Make new holiday memories with magical events across Nebraska

The holiday season is such a spectacular time of the year in Nebraska. The opportunities to celebrate are nearly endless across the state! Visitors to Nebraska are invited to join our special holiday events, and we may inspire a new tradition that families can enjoy for years to come. Omaha kicked off the holiday season with its annual Holiday Lights Festival. The mayor officially flipped the switch on 40 blocks of twinkling lights in downtown Omaha on Thanksgiving night. The festival lasts through Jan. 6 and includes a food drive, ice skating rink, concerts and fireworks on New Year’s Eve. Of course Nebraska is rich with history, so many of our big holiday events connect to that history. Fort Robinson State Park in Crawford hosts its annual Historical Christmas Dinner on Dec. 1. This family-style meal features menus used at the fort when it was an active military post. This year’s event features the Christmas meal from 1933 and will include roast turkey with white house dressing, snowflake potatoes, creamed peas, Westchester corn, candied sweet potatoes, fruit cake and more. Guests are encouraged to dress in 1933 attire. Later in December, Buffalo Bill Ranch State Historical Park in North Platte invites people to kick up their heels with Santa and Buffalo Bill Cody during Christmas at the Cody’s. In the spirit of Buffalo Bill’s warm Western hospitality, nightly events from Dec. 20-23 include horse-drawn hayrack rides, roasted chestnuts, hot apple cider and visits with Santa. At Homestead National Monument of America near Beatrice, families can see sparkling displays of some of Nebraska’s first residents—the homesteaders who crossed oceans to settle in a new land under the Homestead Act of 1862. The Winter Festival of Prairie Cultures runs through Dec. 31. Most of Nebraska’s wonderful small towns offer holiday events that run the gamut from ethnic celebrations to living nativity scenes and Santa Claus visits. For instance, Brownville’s Old Time Christmas features music, holiday food, shopping in the village boutiques and special entertainment. And Minden has earned a reputation as Nebraska’s Christmas City. The town’s spectacular Christmas Lights on the Kearney County Courthouse can be seen for miles, and its “The Light of the World” Christmas pageant is performed by local residents every year. Historic Nebraska City is starting a Yule Fest this year that will run Nov. 30-Dec. 2 and include 14 activities over the weekend such as carriage rides, a yule log ceremony, a Jingle Bell run, tour of lights and lots of shopping! Naturally many of the state’s attractions, such as Omaha’s Henry Doorly Zoo and Aquarium, Stuhr Museum of the Prairie Pioneer in Grand Island and Wessels Living History Farm in York, offer special holiday celebrations. Dates and details for all these events and many more can be found on our website, VisitNebraska.com.