12 Festive Things to Do in Columbus This Holiday Season

Holiday Lights
Easton Town Center once again kicks off the holidays with its Grand Illumination tree lighting Nov. 14, followed by a Menorah lighting Dec. 15. Throughout the season, holiday shoppers can visit with Santa Claus and enjoy more than 2 million lights spread over multiple Easton Town Center properties. 

“People might get overwhelmed while holiday shopping,” says Emily Garvey, Easton’s marketing director who leads planning for the center’s holiday events, “so they can just come and stroll along and be part of the festivities. It gets you in the spirit.” 

Holiday magic will also fill the sky above The Yard at Easton Town Center, just not in the form of a jolly old man and his reindeer. The Easton Holiday Drone Show on Dec. 11 features 200 remotely controlled drones flying in unison, creating patterns such as Santa Claus and poinsettias.

During the Ohio Statehouse Holiday Festival and Tree Lighting on Dec. 4, our state leaders take second billing to Santa Claus, who is welcomed to the stage before a switch is flipped to illuminate a 50-foot tree. Set within the statehouse’s 4,068-square-foot atrium, the tree features both classic and contemporary decorations. Mike Rupert, communications manager at the Capitol Square Review and Advisory Board, which manages events at the statehouse, says the tree lighting dates to about 1905. 

“There’s a lot of tradition to it,” he says. “It’s free and open to the public, and it’s a great way to kick off the season.” 

Conservatory Aglow at Franklin Park Conservatory and Botanical Gardens arrives Nov. 22 through Jan. 4, dazzling visitors with holiday displays and thousands of lights. Check out the whimsical penguin village, walk through a 100-foot-long light tunnel and see a tree decorated with 1,400 ornaments. This year also brings the addition of rentable igloos for enjoying food and drinks in the Bonsai Courtyard. Embrace your wild side at the Columbus Zoo’s Wildlights from Nov. 21 through Jan. 4. New for this year are 10 light sculptures in the zoo’s new North America Trek.

Family Events
Science is baked into everything COSI does. That spirit colors the museum’s Season of Celebrations holiday tree exhibit, where visitors might find an origami tree that hides a lesson about mathematics or one with a radio built into it. The 60 themed trees (50 designed by local nonprofits and businesses and 10 designed by COSI staff) decorate the museum’s traveling exhibition space Nov. 22 through Jan. 4. Season of Celebrations dates to the 1960s, and after a 23-year hiatus, it returned in 2022. 

“We felt this call back to tradition and a desire to repeat what we had done in the past,” says Josh Sarver, COSI’s chief experience officer and vice president of exhibits and programs. “Going to COSI was a family tradition for us when I was a kid. Now I can bring my son to have that experience.”

Downtown Columbus’ Wanderlights features decorated trees and holiday displays. This walking trail through downtown starts at Columbus Commons, which is decked out with shining lights. Follow the lights down West Town Street to spot over 20 life-size glowing penguins that guide you along the sidewalk toward the Scioto Mile riverfront. Unlike most light displays, Wanderlights runs well past the holidays, spanning Nov. 21 through Feb. 15. 

“The idea is to not make it solely about the holiday season, but to embrace winter and make things feel interesting in an otherwise dark season,” says Ashley Myers, director of Columbus Commons.

Head to Bicentennial Park Dec. 6 for WinterFest Columbus. The festival features live music acts, which have included Austin & the Syd Experience and the Rumpke Mountain Boys in past years. Don’t miss the breweries and food trucks on-site too. Soak up the daytime sights at Franklin Park Conservatory and Botanical Gardens during Holiday Blooms. Check out the exhibit’s five vignettes where over 1,000 poinsettias spanning 10 varieties are paired with other plants.

Arts and Shopping
Finding the perfect gift is tough, but German Village is a great place to start looking, especially during the annual Village Lights on Dec. 7. To give back to the neighborhood’s small businesses, residents go all out decorating their homes with lights. 

Rachel Lewellen, the German Village Society’s communications and membership engagement manager who helps organize the event, says some of the best moments are found strolling the 233-acre neighborhood’s brick streets. 

“There’s a surprise around every corner,” she says. “A resident might have a choir singing in their front yard. The business’ will be handing out hot chocolate or roasted nuts. It’s a beautiful time.”

Ohio Designer Craftsmen’s Columbus Winterfair has been a great way to shop handmade gifts for nearly 50 years. Held Dec. 5 through 7 at the Ohio Expo Center’s Bricker Building, the fair features over 300 artists from 22 states. There is also a gourmet marketplace with farmers-market-style food vendors and a wine cafe. Part of what makes Winterfair so special, according to fair coordinator Roxanne McGovern, is the number of artists who have been part of the event every year since 1976. 

“At Winterfair, you are shopping from the artist,” McGovern says of the annual event. “You can talk to them about custom work or different sizes. It is a real opportunity for art lovers.”

Downtown Columbus’ Wandernights brings extra cheer to the Wanderlights display at Columbus Commons on Dec. 5 , 6, 12 , 13, 19 and 20. On these nights, visitors can enjoy free hot chocolate, visit with Santa Claus and check out the Good Market at Columbus Commons.

Knock out your holiday shopping while strolling through one of Columbus’ hippest shopping and arts spots during the Holiday Hop on Dec. 6. This festive edition of Short North Arts District’s Gallery Hop sees High Street decked out with lights, street vendors and extended hours for many local shops. 

WHEN YOU GO
For more information about these and other events in Columbus this holiday season, visit experiencecolumbus.com.

Holiday Lights
Conservatory Aglow
fpconservatory.org

Grand Illumination and Holiday Drone Show
eastontowncenter.com

Ohio Statehouse Holiday Festival and Tree Lighting
ohiostatehouse.org

Wildlights
columbuszoo.org

Family Events
Holiday Blooms
fpconservatory.org

Season of Celebrations
cosi.org

Wanderlights
downtowncolumbus.com 

WinterFest Columbus
winterfestcolumbus.com

Arts and Shopping
Columbus Winterfair
winterfair.org

Holiday Hop
shortnorth.org

Village Lights
germanvillage.com

Wandernights
downtowncolumbus.com 

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