🎄❄Christmas at the Zoo
Credit: Visit Indy
Credit: Visit Indy
Location: 1200 West Washington St., Indianapolis
Hours: Nov. 20 through Dec. 30 from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. on weeknights and 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays. Closed on Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.
Cost and tickets: Free for members and included in the price of admission, which is $15.75 for adults, $11.75 for children between the ages of 2-12 and $13.75 for seniors.
Details: Beginning Nov. 20, the Indianapolis Zoo will host its popular holiday lights event (which was the first holiday lights event at a zoo in the United States back in 1967). Along with breathtaking displays, the Indianapolis Zoo’s Santa’s Village features visits with Santa Claus and Mrs. Claus through Dec. 23, a chance to visit Santa’s sleigh and reindeer, up-close and personal visits with penguins, holiday-themed cocktails and an opportunity to hunt for hidden mistletoe throughout the zoo.
🎄❄Winterlights at Newfields
Credit: Visit Indy
Credit: Visit Indy
Location: Newfields, 4000 N Michigan Rd, Indianapolis
Hours: Nov. 22 through Jan. 2, 2022, from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. daily
Cost and tickets: $25 per adult and $17 per child between the ages of six and 17. Children five years of age and younger can get in for free. Tickets must be purchased in advance and can be found by visiting Newfields’ website.
Details: The holiday experience at Newfields, an art museum in Indianapolis, features 1.5 million lights that frame the museum’s campus and contribute to a lights show on the famed Lilly House Lawn. Snacks and beverages will also be available to enjoy.
🎄❄Circle of Lights on Monument Circle
Credit: Visit Indy
Credit: Visit Indy
Location: 1 Monument Circle, Indianapolis
Hours: Lighting event takes place on Friday, Nov. 26 from 7 p.m. to 8 p.m.
Cost: Free
More info: Website
Details: Each year, more than 100,000 people gather to see the 242-foot-tall Soldiers and Sailors Monument in downtown Indianapolis dressed up for the season. The event also features live entertainment, visits with Santa Claus and more. The impressive lights display will remain at Indianapolis’ Monument Circle through the New Year.
🎄❄Celebration Crossing at the Indiana State Museum
Location: Indiana State Museum, 650 W. Washington St., Indianapolis
Hours: Nov. 26 through Jan. 2, 2022. Open Wednesday through Sunday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Cost and tickets: $11 per adult, $10 per senior and $8 per child
More info: Website
Details: The Indiana State Museum celebrates the holidays with a number of special offerings and events, including the arrival of Santa Claus by helicopter on the museum’s front lawn at 11 a.m. on Nov. 26, the Snowfall Express Train, and visits with Santa in Santa’s Front Yard and Reindeer Barn.
🎄❄Christmas Nights of Lights
Credit: Visit Indy
Credit: Visit Indy
Location: Indiana State Fairgrounds, 1698 E. 42nd St., Indianapolis
Hours: Open nightly from Nov. 12 through Jan. 2, 2022.
Cost and tickets: $30 per car (up to 8 passengers and must ride together in a single vehicle), $50 per group of 9-15 passengers and $75 per group of 16 or more passengers.
More info: Website
Details: This drive-through, 35-minute interactive experience boasts more than a million lights across dozens of holiday displays. The dazzling display of holiday lights is more than two miles long and is synchronized to traditional and new holiday music that is played through a driver’s car stereo. While driving through “Christmas Nights of Lights,” guests will find displays of shooting stars, floating snowflakes, dancing candy canes and lollipops, large Christmas trees and tunnels of light.
Head to Visit Indy’s website for more information about holiday happenings in Indianapolis.
About the Author
