5 events to kick off the 2021 Christmas season

Future Brown, Herald Democrat
·2 min read
This Santa is one of a number of new displays at the 20th annual Grayson County Holiday Lights event at Loy Park in Denison. The display is open through Dec. 27.
This Santa is one of a number of new displays at the 20th annual Grayson County Holiday Lights event at Loy Park in Denison. The display is open through Dec. 27.

Note: This story has been updated with the correct date of the Holiday Lights opening reception.

Now that Thanksgiving is over, the Christmas holiday season has officially begun. Even though many Christmas holiday-related events have already begun, the day after Thanksgiving marks the beginning of many Texoma holiday-related traditions.

Here are five events to kick off the holiday season.

1. The lights off the highway

The train is one of the newest displays at Grayson County Holiday Lights for the 2021 season.
The train is one of the newest displays at Grayson County Holiday Lights for the 2021 season.

The region's longest running holiday lights event Grayson County Holiday Lights will hold its kick off event Friday with the lights taking over the night sky for the first time.

Holiday lights will be viewable from 5:30 p.m. Friday through Dec. 31. The lights will be turned off at 10 p.m. each night.

Inclement weather could change this schedule.

The kick off event begins at 5 p.m. Friday and will include light refreshments and a chance to meet with the star of the season, Santa.

2. Ice skating in North Texas

Organizers for Denison on Ice said the annual ice rink will feature changes for 2020 aimed at mitigating the risk of COVID-19 exposure
Organizers for Denison on Ice said the annual ice rink will feature changes for 2020 aimed at mitigating the risk of COVID-19 exposure

Though a white Christmas is not something that is often seen in the Texoma region, ice will be present for the rest of the year.

Denison on Ice opened on Nov. 13 in downtown and will continue through Jan. 2. The skating rink will be open from 1-9 p.m. daily. The rink was closed for Thanksgiving and will be closed for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.

In 2020, about 9,000 skaters patronized the site.

For more information, please visit the city's website at www.cityofdenison.com.

3. Denison Christmas parade

The Denison Chamber of Commerce announced that it will transition its annual Christmas parade into a static display for 2020. Rather than parading through downtown, visitors will instead drive through the holiday displays on Dec. 3.
The Denison Chamber of Commerce announced that it will transition its annual Christmas parade into a static display for 2020. Rather than parading through downtown, visitors will instead drive through the holiday displays on Dec. 3.

The annual tree lighting event and Christmas parade will be held next week in downtown. The parade themed, "Silver Screens and Silver Bells," will be held at 6 p.m. Dec.2.

This is the 87th parade and event in Denison. The celebration will include multiple floats driven and ridden by area residents, non profit organizations and local businesses.

Denison held its annual Christmas parade Thursday evening. The drive through event allowed individuals to see the standstill floats while they stayed in their cars.
Denison held its annual Christmas parade Thursday evening. The drive through event allowed individuals to see the standstill floats while they stayed in their cars.

4. Snowflakes under the starlight

Sherman held its annual Snowflake Festival and Christmas parade Saturday afternoon in downtown. In recognition of social distancing guidelines, this year the city decided to live stream the parade.
Sherman held its annual Snowflake Festival and Christmas parade Saturday afternoon in downtown. In recognition of social distancing guidelines, this year the city decided to live stream the parade.

Sherman will host its parade and Christmas festival during the first week in December. The city's annual Christmas tree lighting will also be included in the day's festivities.

The Snowflake Festival will begin at 2 p.m. and will continue until the parade at 6 p.m. Dec. 4.

Sherman held its annual Snowflake Festival and Christmas parade Saturday afternoon in downtown. In recognition of social distancing guidelines, this year the city decided to live stream the parade.
Sherman held its annual Snowflake Festival and Christmas parade Saturday afternoon in downtown. In recognition of social distancing guidelines, this year the city decided to live stream the parade.

5. Christmas home tour

Each year, Denison hosts a holiday tour of homes which will also be held the first week of December.

Broken into two parts, the tours will be held Dec. 4-5 with loft tours on the first day and home tours on the second. There will be five locations each day.

Tickets for the tour are $20. For more information, visit http://www.Denisonlive.com.

This article originally appeared on Herald Democrat: 5 events to kick off the Christmas season