Holiday Event Guide

10 top holiday happenings in San Antonio to celebrate the spirit of the season

It’s the most wonderful time of the year. We’ve made our list of can’t-miss celebrations and have checked it twice to ensure optimum joy is had by all. Check out the top 10 things to do in San Antonio this holiday season, and let the merrymaking commence. For a complete listing of holiday-themed and all other events, go to our calendar.

Ford Holiday River Parade — November 25
Kick off the holidays at the popular Ford Holiday River Parade. This traditional, family-friendly event commemorates the lighting of the San Antonio River Walk and will feature floats inspired by this year’s "Tastes and Traditions Around the World” theme. Attendees will also be able to spot this year’s Grand Marshal, the Grinch from the Broadway production of Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas! The Musical!, as part of the jubilant procession. Get more information here, and check out our top 7 spots to glimpse the parade.

Broadway in San Antonio: Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas! The Musical — November 29 through December 4
The beloved story of Christmas’ furry-green grump comes to life on the stage at Majestic Theatre. Max the Dog narrates how the Grinch plans to steal Christmas from the town of Whoville’s holiday-devoted residents. Audiences can expect a brilliant production of Dr. Seuss' timeless tale featuring hit songs “You’re A Mean One Mr. Grinch” and “Welcome Christmas” from the original animated special. Tickets for all showtimes are available.

La Cantera Resort & Spa presents Holiday Tree Lighting — December 1
Don’t miss the chance to ring in the holiday season with a local tradition at La Cantera Resort & Spa. Tree lighting highlights include a live jazz performance by Michael Lington and appearances by beloved Christmas characters like Santa, the Grinch, and more. For tickets, click here.

Ballet San Antonio presents The Nutcracker — December 2 through December 11
Get lost in a world of whimsy and wintery wonder when you enjoy The Nutcracker performed by the talented Ballet San Antonio company. This production at Tobin Center for the Performing Arts features a cast of over 100 child and adult dancers and choreography by Easton and Haley Smith. Following this opening weekend, showtimes are scheduled through December 11. Get tickets here.

Empire Theatre presents Dean Z’s Rockin' Christmas Show — December 10
Award-winning entertainer Dean Z comes to San Antonio’s Majestic Theatre for one night of rockin’ holly jolly live music. Guests can groove to a selection of Z’s favorite holiday hit songs featuring his 12-piece band and the Deltatones. Select ticketing options are still available.

The Light Park — Now through January 1, 2023
Cruise into an illuminated wonderland of millions of lights synchronized to holiday music classics with the entire family at Retama Park. The Light Park is a one-mile, drive-thru experience complete with dazzling light displays portraying the magic of the winter holiday season. For more information, visit the park website.

Immersive Nutcracker: A Winter Miracle — Now through January 2, 2023
Become a part of the classic holiday production The Nutcracker with the help of multimedia elements at Lighthouse San Antonio. This 30-minute, immersive experience takes guests through the entire famous tale by using over 500,000 cubic feet of projections composed of over 1 million frames of video. Discover what it’s like to be inside memorable scenes and classical scores like “The March of the Toys,” “The Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy,” and more. For ticketing information, visit the event website.

Pearl Holiday Night Markets — Weekly from November 30 through December 21
Start your holiday shopping with a little local flair every Wednesday leading up to Christmas at Pearl. In addition to the seasonal shopping opportunities, each evening will feature live music curated by Stable Hall, including Mariachi Las Altenas, Los Callejeros, and Carolers from Conroy Entertainment fully costumed in Victorian attire. Admission is free and open to the public.

City of Boerne presents Dickens on Main — November 25 and November 26
Venture out to Boerne for the return of Dickens on Main. The two-night event will feature holiday “villages” throughout the Main Street corridor that guests can visit, live music, real snow, ice sculpting shows, visits with Santa, and more. Roving groups of musicians, carolers, and other holiday performers will make their way through the streets to keep spirits bright. Admission to Dickens on Main is free and open to the public.

Miracle on Commerce Street Pop-Up Bar — Now through December 31
Sip and be merry at the newest seasonal cocktail experience by Esquire Tavern. Miracle on Commerce visitors can expect an immersive, Christmas-themed pop-up bar filled with classic holiday tunes, themed drinks, and more. For private party accommodations at the pop-up, go to the ticketing website.

Photo by Marty Sohl Photography

Experience The Nutcracker performed by the talented Ballet San Antonio children's cast and other performers.

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Movie Review

Saoirse Ronan plays a WWII-era mother in melodramatic film Blitz

Photo courtesy of Apple TV+

Elliott Heffernan and Saoirse Ronan in Blitz.

The horrors of World War II are 80+ years in the past, yet they remain a fascination for many filmmakers. The latest film to tackle the era, Blitz, is centered around the German Blitzkrieg air raids on London in September 1940, but uses a more personal story to illustrate its impact.

Rita (Saoirse Ronan) lives with her 9-year-old son George (Elliott Heffernan) and her father Gerald (Paul Weller) in the lower class neighborhood of Stepney, but no one in the city is immune from the bombs being dropped by the Germans. The government has opened up some of the Underground (aka subway) tunnels for residents to use as bomb shelters, but the haphazard nature of their availability leads Rita to send George to safety in the countryside to protect him.

George, who is biracial, experiences racist abuse on the train, and instead of remaining with the other children to their destination, he jumps off and tries to make his way back to London. Meanwhile, Rita is doing her best to keep her mind off of George’s absence, working at a munition factory and volunteering at a bomb shelter, not knowing that George has put himself back in danger.

Written and directed by Steve McQueen, the film should be one that elicits emotions relatively easily, with ordinary people dealing with the effects of war and a mother separated from her only child. And while all the elements are present, there’s that certain something missing that leaves the story somewhat uninvolving. McQueen makes you want to see George make it back safely and for Rita to be reunited with him, but there is a degree of sentimentality that’s missing from the film as a whole.

Instead of going down that road, McQueen puts a big focus on the racism and bigotry experienced by various people in the film. Flashbacks give a sense of what George and his dad, Marcus (CJ Beckford), went through prior to the war, and Ife (Benjamin Clementine), a warden who tries to help George find his way home, encounters it multiple times while just doing his duty. While McQueen’s point — that people of color still had to endure acts of hatred in a time when people should have been coming together — is valuable, his methods of showing it are often heavy-handed.

Still, the film is well-made and remains visually engaging throughout. The combination of practical sets and CGI put the viewer right in the middle of the bombed-out London, and there are few missteps with how the city is presented. And even though the main mother-son story is only lightly effective, the trials and tribulations that each go through individually are interesting and occasionally suspenseful.

Ronan is a fantastic actor who might get nominated for an Oscar yet again for her other recent film, The Outrun, but this role pales in comparison. Whether it’s because the 30-year-old is a bit young to be fully believable in a mother role or because of the storytelling missteps, she’s merely good instead of great here. Heffernan does a solid job in his film debut, reacting ably to McQueen putting him through his paces.

Blitz joins the seemingly never-ending well of stories from World War II, and while it doesn’t succeed as mightily as other notable war films, it never becomes anything less than watchable. The family story at its center could have been more heartfelt, but McQueen is still a great filmmaker with a flair for visual composition.

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Blitz is now streaming on Apple TV+.

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