Fall and Christmas Fun in DFW

Here's some of the best things the area has to offer:
1. Grapevine Vintage Railroad--Polar Express train
http://www.tarantulatrain.com/
2. Pumpkin Patch in Flower Mound
3. Ft. Worth Zoo Boo at the Zoo
4. Dallas Arboretum
6. City of Fort Worth Parade of Lights--through Downtown the Friday after Thanksgiving ending with the tree-lighting ceremony
7. Dallas and Ft. Worth Symphonies both have beautiful Christmas programs
8. Radio City Music Hall Rockettes performance at Nokia in Grand Prairie
9. Texas Ballet performances of The Nutcracker at the Dallas Music Hall and the Bass Performance Hall in Ft. Worth.
10. Christmas Lights--neighborhoods all over!
Enjoy, and welcome to D/FW--the potential for holiday fun is truly endless!

For Fall, Flower Mound Pumpkin Patch. Keller does a fun Halloween party usually the week before Halloween for little ones at the park on Johnson Rd. They have prizes etc and it's geared toward younger kids, not scary. Boo at the Zoo at Ft. Worth Zoo again not scary, does cost extra for everyone. But you trick or treat from station to station in a safe setting.
Ft. Worth Light Parade on Thanksgiving Weekend (hint, buy tickets, it's worth it). North Pole Express or Holiday Express train ride(they change the name) in Grapevine starts Thanksgiving weekend.

For shopping, I have to agree that the LD Bell Highschool craft fair is by far the best! They have over 300 vendors. It is always the first Saturday in Dec. & opens at 9am.
I've also heard that the Chi Omega show in Dallas is good (I think it's called Chi Omega Christmas).
North Park mall brings in the BEST Santa Claus for pictures (I think they fly him in every year from CA!).
Downtown Ft. Worth does the Christmas Parade of Lights the day after Thanksgiving that is a fun way to kick off the Christmas season.
Both Dallas & Ft. Worth do the Turkey Trot on Thanksgiving day. We always do the Dallas one and they have both a 3mi & an 8mi route (not sure about the Ft. Worth Trot).
Welcome to the area...it is a great place to be!!

Grapvine is great at Christmas. I really liked the "Polar Express" (which is now called something else). I have been at night and during the day. Both were good but the nighttime train was more magical.
The Gaylord is fun to walk around in, and Main street in Grapevine is always fun!
Here is a link to the Grapevine Christmas site
http://www.grapevinetexasusa.com/FestivalsAndEvents/Chris...

Also, look up Butterfy Flutterbye in Grapevine. I think it is in October? That is fun for the really young kids. It has grown in the recent years so it gets pretty crowded. It is a parade and then they release Butterflys. There is also a costume contest! Really fun to see all the creative costumes.

This is a must do: My girls love it every year!!!!Great pictures and the best staff ever. They are very relational. Have fun!!!

Green Meadows
Oct. 4-24 Lynn Creek Park on Joe Pool Lake
Enjoy an up-close, hands-on experience with more than 200
farm animals. The farm features a variety of animals, tractor-drawn
hayrides, barnyard games and a pumpkin patch. Admission is $12 a
person at the gate. Call 1-800-799-1166 or visit
www.greenmeadowsevents.com.gm/grand_prairie.htm

There is a great pumpkin patch in flower mound, I think it is www.flowermoundpumpkinpatch.com but google it to be sure. we take our kids every year and they love it, even my teen ager. I recommend a weekday if you can or early on a weekend.

Miss Spiders Tea Party at Lets's Pretend Tea Parties.
Oct 25th.
www.letspretendteaparties.com

Not sure where you live but most cities have tree lighting ceremonies that are lots of fun. We live in Hurst and they always have lots of fun things to do..check out city web sites and libraries.

Here are some fun things -
www.flowermoundpumpkinpatch.com
Ice Skating downtown at Thanksgiving Square
Looking at GLORIOUS light displays in Plano and Frisco - some neighborhoods actually have carriage rides to take you through and look at everything without having to drive in the traffic.
The Prestonwood Baptist Church Christmas Show - extravagant and amazing - like a Broadway show
The Neiman-Marcus Adolphus Christmas Parade - films in early December (like you said) then is shown on national TV on Christmas Day
Enjoy Texas - it is a wonderful place to live and the winters are the best! :)
Blessings, S.

Expensive but fun- Gaylord ICE show- Grapevine
everyone will love it- young and old alike!
D.

There is a wonderful pumpkin patch in Flower Mound off of 1171. It is totally free unless you want to purchase something. I think the Tarantula train that runs out os Grapevine does the Polar Express.

I am a 4 year member of the GCS Moms League. GCS stands for Grapevine, Colleyville, Southlake, and the surrounding cities. We do all kinds of things throughout the year including pumpkin patch, and all the parties for Easter, Halloween, Christmas, etc. We also have playgroups for all ages. There are over 150 of us in the GCSML. We are about to start our new year in September with our monthly breakfast meeting. Check out our website at www.gcsmomsleague.org

A fun place to be for lots of unique farm type activities including pumpkins in October and Christmas tree cutting in December is Mainstay Farm in Burleson.
http://www.mainstayfarm.com/

Two weekends in December, Fort Worth area churches put on a huge drive through presentation with 12 live scences. It is held at Trinity Park in Fort Worth and called Celebrate Christmas.
http://www.celebratechristmas.us/

I'm sure you've been inundated with responses, but here are a few suggestions: Fright Fest and Holiday in the Park @ Six Flags in Arlington; Tree Lighting in Sundance Square (Fort Worth); Christmas lights tours (I hear Interlochen in Arlington is awesome, but I've not been. It's also very crowded.); carriage rides in Dallas (through Highland Park, et al) to see Christmas lights. Plus, there are a BUNCH of craft fairs in the fall at the local high schools. If it's not too far for you, the one at Bell High School in Hurst is a great one. I hope this helps!

Fort Worth Zoo also has the zoobilee of lights at Christmas. Check the Fort Worth Chamber of Commerce, they keep a calendar of events as does the City of Fort Worth website. The science museum and the other museums are also a good place to check and any neighborhood churches as well.

Check also with TCU because the sororities and fraternities do stuff too. Our church in the TCU area does an Advent Saturday thing which the kids enjoy, crafts, bounce houses, face painting, games, etc. and they also usually have a fall festival, as do many other churches and most are usually open to anyone attending.

Pumpkin Patch in Flower Mound is fun.

Here is a site to check in when October comes around you can find things to do in the area.

http://www.metroplexbaby.com/The%20Scoop/calendar_of_even...

KLTY 94.9 is a Christian radio station that has a wonderful wesite full of family events and most are free. They update it with great events, just another place to check out when fall and Christmas arrive. :-)

Homestead Farms in Keller is doing a patch. This is a local farm who sells organic and some of their own foods. Look at your local parks and recreation/city for free holiday events too - great events for little ones.

There is usually a big drive through light display in Grand Prairie near Joe Pool Lake. My family does this every year. Six Flags Holiday in the Park is always lots of fun too and you can get some cheap Six Flags tickets usually at that time of year. The NOrth Pole Express in Grapevine is tons of fun like the previous person mentioned. Casa Manana also puts on a Christmas play. This year it's Rudolph.

I also second the pumpkin patch in Flower Mound. There's also a good one in Argyle we've been to as well.

yes i second the pumpkin patch in flower mound!! they have a hay maze for the kids and all the wooden character yard art and they have a hay ride and bounce houses ...i have pics of our family at them if you would like to see some send me a msg and i can e-mail them to you :)