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

HLSR facts and figures

Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo breaks all-time attendance record

A female barrel rider performs at the 2025 Houston LIvestock Show and Rodeo.

Photo courtesy of Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo

An astounding 2.7 million people attended the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo in 2025

After the final hums of Luke Bryan's amplifiers faded and the scent of Bun B's chicken tendies wafted deliciously away, the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo counted its gate receipts. The 2025 rodeo set an all-time attendance record over the course of its 23-day run with 2,735,695 visitors. If the rodeo were a U.S. state, it would be the 37th most populated after Mississippi. More people came to the rodeo this year than attended every San Diego Comic Con since 2000 combined. It's a lot of folks.

"The Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo continues to represent the very best of our Texas traditions, bringing together our diverse community through exceptional entertainment, thrilling competitions, and educational experiences.” said Chris Boleman, Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo president and CEO. “The incredible year 2025 has been a testament to what we can achieve together. None of this would be possible without the unwavering dedication and help from 35,000 volunteers across 109 committees, alongside our incredible donors and sponsors who share our vision of celebrating Western heritage while investing in the future of Texas youth and education. We are profoundly thankful for our community whose enthusiasm and support make this iconic celebration possible year after year.”

Nor was the gate the only place that the rodeo shattered records. At the annual school art auction, Sophie Zhou sold her painting "Nurture" for $276,000. The money raised in the auction goes to scholarship and education opportunities for those entering fields related to ranching and agriculture. Junior livestock auction sales totaled $29,652,317, another new record, which include new milestones in barrows, broilers, goats, lambs, steers, and turkeys.

The sports competitors also did well, though none walked away with a record-breaking purse. A combined $2,533,500 was awarded to various riders and ropers, with individual champions taking home between $69,000 and $73,500. The top winner was Riley Webb of Denton, Texas in the tie down roping event.

The sheer scale of the rodeo is hard to believe sometimes. For instance, the popular carnival was delivered by the RCS company by driving a combined total of 420,000 miles, more than 14 times the circumference of the Earth. The new Virtual Chuck Wagon game station hosted 12,600 players, meaning they traversed a digital distance nearly three times the length of the Mississippi River.

Now that it's over, all that's left is to plan the next year's records to break, proving that the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo is truly as big as Texas.

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