Grapevine, Texas is a go-to destination when planning a vacation in Texas, especially during winter. Grapevine is the perfect place to create wonderful Christmas memories with your family and friends. You’ll be amazed at 40 days of unique and traditional Christmas events, as you see Grapevine sparkle with millions of lights, enormous decorations, animated characters, and much more! As the Christmas Capital of Texas, there are plenty of unique family activities to experience for the holidays. With so many options, it can be difficult to narrow it down so we’ve created a Grapevine winter bucket list to help maximize your holiday time in Grapevine.
Grapevine Winter Bucket List
Visitor Information Center
Located inside Grapevine Main Station in the heart of Historic Downtown Grapevine, The Visitor Information Center is a must for your Grapevine winter bucket list. It is a tiny world of photo opportunities and information all in one place.
Pick up local attraction information, maps, and brochures and speak with a friendly Visitor Concierge who can assist in making your visit easy, enjoyable, and memorable.
Need tickets to Grapevine family-friendly attractions? Stop by and purchase tickets to a multitude of Grapevine attractions and events. Reserve your ride on the Grapevine Vintage Railroad, Grapevine Visitors Shuttle, or Trinity Metro TEXRail.
Capture the magic of Grapevine near one of their expertly-decorated Christmas trees or discover one of the many other holiday displays all at the Visitor Information Center.
Historic Main Street
Historic Downtown Grapevine is like a Hallmark holiday movie set. Anchored by Main Street, this walkable, preserved historic area is home to winery tasting rooms, the Grapevine Vintage Railroad, the Palace Arts Center, the Grapevine Glockenspiel Clock Tower, one-of-a-kind shops, live entertainment venues, restaurants, and art galleries.
Not just a location, but more of a destination, it’s filled with Christmas displays, lights, sleighs, and trees around every corner. It’s the perfect spot to capture your family Christmas cards so dress up in your favorite holiday clothes and explore this magical winter wonderland.
Grapevine Vintage Railroad’s North Pole Express
Create a unique Christmas memory onboard the Grapevine Vintage Railroad’s North Pole Express, presented by Great Wolf Lodge and Trinity Metro TEXRail.
Snug in their pajamas, children’s dreams come true as they climb aboard the magical train bound for the North Pole. Adults can take a ride on the wine trains and enjoy Christmas off the beaten path.
LEGOLAND Discovery Center
Although LEGOLAND Discovery Center, located at Grapevine Mills, isn’t just a winter experience, it’s worth adding to your Grapevine winter bucket list.
LEGOLAND Discovery Center is an entire attraction dedicated to the classic building bricks. This 35,000-square-foot attraction features more than two million LEGO bricks.
Build and time your race car at LEGO Racers Build and Test, or stroll through MINILAND where you can view some of the areas most famous landmarks miniaturized with LEGO brick. With 3 different rides, multiple interactive play areas, and a unique 4D Theater, LEGOLAND Discovery Center is the perfect stop in Grapevine for family fun any time of year.
SEA LIFE Grapevine Aquarium
Similarly, SEA LIFE Grapevine Aquarium is a must any time of year.
You can see all forms of sea life, from starfish to seahorses and sharks to jellyfish, at this 45,000-square-foot aquarium. More than 30 displays housing thousands of sea creatures, featuring both exotic saltwater and native freshwater sea life, anchor this two-story attraction.
The Escape Game
The Escape Game is awesome for all ages. Their 60-minute adventures bring epic stories to life in a one-of-a-kind experience. Even with a baby, we managed to explore and find clues as a family, while adding a little mystery to our Grapevine winter bucket list.
Here’s how it works: You and your team will work together to find clues, overcome challenges, and ultimately complete a mission. Escaping will require teamwork, communication, a sense of adventure, and most importantly: YOU!
Best of all, all adventures only take an hour to complete. You can escape the room and still make it in time for dinner and holiday light shows.
For the most family-friendly experience, go for the Playground Escape Room. Even if your children are too young to understand escape rooms or find clues, they will enjoy the colorful setting and play areas. They might even stumble upon a clue that will help you complete the challenge.
Gaylord Texan Resort & Convention Center
No Grapevine winter bucket list would be complete without visiting Gaylord Texan Resort & Convention Center. Christmas at Gaylord Texan Resort sparkles with holiday spirit. Explore acres of lights, activities, shows, and events. Step into the world of Buddy the Elf in their all-new, Gaylord Hotels Original Experience, Mission: Save Christmas featuring Elf.
Some of our absolute winter-must experiences at the Gaylord are listed below.
Mission: Save Christmas featuring Elf
Christmas is in trouble and Santa needs your help! Journey into Buddy the Elf’s world to help save the holiday in this all-new, multi-sensory experience.
Team-up with Mr. Narwhal and friends in the candy cane forest, stay ahead of the toy quota in the North Pole, prepare for Santa’s arrival at the iconic department store, and take part in an epic virtual snowball fight in Central Park. These are just a few of the fun, interactive challenges you’ll need to complete to muster enough Christmas cheer to power the Kringle 3000 and Santa’s sleigh!
Merry & Light
A Wonder of Holiday Magic & Light at Gaylord Texan conjures cozy feelings of Christmas with a sparkling array of larger- than-life holiday décor and immersive state-of-the-art light elements.
Guests are wowed by an amazing wonderland of one-of-a-kind photo ops and memory making moments melding modern technology with holiday tradition.
Snow Tubing
Nothing gets us in the winter spirit like tubing. At the Gaylord Texan, guests experience eight snow tubing hills covered in two million pounds of real snow! So put on your snow pants and get ready for a winter thrill.
It’s more merry in Grapevine, the Christmas Capital of Texas!
Get ready for the most magical time of year in the Christmas Capital of Texas. With the magic of historic Grapevine combined with the wonder of the Gaylord Texan, you will be crossing off your Grapevine winter bucket list in no time.