best winter lights

Houston's most spectacular winter light shows dazzle for the holidays

The cool temps, the pumpkin spice, the Christmas decorations — the holidays are here. That means it’s the perfect time to don a winter coat and stroll through some dazzling, sparkling holiday light displays around town.

From cosmic Christmas at Space Center Houston to a wild affair at the Houston Zoo to a wondrous spectacle at Houston Botanic Garden, these 12 events are sure to light up Yuletime.

Dasher's Lightshow
Formerly Rudolph's Lightshow (all the reindeer will get a turn helming this), this drive-thru light show includes light tunnels, snowmen and acres of land. These lights will also be merrily synced to your favorite holiday tunes. Runs through December 31. 6 pm.

Galaxy Lights at Space Center Houston
Space Center Houston’s holiday light extravaganza returns for its third year with exciting new wonders. Guests will experience two high-tech, kinetic light shows where dozens of suspended lights move in precise choreographed sequences to music above the Main Plaza. Runs through January 2. 6 pm.

The Galleria Christmas Tree
The 55-foot tree just had its ceremonial lighting, featuring 450,000 twinkling lights and 5,000 ornaments in a variety of colors and shapes. The installation took more than 24 hours of work by 45 men and women. And don't forget about the 1,000 branches that were hand-fluffed! 10 am.

Holiday in the Gardens at Moody Gardens
Moody Gardens is once again bringing out all the good stuff this holiday season. Look for the Festival of Lights, holiday 3-D films, an arctic slide, train rides, pictures with Santa, and nightly fireside s'mores. Runs through January 2. 4 pm.

Holiday Lights in Clay Family Eastern Glades
This spectacle will feature oversized ornaments, tinsel-wrapped light poles, and colorful tree lights. This year, the holiday light display will make its way around the Eastern Glades’ entire half-mile, Promenade natural surface pedestrian path, encircling nine acres of open space, native plantings, and habitat. Runs through January 3. 6 pm.

The Light Park
This park features a large, animated holiday light show along with the world’s largest 700-foot animated LED tunnels. The parks, with locations both in Spring and Katy, feature a unique light show synced and choreographed to holiday music on a dedicated music station, K-GLO, the North Pole’s No. 1 hit radio station. Runs through January 2. 5:30 pm.

Lightscape at Houston Botanic Garden
Get ready to enjoy magical light displays set along a beautifully illuminated path winding through the Garden this holiday season. The captivating illuminations — including installations unique to Texas created by local and international artists — will dazzle the senses. Runs through January 2. 5:45 pm.

Magical Winter Lights
Over at Baytown's Houston Raceway, this will feature such landmarks as the entrance castle, dinosaur exhibits, and Houston’s beloved displays. Family-friendly experiences include the Santa and Mrs. Claus meet and greet, Ice Sisters meet and greet, cultural performances, carnival rides, food and games, music, and dino rides. Runs through January 2. 5 pm.

Marriott Marquis Houston presents Texas Winter Lights
This interactive light experience will feature light displays, walk-through experiences, and selfie stations. There will be a nostalgic holiday-themed movie every Thursday, nightly snowfall, and a winter-themed dining menu filled with signature cocktails, dinner, and dessert. Runs through January 3. 5 pm.

Sugar Land Holiday Lights
Sugar Land promised to dazzle with more than three million lights, eight themed areas, holiday shopping, great food, holiday movie nights, a carnival, appearances from Santa and much more. Runs through January 9. 6 pm.

Winter Wanderland
This event kicks off on November 19 with a program at 6 pm at City Hall, facing Bagby. After the short program, where they will turn on the holiday lights (100,000 twinklng LED lights installed between Lamar & Franklin!), stroll down the newly renovated corridor and experience tons of activities along the way. Runs through January 2. 6:30 pm.

Zoo Lights at Houston Zoo
Head over to Houston Zoo as they celebrate 10 years as one of Houston’s best loved holiday traditions. Stroll through the beautiful zoo grounds as you take in the sights and sounds this holiday season. (The zoo animals will be enjoying a full night’s slumber.) Runs through January 9. 5:30 pm.

Lightscape at Houston Botanic Garden.

Photo courtesy of Houston Botanic Garden

Lightscape at Houston Botanic Garden.

holidays event-planner

Movie Review

Cookie Queens goes behind the scenes of Girl Scout Cookie season

Photo courtesy of Roadside Attractions

Girl Scouts in Cookie Queens.

Few people are strong enough to resist the lure of Girl Scout cookie season every year, with the cookies’ limited availability and unique flavors a strong incentive to indulge. But only the girls and their families who have sold the cookies know the joys and stresses of trying to get people to buy them, a process that is detailed in the new documentary, Cookie Queens.

The film by documentarian Alysa Nahmias uses the stories of four different girls to represent the nationwide ritual for the Girl Scouts. They include 12-year-old Olive in Charlotte, North Carolina, a longtime top seller; 8-year-old Shannon Elizabeth in El Paso, Texas, who wants to earn the reward of going to camp; 5-year-old Ara in San Diego, California, whose goal is modest compared to most other girls; and 9-year-old Nikki in Chino, California, who has to compete with her older sisters in the cookie-selling bonanza.

The girls represent a cross-section of both ages and backgrounds, with some girls coming from wealthy families and some girls dealing with more limited means. And how much money your family has makes a big difference, as not only does someone richer have more freedom with their time and supplies, but all scouts are required to reimburse the organization for every box they take in, regardless of whether they’re able to sell it or not.

That caveat makes the journeys of the four featured girls feel wildly different. It’s clear from the start that Olive and Nikki’s families don’t give a second thought to the personal economics of selling cookies, with each girl taking in thousands of boxes at the beginning of the six-week selling season. With both Olive and Nikki rightfully confident that they’ll have no problem offloading their supply, their stories turn to how selling is personally affecting them, with each trying to reconcile the fun of doing it with the pressure they feel from their family members.

Shannon Elizabeth’s story is more harrowing, as her parents feel a strong desire to help her accomplish her lofty goal, but worry that the cost might literally be too high for the family as a whole. More than once, the parents are shown fretting that they won’t have the money to pay back what they owe should they fall significantly short in their sales. Their selling approach, which includes walking through an empty swap meet and standing outside a chain restaurant at night, only adds to their stress.

The most fun story to watch is that of Ara, whose innocence is matched by her confidence. Her parents teach her how much money they’ll owe with her small goal of 55 boxes, but right away she takes on more responsibility than expected. She’s shown making sales pitches and tallying the total number of boxes she’s sold with little-to-no help from either her mom or dad. With her high voice, glasses, and a monitor on her arm to manage her diabetes, she becomes the cute and sympathetic part of the film.

There are times that the film starts to feel more than a little manipulative, however. While many of the moments documented come off as organic, some of them seem like Nahmias is actively guiding the participants in order to get a better story. This is especially evident with Shannon Elizabeth and her family, whose early struggles turn into a miraculous feel-good story by the end, a turnaround that seems implausible at best. Everything with them might have been aboveboard, but Nahmias and her team edit the family’s journey in a way that pushes a bit too hard for emotion.

Cookie Queens, which was produced by a company owned by Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, helps to give insight into the business of selling Girl Scout cookies for those who’ve only been on the purchasing end of the transaction. The dedication of each girl toward selling their allotted supply proves fun and interesting, even if the filmmaker tries to gild the lily on occasion.

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Cookie Queens is now playing in theaters,

movies girl scout cookie film