Sparkle and Shine

Channel holiday enchantment during the return of Houston’s City Lights

Magic abounds throughout City Lights.

Photo courtesy of City Lights

The season of holiday enchantment is here, especially in Downtown Houston. Once again, the city is morphing into the most magical destination with 12 uniquely themed villages that bring endless whimsy, dazzling Christmas trees, the joy of ice skating, the delight of countless lights illuminating the scene, and so much more.

It’s all part of City Lights Downtown Holiday Magic, presented by Shell Energy, with mostly free(!) experiences for visitors and residents alike to savor through December 31, 2024 (with some activations continuing into the New Year).

To kick it all off, don’t miss the party on The Plaza at Avenida Houston on Friday, November 22, from 5:30-8:30 pm, featuring a live band, strolling entertainment, holiday crafts, a hot chocolate bar, and more.

Discovery Green ice rink Lace up and skate under the stars at Discovery Green.Photo courtesy of City Lights

What's new in 2024 at City Lights

Peppermint Plaza (Avenida Plaza): Avenida Plaza transforms into Peppermint Plaza with 16 gorgeously festooned Christmas trees displayed in the Grand Holiday Window at the George R. Brown Convention Center. See the trees any day of the week, but swing by on Saturday nights for free musical performances on the Main Stage.

Tinsel Town (Market Square Park): Pup parents, this one’s for you. Fido can get in the festive spirit too with free holiday events in the square, including hot chocolate and "puppychinos" every Friday and Saturday along with pet photos with Santa. Even if you don’t have a furry friend, come on out for the Silent Night discos, Movies Under the Stars, and so much more.

Snow Glow on the Bayou (Allen’s Landing): This spectacular fusion of tech and nature features eye-catching projections of art and light that illuminate a 100-foot water screen over Buffalo Bayou. But the scene-stealing magic doesn’t stop there. Go with the glow during an up-close, holiday-themed boat tour along the Bayou. Boat tours begin on November 22 and continue through December 29.

City Lights Holiday Bus: This year, you can climb aboard a festive, holiday-decorated, double-decker trolley and explore all that downtown has to offer. For a nominal fee, hop on and off at stops including Trebly Park, Lynn Wyatt Square, Avenida Houston/Discovery Green, Market Square Park, and POST HTX. The bus runs Fridays and Saturdays from November 22-December 13, 7-10 pm. A special holiday route commences on December 20-21 and December 27-28, featuring an extra stop at Allen’s Landing for Snow Glow on the Bayou.

Check out these 2024 Holiday Villages

Winter Wonderlawn (POST HTX): It may be Texas, but POST Houston has created the ultimate winter wonderland — even without the snow. Skylawn, the property’s five-acre rooftop garden, is decked out in beautifully illuminated lights and décor. With hundreds of thousands of twinkling lights, it’s truly a sight to behold, especially with Houston’s impressive skyline in the background. At the center of it all is a 25-foot Christmas tree surrounded by multiple holiday-themed activations. A nominal fee applies for access to the POST’s rooftop during the holiday season.

Texas Winer Lights Marriot Marquis Reminder to find some relaxation during the holidays.Photo courtesy of Marriott Marquis

Texas Winter Lights (Marriott Marquis): The Marriott Marquis has decked its rooftop with more than 100,000 lights this year — complete with a nightly snowfall. Float along the 80-degree, Texas-shaped lazy river while getting in on illuminated yard games (life-size Checkers, anyone?), festive cocktails, delicious bites, and virtual rides on Santa’s sleigh. Or come by for one of the themed nights like Monday Night Football, Silent Disco, Game Night, and more. Family movie nights are on Tuesdays and date-night movies are Thursdays. Admission is complimentary for hotel guests, with a nominal admission fee for others.

ICE @ Discovery Green (Discovery Green): Skate your way into plenty of holiday cheer with this annual tradition that continues at Discovery Green. The open-air ice-skating rink gets even more festive with quirky and cool, themed skate nights, and even Sundays with Santa. While there, don’t miss the new ATLAS art installation by the internationally recognized artist Jen Lewin. Also new: Bumper Cars on Ice, which launches right after the holidays from January 6-19, 2025.

Deck the Trees (Alley Theatre): With 19 unique and dazzlingly decorated Christmas trees on display, it’s easy to get in the holiday spirit at Alley Theatre. The only bah-humbugs allowed are in the theater’s performances of Dickens' classic A Christmas Carol.

Land of Sweets (Hilton Americas): Get set for the ultimate sugar rush in the lobby of the Hilton Americas. Along with the legendary life-size chocolate display, this year themed “The Night Before Christmas,” experience 80,000 sparkling lights and 14-foot Champagne trees surrounded by more than 10,000 mini lights. You can also schedule Breakfast with Santa on Saturdays and Sundays in December.

Jingle Town (Lynn Wyatt Square): This green space in the heart of Houston’s downtown Theater District becomes a destination for holiday fun with all the photo opps. Choose from life-size photo frames to interactive musical Christmas trees to a Santa’s reindeer installation, all produced by LeMonde Studios. Plus, don’t miss live music every Saturday.

Sugar Plum Plaza (Fish Plaza, Wortham Theater): Also setting a magical scene is this beautiful plaza. This year’s whimsical setting includes life-size gift boxes scattered across the plaza along with a Santa’s Sleigh display — also produced by LeMonde Studios.

Twinkle Town (Trebly Park): Starting November 22, the park becomes home to Texas’ largest mistletoe ball. Just like in Tinsel Town at Market Square Park, you can bring the pup for free hot cocoa and puppychinos, plus pics with Santa Paws. Definitely put December 12 on your calendar for the Ugly Sweater Holiday Jam. Wear your ugliest holiday sweater, grab food and drinks from Tout Suite, and enjoy an evening of dueling pianos.

City Hall-iday Lights Houston The city is officially illuminated on December 7 at City Hall.Photo courtesy of City Lights

City Hall-iday Lights (City Hall): Another must-attend to jumpstart the holiday magic is the Reliant Lights Mayor’s Holiday Spectacular – 105 years at City Hall. On December 7 from 6-8 pm, Mayor John Whitmire and Reliant will officially illuminate the city landmark to the tune of live music, fireworks, photos with Santa, and the annual lighting of the holiday tree.

Make your own magic and chart your holiday course at City Lights here.

breakfast with santa christmas carol downtown houston holidays light displays mistletoe ball peppermint plaza promoted sugar plum plaza texas winter lights

Movie Review

Five Nights at Freddy’s 2 doesn't match the first movie's enthusiasm

Blumhouse

Five Nights at Freddy's 2.

Blumhouse Productions first made their name with the Paranormal Activity series, establishing themselves as a leader in the horror genre thanks to their relatively cheap yet effective movies. In recent years, they’ve added on “soft” horror films like M3GAN and Five Nights at Freddy’s to draw in a younger audience, with both films becoming so successful that each was quickly given a sequel.

Five Nights at Freddy’s 2 finds Mike (Josh Hutcherson) and his sister Abby (Piper Rubio) still recovering from the events of the first film, with Abby particularly missing her “friends.” Those friends just so happen to be the souls of murdered children who inhabit animatronic characters at the long-defunct Freddy Fazbear’s Pizza, children who were abducted and killed by William Afton (Matthew Lillard).

A new threat emerges at another Freddy Fazbear’s location in the form of Charlotte, another murdered child who inhabits a creepy large marionette. Mike, distracted by a possible romance with Vanessa (Elizabeth Lail), fails to keep track of Abby, who makes her way to the old pizzeria and inadvertently unleashes Charlotte and her minions on the surrounding town.

Directed by Emma Tammi and written by Scott Cawthon (who also created the video game on which the series is based), the film tries to mix together goofy elements with intense scenes. One particular sequence, in which the security guard for Freddy Fazbear’s lets a group of ghost hunters onto the property, toes the line between soft and hard horror. That and a few others show the potential that the filmmakers had if they had stuck to their guns.

Unfortunately, more often than not they either soft-pedal things that would normally be horrific, or can’t figure out how to properly stage scenes. The sight of animatronic robots wreaking havoc is one that is simultaneously frightening and laughable, and the filmmakers never seem to find the right balance in tone. Every step in the direction of making a truly scary horror film is undercut by another in which the robots fail to live up to their promise.

It doesn’t help that Cawthon gives the cast some extremely wooden dialogue, lines that none of the actors can elevate. What may work in a video game format comes off as stilted when said by actors in a live-action film. The story also loses momentum quickly after the first half hour or so, with Cawthon seemingly content to just have characters move from place to place with no sense of connection between any of the scenes.

Hutcherson (The Hunger Games series), after being the true lead of the first film, is given very little to do in this film, and his effort is equal to his character’s arc. The same goes for Lail, whose character seems to be shoehorned into the story. Rubio is called upon to carry the load for a lot of the movie, and the teenager is not quite up to the task. A brief appearance by Skeet Ulrich seems to be a blatant appeal to Scream fans, but he and Lillard only underscore how limited this film is compared to that franchise.

Five Nights at Freddy’s 2 is better than the first film, but not by much. The filmmakers do a decent job of making the new marionette character into a great villain, but they fail to capitalize on its inherent creepiness. Instead, they fall back on less effective elements, ensuring that the film will be forgettable for anyone other than hardcore Freddy fans.

---

Five Nights at Freddy's 2 opens in theaters on December 5.

movies film