light it up

13 festive light displays illuminating Houston this holiday season

Twinkly lights at night adds to the festive feelings of the holiday season. For Houstonians looking to add a little illumination to their winter festivities, the city has plenty of options to take in. These impressive installations offer incredible beauty and are sure to put people into the holiday spirit.

We've rounded up options from across the Houston area. They include staples such as Zoo Lights and Space Center Houston's Galaxy Lights as well as newcomers like Classic Christmas. All are sure to help attendees make new holiday memories.

Artechouse Holiday Spectacular
Running through January 5, 2025, this dazzling event blends digital art, interactive design, and ASMR to evoke comfort, curiosity, and festive nostalgia. Take a cinematic journey through whimsical ASMR-inspired visuals and soundscapes, or explore a dreamlike gift factory featuring floating Christmas bells, candy cane carousels, and thousands of dancing nutcrackers. XR Bar offers holiday cocktails and augmented reality for extra festive fun. Entry is available from 10 am to 10pm Monday through Sunday, with the last entry at 9pm. XR Bar is open Monday through Thursday from 4 pm to close and Friday through Sunday 11 am to close. Tickets start at $17.

Christmas Village at Bayou Bend
Cross a bridge illuminated with white lights and enter a magical world at historic Bayou Bend, the former home of Ima Hogg, now part of the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston. Through December 30, this winter wonderland brings holiday cheer to the 14-acre estate with a trail of sparkling lights, carolers every night, a hand-crafted model train, animated projections, and activities like a cotton snowball toss, reindeer games, and sledding on a faux-snow slope. Tickets start at $18.

Cistern Illuminated
Go deep underground with this installation at the Buffalo Bayou Park Cistern, where an immersive experience awaits from December 6 through January 26, 2025. Blending lights and sound, the decommissioned drinking water reservoir is transformed into a breathtaking spectacle, showcasing the Cistern’s repeating columns and their uncanny reflections on the surface of the water below. Concerts of seasonal favorites from the city’s choral groups add to the experience. Tickets are $15.

City Lights Downtown Holiday Magic Presented by Shell Energy
Back for its third year, this installation allows visitors to wander among 12 different villages throughout downtown. Expect sparkling lights, mesmerizing Christmas trees, social-worthy selfie stations, and many other activities. Most are free to enter, and a hop-on-hop-off holiday bus is available along the route, with tickets for $19.95. The lights run through December 31.

Classic Christmas
Head out to Memorial City Mall for this family-friendly outdoor installation, open through December 29. The highlight is the World’s Largest Christmas Light Maze, in partnership with Coca-Cola, and it’s the first time the installation has come to Houston. Activities include larger-than-life light sculptures, a market square with local holiday vendors, an ice-skating rink and snow slide, holiday-themed beverages and a 21-and-up lounge, live entertainment, and — of course — visits from Santa and Mrs. Claus. Tickets start at $21, with timed entry beginning at 5:30 pm.

Galaxy Lights
Space Center Houston’s holiday favorite returns, with light pods, an astronaut selfie lantern and walk-through space launch system rocket displays, s’mores fire pits, LED swings under the 747 Boeing Aircraft at Independence Plaza, and a host of activities to engage all ages. The installation runs through January 5, 2025, and tickets start at $19.95.

The Light Park
Typhoon Texas hosts this mile-long, drive-through experience. Guests will experience millions of lights synchronized to a mix of music by DJ Polar Ice. The lights run through January 5, 2025 and tickets start at $49 per vehicle.

Magical Winter Lights at Fort Bend Fairgrounds
Celebrating its 10th anniversary, this popular illuminated experience is open through January 5, 2025. New lantern displays transport guests into a dazzling winter wonderland, celebrating both the holiday season and global cultures. There’s also an acrobatic show, the fan favorite grand entrance castle, a dinosaur exhibit, and Houston-themed displays. The family-friendly carnival also returns, bringing joy with games, rides, and festive treats. General admission tickets are $27 with add-ons for the carnival available.

Houston Botanic Garden
The garden’s Radiant Nature display, open through February 23, 2025, captures the essence of the Lunar New Year with illuminated pathways and imaginative installations. It’s back for a second year, with dazzling displays incorporating parrots, lanterns, flowers, and more. Parking onsite is only available for those who’ve purchased a parking pass. Otherwise, guests will have to catch a shuttle at the nearby Monroe Park and Ride lot. Tickets are $28.50 with timed entry most nights. The first entry depends on the time of sunset.

Post Houston
Now through January 11, head to the roof of the downtown development for a Holiday Lights Celebration that features 100,000s of lights, a 25-foot Christmas tree, and multiple, holiday-themed activations — all with a fantastic view of the downtown skyline. Prices are $7 for weekdays and $10 on weekends. Children 5 and under are free.

Snow Glow on the Bayou
This breathtaking light and music spectacular takes place at Historic Allen's Landing Park from December 20 through 29. The immersive installation transforms Buffalo Bayou into a winter wonderland, with digital art projected onto a massive 4-story high, 6-story wide water screen, light displays on the bayou’s surface, festive music, and special holiday boat tours.Tickets are free, but attendees must register in advance online. Boat tours are $20.

Texas Winter Lights
This popular event returns to the Marriott Marquis in downtown. Gather at the hotel’s Altitude Rooftop and Pool for an evening of elevated cocktails, bites, and floating through the pool’s illuminated lazy river. For an extra fee, rent a private igloo, or go all-in and coordinate a proposal package to pop the big question in an exquisite surrounding. Tickets are $30.

Zoo Lights
Attendees can take in the sights and sounds of the season as they stroll through the Houston Zoo, transformed into a winter wonderland. New this year, the immersive Twinkle Trail takes guests through the zoo’s African Forest. Two cookie decorating stations will keep friends and families entertained at Twiga Café and Cypress Circle Café. A new holiday tree at the end of the Reflection Pool rounds out the holiday experience. There is a snow machine and lift chairs, trees wrapped in lights, and other festive fun. Zoo Lights runs through January 5, with timed entry each evening from 5:30 to 10:30 pm. Tickets, which start at $25.95, must be purchased online in advance.

Two girls running through a light display at Classic Christmas

Photo courtesy Enchant Christmas

Classic Christmas on the grounds of Memorial City Mall offers holiday fun for the whole family.

holiday light displays holidays light displays

Movie Review

New Superman movie forges into the future while honoring the past

Photo by Jessica Miglio

David Corenswet in Superman.

When the character of Superman was invented in 1938, it was perhaps easier to see the world in good and bad terms. Fascism was already on the rise in Germany under Adolf Hitler, and the idea of an all-powerful superhero who stood up for people in need was a welcome one. In the nearly 90 years since, though, the world and the character have undergone multiple evolutions, and the thought of someone who is purely good is often met with cynicism or worse.

The new Superman, written and directed by James Gunn, puts the superhero (or metahuman, as the film calls him and similar creatures) squarely in the midst of the modern world, with geopolitical conflicts, mega-corporations, and social media all combining to make the altruism of Superman/Clark Kent (David Corenswet) questionable. That skepticism even extends to his coworker/girlfriend Lois Lane (Rachel Brosnahan), whose knowledge of his exploits puts her in a tricky position personally and professionally.

Lex Luthor (Nicholas Hoult) is out to dominate the world and take down Superman, with his eponymous corporation and vast group of underlings dedicated to doing both. Superman is generally a one-man fighting crew, but he’s occasionally aided by a group calling themselves the Justice Gang, comprised of heroes many have never heard of like Guy Gardner (Nathan Fillion), a version of Green Lantern; Hawkgirl (Isabela Merced), a flying metahuman; and Mr. Terrific (Edi Gathegi), who knows all kinds of technology.

One of the best things about this new version of Superman is that it mostly dispenses with introductions, putting the audience in a world where Superman is already a well-known quantity who’s adored by many and hated by some. Gunn has used his new position as co-CEO of DC Studios to honor the past of the hero and take him into the future. With the 1978 John Williams theme song echoing throughout and Corenswet giving off Christopher Reeve vibes, it’s clear Gunn wants audiences to feel nostalgia while still getting something new.

He also appears to want viewers to fight against the negativity that the modern world can bring. The plot involves manipulation of the public, usually at the hands of Luthor, through bombastic talk shows, political theater, and social media, the latter of which — in a great joke — comes to involve hundreds of typing monkeys. The film could be read as a rebuttal of many real-world ills as, despite Luthor’s machinations, many choose to continue to believe in the goodness of Superman.

There is a lot going on in the film, but somehow it never comes off as overly complicated. Superman’s relationship with Lois Lane and Luthor’s attempts at taking him down are given the most prominence, with everything else supporting those two main things. The Justice Gang is a fun addition, with Mr. Terrific becoming the breakout hero of the group. The addition of the (CGI) dog Krypto provides levity, poignant moments, and unexpectedly great action scenes. The only part that gets somewhat short shrift is the crew of The Daily Planet, with everyone besides Lois and Jimmy Olsen (Skyler Gisondo) getting little more than face time.

Being the new Superman is a lot to live up to, but Corenswet is completely up to the job. He, like Reeve, plays the character as someone who is earnest but not naive, a quality that comes through even when he’s in the middle of fight scenes. Brosnahan is also fantastic, providing a nice balance to the relationship while also proving the character’s own worth. Hoult makes for a great new version of Luthor, and Gathegi nearly makes the case that Mr. Terrific should get a starring film of his own.

Just as he did with the Guardians of the Galaxy trilogy, Gunn has shown that success can be found through making characters people want to see. Not everyone in this Superman will be familiar to viewers, but in the end a group of people working together toward a goal that serves the common good is one worth watching and cheering for.

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Superman is now playing in theaters.

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light it up

13 festive light displays illuminating Houston this holiday season

Movie Review

New Superman movie forges into the future while honoring the past

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