Get Festive in New Orleans!
With Thanksgiving a little over a week away, the upcoming holiday season is on the hearts and minds of many around the country. No matter how you celebrate, we think full-of-light displays like those at Celebration in the Oaks in New Orleans are a magical addition to any wintertime celebration!
New Orleans ‘ Celebration in the Oaks has been delighting locals and visitors alike for nearly four decades. It’s one of the most spectacular light displays in the country and certainly worth visiting. Celebration in the Oaks is not the only reason to make the trip to New Orleans this winter, though!
Winter is a pretty fantastic time to visit New Orleans, especially when you pair your vacation with a stay at a Select Registry Bed and Breakfast. Winter is a pretty mild season in New Orleans, with temperatures topping out in the 60’s. Moreover, the city is quiet and calm in the months leading up to Mardi Gras and other spring festivals, meaning you’ll have more time to linger in restaurants and other establishments and enjoy things like Celebration in the Oaks, without the heavy crowds often pouring into the streets from February – October.
No matter where your adventures take you this winter, you can’t beat the hospitality you’ll find at Select Registry Bed and Breakfasts. Each property boasts its unique character and amenities, but all are dedicated to an excellent experience filled with comfortable accommodations, warm and welcoming hospitality, and delicious meals. With Select Registry Rewards, it makes it even easier to reap the rewards of frequent travel, too! Browse our current member listings, and start planning your vacations today.
Celebration in the Oaks Holiday Lights
Each year, from Thanksgiving through the New Year, the annual Celebration in the Oaks lighted display lights up New Orleans City Park grounds. This year, Celebration in the Oaks opens on November 25, 2021, and runs through January 2, 2022.
During Celebration in the Oaks, the otherwise lovely 25 acres of New Orleans City Park are transformed with dazzling and festive light displays featuring more than one million lights. It’s truly a sight to behold, and one of those “musts” that really should be on your holiday to-do list.
Celebration in the Oaks has been delighting visitors since the late 1980s. It actually serves as a fundraiser for the park’s maintenance during the remainder of the year. Annually, more than 185,000 people take the 2.5-mile lighted drive through this beautiful park. Driving Celebration in the Oaks is expected to take up to 45 minutes per car, which, of course, depends on the day and crowd size.
To keep crowd sizes management and the experience enjoyable, there are only a limited number of tickets per time slot sold to this event, with some dates already expected to sell out. All tickets for this event must be purchased in advance and online.
In addition to the lighted drive at Celebration in the Oaks, there’s also a Carousel Gardens Experience that features 18 amusement park rides and the festive outdoor bar in the Botanical Garden, which is a great place to enjoy some holiday merriment with family and friends.
The Best Things to do in New Orleans
As magical as New Orleans’ Celebration in the Oaks holiday display is, it’s nothing compared to the rest of the city at this time of year. There are so many wonderful things to do in New Orleans whenever you visit. But come the holiday season, you’ll find plenty of unique traditions, heart-warming special events, and dazzling decorations to enjoy, not to mention the rest of the city’s unique attractions.
Whether you’re coming to New Orleans to celebrate the holidays with friends or family or are just looking for someplace to get away, relax, and maybe do a bit of Christmas shopping, New Orleans is a great choice. Here are just a few of our favorite things to do in New Orleans at this time of year:
- One of our favorite things to do in New Orleans on Christmas Eve is to join in the famous bonfires on the levee – which originated to help guide Papa Noel to the city. It’s genuinely a warm, inviting, and magical experience.
- Throughout the holiday season, you can also enjoy frequent caroling on Jackson Square – and trust us when we say there’s something unbelievably magical about singing carols with a group of people in front of America’s oldest cathedral.
- Many of the historic French Quarter and Garden District mansions open their doors for holiday home tours throughout the season.
- If you’re looking for sophisticated things to do in New Orleans during the holidays, consider taking in The Holiday Spectacular, The Nutcracker, or other great shows at the impressive Orpheum Theatre in New Orleans.
- Get in the spirit at the NOLA Christmas Fest at the Convention Center, which features an indoor ice skating rink, ice slides, carnival rides, Santa and friends, gingerbread houses, decorated trees, and more.
- If you’re looking for things to do in New Orleans that are authentic to the city’s history, consider taking an incredible holiday cruise aboard the historic Steamboat Natchez.
- Don’t forget to enjoy one of our absolute favorite things to do in New Orleans at this time of year; shopping! Shop ’til you drop in the French Quarter, the Arts Warehouse District, and Magazine Street.
- Finally, apart from Christmas in the Oaks, there’s nothing more quintessentially New Orleans during the holiday season than feasting with Réveillon dinners. The city’s best restaurants recreate a centuries-old Creole tradition with decadent four-course holiday meals – an unforgettable (and delicious) experience!
- Christmas isn’t the only holiday celebrated in New Orleans! Join in one of the city’s biggest Hanukkah parties at “Latkes with a Twist.”
- Traditionally, there are several Kwanzaa celebrations around the city, led by the New Orleans Kwanzaa Coalition, all working in concert to highlight Kwanzaa’s seven principals (Nguzo Saba).
As you can see, whether you come simply for the Celebration in the Oaks or to participate in the rest of the holiday magic in New Orleans, you’ll be anything but disappointed this holiday season. It’s a truly wonderful winter destination, made even better by our Select Registry Bed and Breakfast in the area. Travel is expected to be busy this holiday season, so make your plans and pick your tickets to the city’s most coveted events today!
New Orleans Bed and Breakfast
Canal Street Inn
The Grand Canal Street Inn and the enchanting live oaks, elms, orange, lemon, and pecan trees await you in this 1912 New Orleans mansion. Harmonious, well-appointed guestrooms invite you to rest and enjoy your journey. Watch the Street Car roll by the oak-lined avenue while you relax on the front porch of our majestic Greek revival mansion.
Experience the refined, classical elegance of a past time when graciousness and simple living were the norms. Meticulously handmade archways and ceilings adorn this 18th century home with romantic stained glass windows and magnificent woodwork. Cozy up in the window seat with a good book or have a glass of wine under the pergola in our lush garden that’s just less than 300 years old. Enjoy our fulfilling country style, southern breakfast in our dining room or on our casual back porch.
