25 Days of Christmas in KC

This holiday season, celebrate with a Kansas City Christmas countdown!

• Commit a random act of kindness. Pay for the next customer in line. Go caroling at a local nursing home. Adopt a child from Angel Tree and buy gifts. Donate to Harvesters. Look for ways to bless others throughout the holiday season.
• Celebrate a Dickens Christmas. For more than three decades, Kansas Citians have been enjoying A Christmas Carol at the Kansas City Repertory Theatre, showing through Christmas Eve. The holiday production features beautiful music, ornate sets and costumes transporting the audience to Dickens’ England, and an unforgettable telling of the beloved Christmas tale.
• Experience WinterFest. Thousands of sparkling lights transform the park with an inviting glow that warms the heart and lifts the spirit. Witness 10 live shows, meet over 16 iconic holiday characters, join 9 holiday activities like ice skating and cooking decorating, ride select park attractions, and create lasting memories with family and friends on weekends at Worlds of Fun's WinterFest. 
• Walk through a Winter Wonderland. Festival of Lights on weekends Dec. 1 - Jan. 7 at Powell Gardens, is a lighting exhibition, artfully curated by the Powell Gardens Horticulture staff, the Festival of Lights includes botanically-themed lighting displays that begin at the garden entrance and stretch along a winding pathway through six of the seven themed gardens.
• Have Christmas fun at Crown Center. Celebrate Christmas at Crown Center. Visit Crown Center’s Gingerbread Village and take a photo with Santa. Then, watch A Charlie Brown Christmas at The Coterie. Create your own holiday cards and decorations at Kaleidoscope or watch Santa dive at Sea Life and enjoy holidays at Legoland Discovery Center. Ice skate at the Crown Center Ice Terrace and take photos under the 100-foot-tall mayor’s Christmas tree.
• Make a Christmas Wish. Visit Kansas City’s own Fairy Princess Dec. 13-17 at her NEW home at Kansas City Museum at the Historic Garment District. 
• Shop for gifts. Legends Outlets has something for everyone on your list! Their beautifully lit Christmas tree is one of the region’s first and largest displays of animated lights synchronized to music.
• Celebrate aboard a Christmas Train. The Kansas City Southern Holiday Express will be at Union Station Dec. 15-19. Stroll through the decorated train and visit Santa Claus and his elves.
• Ride the Downtown Dazzle Trolley. Downtown Dazzle: Holiday Trolleys run Saturdays from 5-9pm Nov. 25 - Dec.23. Hop on the FREE Downtown Dazzle Holiday Trolleys for a scenic ride up and down Kansas City’s Grand Boulevard. Between the KC Streetcar and our Holiday Trolleys, getting around during Downtown Dazzle is easy and free. The dazzling light installations in Washington Square Park run through Jan. 1. Wander through Crown Center’s magnificent holiday lights and then make your way across Pershing Road, immediately north of Crown Center, to stroll through the Downtown Dazzle holiday lights. 
• Take a spin on the rink. Read our guide to Ice Skating in Kansas City for wonderful indoor and outdoor rinks.
• Remember toys of Christmas. The best place in town to celebrate toys is the National Museum of Toys and Miniatures. On Dec. 2, they open the museum’s 9-foot-tall Coleman dollhouse, decked out for the holiday season. On Dec. 17, Father Christmas visits with interactive tales of Old Saint Nick in the museum’s historic Tureman Education Center.
• Play in a giant gingerbread house. Paradise Park is home to a bigger-than-life creation: a giant gingerbread house with a laser light show, awesome holiday music and indoor snow, creating an enchanting, fairy tale memory your whole family will love!
• Walk through the luminaria. Visit the Overland Park Arboretum for their Holiday Luminary Walk (he luminary walk will be held from 5 - 9 p.m. Friday and Saturday, Dec. 1-2 and Dec. 8-9.).
• Step back in time for an old-fashioned Christmas. On Dec. 9, attend Christmas Celebration at Missouri Town 1855. Skilled interpreters share the customs of French, English and German settlers. Enjoy carolers, hot tea and a visit from "Belsnickle".
• Put on pjs and drive through Christmas lights. Bundle up and bring some cocoa and cookies on a drive through the best lights in Kansas City. You’ll find our top picks here.
• Bake goodies for your friends. Let each member of the family choose one favorite on your must-bake list and bake together. Then, deliver the goodies to your friends and loved ones. For new ideas, you’ll find our favorite recipes here.
• Watch your favorite Christmas movies. Union Station is showing favorites on their Extreme Screen for just $3/ticket. Nov 17-22 - National Lampoons Christmas Vacation. Nov 24-30 - Elf. Dec 1-7 - Home Alone. Dec 8-14 - Polar Express in Your PJs.. Or enjoy a date night for grownups at the Alamo Drafthouse Cinema (Drafthouse.com/kansas-city), where they show holiday classics at their holiday viewing parties, complete with thematic food, drink and pre-show games.
• Sing Christmas carols. The Mid-Continent Public Libraries are hosting holiday events all month long, including Christmas concerts and sing-alongs with favorite children’s performers and local musicians.
• Make old-fashioned decorations. Cut out paper snowflakes using coffee filters for a delicate and pretty effect. Make a paper chain using scrapbook paper for whimsical holiday designs. String popcorn and cranberries and decorate your yard, leaving the garlands as a treat for squirrels and birds.
• Drink hot cocoa. You can enjoy decadent gourmet cocoa at Panache Chocolatier on the Country Club Plaza, Mud Pie in the Volker District or Quay Coffee in City Market. 
• Paint footprint reindeer or snowmen. Head to a local pottery shop, like Paint Glaze & Fire or Ceramic Café, where you can paint your own ceramics for Christmas—perfect for your own decorations or gift giving.
• Wear ugly Christmas sweaters. Then head out for a night of light seeing or window shopping and take silly family photos.
• Go sledding. Discover the best sled hills in KC here.
• Try something new. The KCParent.com calendar is overflowing with ideas for holiday fun. Choose a new event to try as part of your celebration this year.