their kolaches . The owner, Ronny Hess, is of German heritage and was born in Munster so he knows his German food.
For a driving tour of lights, take your guests to Deerfield off of Eldorado Parkway in Plano. http://www.deerfieldplano.org Also, the city of Waxahachie is famous for its candlelight tour. http://waxahachiedowntown.com. Each weekend different homes are on the tour. Downtown also hosts festivities associated with the Holidays.
The Dallas Arboretum is special for the Holidays. The DeGolyer Estate hosts over 300 unique nativities. There are horse drawn carriages and Storytime with Santa among the many activities. http://www.dallasarboretum.org/Gardens.htm
For the Football fan, there are tours available for the new Cowboy stadium. http://stadium.dallascowboys.com While you are in the vicinity, there is a Legends of Baseball museum at the Ballpark in Arlington that is quite good. http://texas.rangers.mlb.com Tours of the Ballpark are also available.
Museums, Museums, Museums. Pick one according to the interest of the guest. Of course my favorite is the Dallas World Aquarium but The Nasher along with the Trammell Crow collection is also wonderful! For history buffs, go to the Sixth Floor Museum. While you are downtown, drive by the Cattle Drive sculptures at Pioneer Plaza on Griffin and Young Streets. SMU has the Meadows Museum on campus. It primarily features art from Spanish origins and it is free except for special exhibits. http://smu.edu/meadowsmuseum/
Don't forget the DART rail stations. My favorite is the one at Deep Elm. The Traveling Man is worth the trip along Good-Latimer on the way out of downtown. See my article about the DART Station at Deep Elm.Here are suggestions of performances you can experience during the season . 101 Dalmatians is playing at Fair park Music Hall. Take your guests early enough to view the architecture at Fair Park. It is the largest collection of Art-deco buildings in the world. Built for the 1936 Texas Centennial Fair, the buildings are beautiful. The DART green line takes you there. There are also lots of Museums at Fair Park. "Dinosaurs" are at the Museum of Nature and Science as is the" Spying" for the kids. "Woman & Spirit" is at the Woman's Museum. http://www.fairpark.org
Of course, Dallas now has the Winspear Opera House and the Wiley Theater at the AT&T Performing Arts Center . They are both spectacular, state of the art for their respective uses. http://dallasopera.org and http://www.attpac.org. We mustn't forget about the Meyerson. There you can also take a tour. It is quite interesting and informative. http://www.dallasculture.org/meyersonSymphonyCenter/
The Radio City Music Hall Rockettes are performing at Nokia. http://www.nokialivedfw.com.
Shopping, shopping, Shopping. NorthPark is always a favorite simply because they do so many gorgeous decorations. Plus, they have the best Santa anywhere. NorthPark which opened in 1965 is the first ever suburban enclosed shopping mall. Unlike other malls of that era, NorthPark has continued to improve. It has recently undergone a 3 year renovation and expansion. It is the Nirvana of shopping malls with all of the high end retailers in one place. Many sculptures from the Nasher collection can be viewed as you stroll from store to store. http://www.northparkcenter.com. For the season check out The Trains at NorthPark benefitting the Ronald McDonald house.
The largest of the Outlet Malls is the one at Grapevine Mills. Take you walking shoes. It is huge. www.grapevinemills.com
ICE is at the Gaylord Texan in Grapevine. This is the 5th year for this display which consists of two million pounds of hand-carved ice." How the Grinch Stole Christmas" is the main theme this year, but ice sculptures range from a life size nativity to Santa. http://www.gaylordhotels.com. Once you are at the Gaylord, walk around or have lunch at any number of the food venues. A quick trip downtown Grapevine would also be fun. There is a bus that can take you from the Gaylord to Downtown Grapevine. It is also an historic community that has created a fun destination for shopping and entertainment.
For an interesting adventure where you can stay in the car an see art and sculpture, take your guests to Hall Office Park in Frisco. See my article about the Park.
This is, by far, not all of the things you can take guests to In Dallas. I am sure I have left out some wonderful things but by this time your guests will be exhausted and will be ready to go home. I have only made suggestions of some of my favorite things. As always, I have tried to link websites so you have easy access to more information. My best suggestion is to make time to enjoy each other and remember the reason for the season. I wish you all a Happy Holiday.