Last-chance Christmas events in Cincinnati 🎄

Luann Gibbs, Cincinnati Enquirer
·9 min read
Jellyfish lanterns illuminate the new “Under the Sea” display at the 39th annual PNC Festival of Lights at the Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Garden on Wednesday, Nov. 17, 2021.
Jellyfish lanterns illuminate the new “Under the Sea” display at the 39th annual PNC Festival of Lights at the Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Garden on Wednesday, Nov. 17, 2021.

You know how, for the first 11 months of the year, it seems as though you have all the time in the world? Then, all of a sudden, you're slaloming through December trying to get the cards sent, house decorated, gifts bought and wrapped, cookies baked and all the other little traditions that make the holiday bright and merry.

With so many items on your to-do list, you may not have had a chance yet to enjoy some of Cincinnati's most festive holiday happenings, and we hate to break it to ya, but time is running out.

Bucket listing: Top 10 holiday events every Cincinnatian should attend at least once

Light shows

Ends Dec. 23: The Christmas Ranch, 3205 S. Waynesville Road, Morrow. Features over a million dancing lights synchronized to holiday music, six Christmas shops, Santa's bakery and cafe, pictures with Santa, train and wagon rides and more. $20 per carload, $30 per oversized van (10 or more people). No buses or RVs. Free parking. Benefits multiple local charities. thechristmasranch.com.

Ends Dec. 30: Lumaze Christmas Light Festival, 4-10 p.m. Monday-Saturday, Duke Energy Convention Center, 525 Elm St., Downtown. Indoor winter festival filled with towering light gardens, glowing activities, treats, live entertainment and more, all under millions of twinkling lights. $23 weekdays, $26 weekend and holidays. lumazelights.com/cincinnati-christmas.

Ends Dec. 30: Holiday in Lights, 5:30-10 p.m. Friday-Saturday, 6-9 p.m. Sunday-Thursday, including holidays. Sharon Woods Park, 11450 Lebanon Road, Sharonville. This outdoor light display features over a million lights and 250 lighted displays, viewable from the comfort of your vehicle. No vehicular traffic permitted during Walk the Lights on Dec. 29. Special effects glasses for purchase at the gate, $2 each or 3 for $5. $17 per car, $55 per 15-passenger vans and buses. $7 to walk the lights on Dec. 29. holidayinlights.com.

Ends Dec. 30: Christmas Glow, 6-10 p.m. daily, closed Dec. 25. Land of Illusion, 8762 Thomas Road, Middletown. More than 3.8 million lights along a 2-mile long Christmas Around the World drive-through experience. $8. landofillusion.com.

Ends Dec. 30: ChristmasTown, 5 p.m. daily, closed Dec. 24-25. Creation Museum, 2800 Bullittsburg Church Road, Petersburg. Museum's botanical gardens are filled with thousands of multi-colored lights. Live nativity, petting zoo, skating on synthetic ice rink and more. Free. creationmuseum.org.

Ends Dec. 31: Light Up Middletown, 6-10 p.m. nightly, Smith Park, 500 Tytus Ave., Middletown. Drive through a fantasyland of holiday lights. Admission by cash donation; you set the price. lightupmiddletown.org.

Ends Dec. 31: Winterfest, 5-10 p.m. Monday-Friday, 4-10 p.m. Saturday-Sunday, closed Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. Open until 1 a.m. New Year's Eve. Kings Island, 6300 Kings Island Drive, Mason. Features nightly Wonderland Parade with more than 150 festive performers and eight floats with classic themes. Park transformed into 11 enchanting winter wonderlands, with ice skating on the Royal Fountain, 20 rides open and live entertainment throughout. visitkingsisland.com.

Ends Dec. 31: Light Up the Levee, noon-7 p.m., Newport on the Levee, 1 Levee Way. Tree lighting celebration kicks off holiday season. Special visit from Santa, family activities and more. newportonthelevee.com/light-up-the-levee.

Ends Jan. 1: Light Up the Fair, 5:30-10 p.m. Friday-Saturday, 5:30-9 p.m. Sunday-Thursday, including holidays. Boone County Fairgrounds, 5819 Idlewild Road, Burlington. Boone Lighting Effects turns fairgrounds into a winter wonderland with a million dancing lights synced to holiday music along a 2-mile driving path. $7, free for ages under 4, active military and first responders. 859-568-4046; lightupthefair.com.

Ends Jan. 2: Christmas Nights of Lights, 6-10 p.m. nightly, including holidays. Coney Island, 6201 Kellogg Ave., Anderson Township. 2.5-mile light show synchronized to both traditional and rocking holiday music broadcast via your vehicle's radio. Cincinnati's largest holiday light show with more than 1 million lights, larger-than-life trees, glowing snowflakes, dancing candy canes and tunnels of lights. $30 per carload, or $7 per person Monday-Thursday. Ages 3-under free. christmasnightsoflights.com/cincinnati.

Ends Jan. 2: Journey Borealis, 6-10 p.m. Friday-Sunday, 6-9 p.m. Monday-Thursday, Pyramid Hill Sculpture Park & Museum, 1763 Hamilton Cleves Road, Hamilton. See light art, installation art and projection mapping. The journey begins with glimmering trees and arches before winding through a blue and white glow of Jerusalem's Hanukkah celebration, followed by travels through Germany's Candy Cane Forest and the Grinch's Greenland, then a stop in Bethlehem before a final destination of the North Pole. $20 per carload Monday-Thursday, $25 per carload Friday-Sunday. $50 per 12-passenger van. journeyborealis.com.

Ends Jan. 2: Light in the Forest, 5-9 p.m. Wednesday-Sunday, closed Dec. 24-25. Rowe Woods at Cincinnati Nature Center, 4949 Tealtown Road, Milford. Not your typical holiday lights show. This show produces original works of moving art using the natural environment as a canvas. $12, $7 children. cincynature.org.

Ends Jan. 9: Festival of Lights, 4-9 p.m. nightly, closed Dec. 24-25. Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Gardens, 3400 Vine St., Avondale. The zoo is transformed into a lighted winter wonderland with over four million LED lights, train rides, light shows on Swan Lake, s'mores stands and more. Enjoy roaming elves, Fiona fairy statues and 27 larger-than-life animal lanterns throughout the zoo. cincinnatizoo.org.

"Cinderella" continues at Ensemble Theatre through Dec. 30. Pictured: Patrick Earl Phillips as Prince Frederick.
"Cinderella" continues at Ensemble Theatre through Dec. 30. Pictured: Patrick Earl Phillips as Prince Frederick.

Holiday theater

Ends Dec. 26: Elf the Musical, 7:30 p.m. Thursday, 2 p.m. Sunday, no shows Dec. 24-25.Covedale Center for the Performing Arts, 4990 Glenway Ave., West Price Hill. $31, $28 seniors, students and children. 513-241-6550; cincinnatilandmarkproductions.com.

Ends Dec. 26: Every Christmas Story Ever Told (and Then Some), 7:30 p.m. Thursday, 2 and 7:30 p.m. Sunday, no performances Dec. 24-25. Cincinnati Shakespeare Co., 1195 Elm St., Over-the-Rhine. What begins as another annual production of A Christmas Carol devolves into a slightly irreverent look at all of our favorite “Beloved Holiday Classics.” Note: This show is not recommended for anyone young enough to believe in Santa Claus. Face masks are required, and you just show proof of vaccination or a negative COVID test for entry. cincyshakes.com.

Ends Dec. 30: Cinderella, varying times Monday-Sunday, no performances Dec. 24-26. Ensemble Theatre, 1127 Vine St., Over-the-Rhine. What do you get when you combine a nearsighted bookworm heroine, two fabulously self-absorbed stepsisters, one devilishly diva stepmother, along with a self-empowering Well-Wisher? A fun spin on the classic fairy tale that demonstrates being smart is true beauty. ensemblecincinnati.org.

Ends Dec. 30: A Christmas Carol, varying times Tuesday-Sunday, no performances Dec. 24-25. Playhouse in the Park, 962 Mount Adams Circe, Mount Adams. Joyous, time-honored production returns with a cast of nearly 30 actors, elaborate costumes and thrilling special effects. Show runs approximately 125 minutes, including one intermission. cincyplay.com.

The Duke Energy Holiday Trains, pictured, celebrate their 75th year in Cincinnati. Holiday Junction featuring the Duke Energy Holiday Trains will be open through Jan. 2, 2022, at Cincinnati Museum Center.
The Duke Energy Holiday Trains, pictured, celebrate their 75th year in Cincinnati. Holiday Junction featuring the Duke Energy Holiday Trains will be open through Jan. 2, 2022, at Cincinnati Museum Center.

Train displays

Ends Dec. 23: Train Days, Heritage Village Museum, 11500 Lebanon Road, Sharonville. Watch model trains chug through villages, around mountains and through tunnels with these large model train displays inside an actual historic railway station and Hayner House. $3, free for ages 4-under. heritagevillagecincinnati.org.

Ends Dec. 26: North Pole Express, 6 and 8 p.m. weekdays, noon, 2, 4, 6 and 8 p.m. Sunday, closed Dec. 25. Lebanon Mason & Monroe Railroad, 16 E. South St., Lebanon. Journey through Warren County in train cars decorated with holiday lights and Santa and his elves. Passengers receive a souvenir bell and prepackaged cookie. $22-$39. lebanonrr.com.

Ends Jan. 2: Christmas at the Junction, 10 a.m.-8 p.m. Monday-Saturday, noon-8 p.m. Sunday, Entertrainment Junction, 7379 Squire Court, West Chester. See the Main St. Holiday Trains display and take a magical journey to a winter wonderland filled with reindeer and elves. $18.95. 513-898-8000; entertrainmentjunction.com.

Ends Jan. 2: Holiday Junction featuring the Duke Energy Holiday Trains, 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Thursday-Monday, closed Dec. 25. Cincinnati Museum Center, 1301 Western Ave., Queensgate. Celebrate 75 years of winterland whimsy with this Cincinnati holiday staple. Track-level views reveal intricate details, with over 300 rail cars and 60 locomotives. $10. cincymuseum.org.

Ends Jan. 9: Holiday Traditions at BCM, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday, 1-5 p.m. Sunday, closed Dec. 24-25 and Dec. 31-Jan.1. Open Monday, Dec. 27. Beringer-Crawford Museum in Devou Park, 1600 Montague Road, Covington. Eight O-gauge Lionel trains take a magical journey through snow-covered fields, carnival rides and holiday Lego lands, which include a giant Baby Yoda, a Christmas tree and an aquatic wonderland, along with miniature recreations of scenes from classic stories like Wizard of Oz and Harry Potter. $9, $8 ages 60-up, $5 ages 3-17. bcmuseum.org.

Ends Jan. 9: Trains & Traditions, a Cincinnati Holiday 10 a.m.-8 p.m. daily, reduced hours on holidays. Krohn Conservatory, 950 Eden Park Drive, Mount Adams. See a colorful tapestry of poinsettias, charming garden railways and replicas of Cincinnati landmarks created out of "botanical architecture" by local artisan group Applied Imagination. Tickets are $10, $7 for ages 5-17 and free for ages 4-under. cincinnatiparks.com/krohn.

Ends Jan. 9: Bill Schott's Holiday Train Display, 10:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Wednesday-Saturday, noon-4:30 p.m. Sunday, closed Dec. 24-25 and Dec. 31-Jan.1. Highfield Discovery Garden, Glenwood Gardens, 10397 Springfield Pike, Woodlawn. Model O-Scale train display. $3. greatparks.org.

The Shillito's elves displays, created by Mark Trierweiler, will be on display through Dec. 31 in the windows of the Leader Furniture building at Findlay Market.
The Shillito's elves displays, created by Mark Trierweiler, will be on display through Dec. 31 in the windows of the Leader Furniture building at Findlay Market.

Family fun

Ends Dec. 23: Winter Wonderland, Sharon Woods, 11450 Lebanon Road, Sharonville. Inflatable gingerbread man slide, s'mores roasting, crafts, live entertainment, gingerbread moon bounce house, outdoor winter maze, visit with Santa and more. Free admission. $5 individual attractions or $12 for all-inclusive wristband. greatparks.org.

Ends Dec. 24: Scuba Santa's Water Wonderland, 10 a.m.-3 p.m., Newport Aquarium, 1 Aquarium Way. Scuba Santa swims with the Shark Rays and other animal friends. Capacity is limited. Reservations: 800-406-3474; newportaquarium.com.

Ends Dec. 31: The Shillito's Elves, 9 a.m.-6 p.m. Tuesday-Friday, animated 8 a.m.-6 p.m. Saturday and 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Sunday, Findlay Market, 1801 Race St., Over-the-Rhine. See the Shillito's Elves in the former Leader Furniture building. They will be animated on weekends through the end of the year.

Ends Jan. 1: Founders Forest, Imagination Alley, Over-the-Rhine. Whimsical art installations. Free.

Ends Jan. 3: Ice Rink at Summit Park, noon-2 p.m., 3-5 p.m. and 6-8 p.m. daily, closed Dec. 25 and Jan. 1. Summit Park, 4335 Glendale Milford Road, Blue Ash. No reservations needed, first-come, first-served. Rink status line: 513-745-6259; summitparkblueash.com.

Ends Jan. 9: Winter Wonderland Ice Rink, Todd Creech Park, 305 W. Tate St., Lawrenceburg. Protective roof over rink, fire pit, indoor restrooms and skate distribution. $8 ages 13-up, $6 ages 12-under. downtownlawrenceburg.com.

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Last-chance Christmas events in Cincinnati