By Candyce H. Stapen
What's better than seeing a brilliant light display for the Christmas holidays? Experiencing the dazzle over and over again by staying at a decked-out resort. That way you and your family can spend the weekend — or longer — delighted by millions of glittering lights and engaging entertainment. At select properties across the country, you can drive through miles of twinkling scenes, stroll by scores of masterful ice sculptures, see fields blooming with holiday lights, skate across ice rinks and zip down ice slides. Celebrations begin in November.
During Fantasy in Lights, Callaway Resort & Gardens' 2,500 acres pop with more than 10 million bulbs. The event in Pine Mountain, Georgia, rates as one of the South's top holiday light displays. On a 7-mile drive, ogle 18 festive scenes. Trees robed with lights sync to music, toy soldiers drum and white decorations cascade to simulate snowflakes. In the illuminated Christmas Village, snack on s'mores, browse shops and visit with Santa.
For 31 years, Christmas in the Country, the holiday extravaganza at Grand Geneva Resort & Spa in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin, has brightened the season. This year's event features 2 million lights. Along with a drive-through 12 Days of Christmas light show, a gingerbread house walk and private dining in an ersatz igloo, the resort also offers skiing and a slopeside photo with Santa as well as a meet-and-greet with the jolly fellow and his helpers at the resort's sister waterpark.
Sixteen million lights add dazzle to Arizona's upscale Fairmont Scottsdale Resort & Spa, an AAA Five Diamond property. The property's Christmas tree, strung with 70,000 lights, "dances" to musical tunes, light shows enliven the plaza, a 15-foot-tall princess reigns on the grounds, and the lagoons float pirate ships, whales and other fanciful beings. Get a bird's-eye view of the 65-acre property from a 120-foot-high carousel, and, even in the desert, opt for the winter fun of ice-skating and downhill tubing.
Mountain Lake Lodge in Pembroke, Virginia, sprawls on 2,600 acres in the Blue Ridge Mountains. The historic property, situated at 3,800 feet in the southwestern part of the state, features 22 miles of hiking trails and mountain views. This is also where many scenes from the movie "Dirty Dancing" were filmed.
During Magical Village & Marketplace, the country-comfortable resort shines bright with lights, ice-skating, local artisans and entertainment. At select times enjoy carolers, holiday music Bingo, line-dancing, horse-drawn carriage rides and a Celtic Christmas that features a fiddler, flutist and the Appalachian Highlanders Pipes and Drums. Afterward, cozy up in a room with a fireplace. The resort has many.
Larger-than-life ice sculptures depict whimsical wonderlands at the ICE! holiday extravaganza at five Gaylord Hotels. Master artisans from Harbin, China, carved and colored massive ice blocks to create glistening holiday scenes. The Polar Express, based on the Warner Bros. film, comes to life at the Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center outside of Washington, D.C., in Maryland's National Harbor.
At the frozen extravaganza admire the beloved train, walk through ice tunnels and slip down ice slides. Since it's a brisk 9 F in the attraction, bring hats, gloves and a warm parka, or don one of the complimentary coats. Enjoy caroling and light shows in the hotel's atrium and the family-friendly acrobatic show, "Cirque: Spirit of Christmas." Take time to explore National Harbor's shops, craft market and restaurants.
Four additional Gaylord Resorts present their own ICE! shows. Gaylord Opryland Resort, Nashville, Tennessee, stages "A Charlie Brown Christmas"; Gaylord Palms, Kissimmee, Florida, features "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer"; Gaylord Texan, Grapevine, Texas, showcases "Elf"; and Gaylord Rockies, Aurora, Colorado, showcases "How the Grinch Stole Christmas."
Enjoy the resorts' eye candy and entertainment as part of your family's merry and bright holiday preparations. You may even want to make doing this a new tradition.
WHEN YOU GO
Callaway Resort & Gardens, Nov. 14 through Jan. 4, 2026: callawaygardens.com
Grand Geneva Resort & Spa, Nov. 23 through Dec. 20: grandgeneva.com.
Fairmont Scottsdale Princess, Nov. 21 through Jan. 3, 2026: scottsdakeprincess.com.
Mountain Lake Lodge, Nov. 22 through Jan. 3, 2026: mtnlakelodge.com. Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center, Nov. 14 through Jan. 3, 2026: marriott.com/en-us/hotels/wasgn-gaylord-national-resort-and-convention-center/overview
Other Gaylord Hotels have similar dates: www.gaylordhotels.com.
Candyce H. Stapen is a writer at www.greatfamilyvacations.com.
Follow her on Instagram @candycestapen Twitter @familyitrips (Candyce H. Stapen), www.facebook.com/FamilyiTrips/ and at www.hennyskids.org, her non-profit that brings solar-powered computers and soccer balls to rural schools in Africa.
A family strolls through a Winter Wonderland at the Callaway Resort & Gardens in Pine Mountain, Georgia. Photo courtesy of Callaway Resorts.
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