Fun for all

Houston's 13 best family-friendly activities for winter break fun

The kids are out of school for two weeks. Christmas, Hanukkah, and New Year’s are coming up in rapid succession. How to keep everyone entertained? Check out our list of favorite winter fun for young and the young-at-heart alike. Note: those who want to ensure they catch all the light displays around the city should see our list here.

Museums

Children’s Museum Houston
Get out and play in the snow during Polar Palooza Snow Days between December 21, 2024 and January 5, 2025. Included with the museum’s general admission, kids can make snow angels and snowballs and enjoy other wintry fun in the museum's courtyard.

Houston Museum of Natural Science
On December 21 the museum celebrates the first day of winter with 110,000 pounds of snow. Snow Flurry features sweet treats, live entertainment, a DJ, and other family fun. On New Year’s Eve, adults can enjoy Mixers and Elixirs, with food, live music, and a champagne toast.

Meow Wolf Houston
From a honky tonk dive bar to a never-ending dance party, Meow Wolf’s Radio Tave blends art and storytelling into an immersive adventure through creativity. Guests must reserve a time in advance, and can also grab a bite at the on-site restaurant. The museum is open every day and is currently offering a four-pack promo discount.

Museum of Fine Arts, Houston
The museum’s annual Winter Break offers activities for families, including making art inspired by the current Gauguin in the World exhibit. In addition, the museum is open every day from December 26, 2024, to January 5, 2025.

Ice Skating

Green Mountain Energy Ice at Discovery Green
Open every day during the holiday break, the popular attraction lets guests glide on the ice against the backdrop of the downtown skyline. Each skating session is 75 minutes and skate rentals are included. Sessions, $18, must be booked in advance.

The Ice Rink at The Woodlands Town Center
Open daily through January 20, 2025, guests can reserve two-hour skating blocks starting at 4 pm each day. Concessions are available on site, allowing skaters to refuel and wind down. Admission and skate rentals are $15 for those six and up and $7 for kids five and under.

Ice Skate Memorial City
The Memorial City Mall ice skating rink offers open skate hours throughout the winter break. Admission is $10, with skate rentals an additional $5. Lessons are available as well. Skate times can be booked online.

On Stage

Alley Theatre
A Christmas Carol runs through December 29. It’s the classic tale of miserly Ebenezer Scrooge who is visited by three ghosts on Christmas Eve. But will that be enough to make him change his ways? Tickets start at $69. There are no performances on Christmas Day.

Houston Ballet
The holiday favorite The Nutcracker runs through December 29. Follow Clara and her magical nutcracker through battle with the mouse king and on an adventure through the Land of Sweets. One of the world’s most popular ballets, this production features the choreography of Stanton Welch. Tickets start at $37.

Houston Symphony
On Monday, December 26, mariachi Sol De Mexico de Jose Hernandez presents Jose Hernandez’s Merry-Achi Christmas. It's an evening of holiday favorites with a surprising mariachi twist, including "El Niño del tambor (Little drummer boy)," "Himno de la alegría (A Song of Joy)," the Nutcracker Medley, and others. Tickets start at $65. The concert is at 7:30 pm.

Stages
The theater continues its holiday tradition with Panto Pinocchio. An update on the beloved fairy tale of a wooden boy who comes to life, this version showcases Pinocchio as a sentient AI boy created by tech-savvy inventor Gill Bs. He and Buttons embark into a world of digital mischief and adventure.

TUTS
The company’s production of Disney’s Frozen runs through December 29. Based on the beloved movie, this beautiful stage musical tells the story of Elsa, Queen of Arandelle, who’s accidentally cast her country into eternal winter. Her sister Anna leads the charge to help Elsa understand her magic and melt the frost. Tickets start at $34.50. No performances on Christmas Day.

More Festive Fun

Moody Gardens
Holiday in the Gardens offers an array of activities every day of the school break. At Ice Land, there’s an arctic slide and ice carvings. The Festival of Lights takes guests down a trail of twinkling artistry. Plus, there’s also the Pyramid Aquarium and 3D and 4D theaters. Passes are available as all-inclusive or a la carte, allowing families to choose their own adventures.

Children making snow angels at the Children's Museum Houston

Courtesy of Children's Museum Houston

The Children's Museum Houston has real snow as part of Polar Palooza.

holiday activities winter break families family friendly

Movie review

Nick Jonas and Paul Rudd chase their dreams in music-heavy Power Ballad

Photo by David Cleary for Lionsgate

Nick Jonas and Paul Rudd in Power Ballad.

Writer/director John Carney is one of the great purveyors of movies featuring music (as opposed to musicals) in the 21st century. Starting with Once in 2007 (which was turned into a Broadway musical several years later), he has made music-themed stories like Begin Again, Sing Street, Flora and Son, and now Power Ballad.

Rick Power (Paul Rudd) is a former wannabe rock star who is now the lead singer of “Ireland’s #1 Wedding Band,” The Bride & Grooves. While they mostly play smaller weddings, a gig at a country estate leads to an encounter with Danny Wilson (Nick Jonas), a former boy band member struggling to make it as a solo artist. Rick and Danny wind up bonding in a booze- and pot-filled jam session, sharing various song ideas.

After returning to Los Angeles and desperate for a hit, Danny steals one of Rick’s songs, which miraculously turns into the No. 1 “How to Write a Song (Without You).” Rick, initially overjoyed that something he wrote has become big, is crushed when he finds out Danny didn’t give him credit. His quest to find a way to prove his worth sends him into a spiral, upending the ordinary life he had built.

Co-written by Peter McDonald, the film is a nice exploration of two men trying to hold on to their music dreams. Their individual circumstances could not be more different, but each of them knows the ups and downs of the business as well as the other, as well as the ineffable magic of creating that one great song. While the music scenes are hit-and-miss because of a reliance on lip synching, the scene featuring Rick and Danny trading ideas is electric with creativity.

Oddly, though, the film could have used a bit less music and more of a focus on the two men’s personal lives. Rick wound up living in Ireland after falling in love with his future wife, Rachel (Marcella Plunkett), while on tour with his former American band. He spends a decent amount of time with her and his daughter, Aja (Beth Fallon), but his story needed a few more family scenes to drive the point home. Danny’s personal life is all but nonexistent, giving his arc less impact than it could have had.

Instead of loved ones, Carney and McDonald try to give Rick and Danny more depth through friends and business associates. Rick’s bandmate Sandy (McDonald) is a ride-or-die kind of guy for him, but his presence is only good for a few humorous distractions. Danny’s manager Mac (Jack Reynor) is difficult to parse, as he goes to bat for Danny on multiple occasions, but also seems to keep him at arm’s length.

It’s long been joked that Rudd never ages, and that youthfulness serves him well in this role, in which his character is supposed to be much younger than his actual age of 57. His energy and enthusiasm make his character appealing throughout, even when Rick starts to go off the deep end. Jonas is decent in his role, selling the music side well, but there might be a reason his character doesn’t have many scenes requiring him to show emotions.

While Power Ballad has all the hallmarks of another great Carney music movie, it’s missing a few pieces that could have put it over the top. It’s still a fun film with an insanely catchy song at its center, but it’s not quite as memorable as most of the filmmaker’s previous efforts.

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Power Ballad is now playing in theaters.

movies music film