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Famous for its significant oil discovery that started the modern oil industry, visitors now come to Beaumont, TX for the city’s birdwatching, history, hospitality, food, nature, and yes, oil.
And as the holidays near, Beaumont becomes a Christmas boomtown of festive fun for the whole family.
If you’re planning to visit Beaumont this Christmas season, check out our list of 10 things to do in Beaumont at Christmas so you can enjoy all this great city has to offer during the holidays!
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1. City of Beaumont Christmas Tree Lighting
Each year, locals and tourists gather at Beaumont’s Downtown Event Centre Lake to kick off the holiday season with the city’s Christmas Tree Lighting ceremony. The giant tree lit up with thousands of twinkling lights provides a welcoming sight that will surely warm your heart.
In addition, the tree lighting ceremony brings numerous local food trucks, visits with Santa, live music, and fireworks, making this festive event a giant holiday party.
Even if you miss the lighting ceremony, the tree stays lit all season and provides ample festive photo-ops for your Christmas in Beaumont experience.
2. Classic Christmas Movies at the Jefferson Theatre
The historic Jefferson Theatre in downtown Beaumont will remind any visitor of the movie palaces of the Golden Age of Hollywood. The theatre invites guests to relive this bygone era of film throughout the year with regular classic movie nights.
Over the holidays, the Jefferson Theatre comes alive with visitors seeking holiday spirit. The theatre shows multiple classic holiday movies throughout December, making a wonderful Christmas night on the town down memory lane.
With live music and classy concessions sprinkled into the experience as well, you’ll want to add this to your Christmas in Beaumont list.
3. Main Street Market
Looking for the perfect Christmas gift for that special someone? Beaumont’s Main Street Market provides a one-stop-shop for delightful holiday shopping with a variety of local artisan vendors with unique gifts.
With over 100 vendors across Texas and the US, this Christmas Market brings countless visitors seeking one-of-a-kind gifts.
Get your Christmas shopping done all in one place while listening to live holiday music and visiting with Santa in the process!
4. Christmas Bird Count
Birders flock to Beaumont all year for its premier bird watching. If you’re looking for a different kind of holiday tradition for your Christmas in Beaumont visit, consider participating in a local Christmas Bird Count.
A nationwide Audubon Society tradition for over 120 years, each Christmas season passionate birders gather in official areas to count as many birds as they can. In Beaumont you can often sign up for 2-3 in the surrounding areas to get in on this unique holiday tradition each year.
If you can’t join an official Christmas Bird Count, consider participating in your own version of one at Beaumont’s Cattail Marsh, located in Tyrrell Park. Full of wetlands that bring over 250 species of birds annually, the Cattail Marsh Scenic Wetlands and Boardwalk provides excellent bird watching all year.
5. Christmas in Boomtown
A visit to the Spindletop-Gladys City Boomtown Museum is a must any time of the year during your visit to Beaumont. Here visitors can experience the famous oil discovery in 1901 that changed Beaumont and US history firsthand.
A life-size recreated bustling boomtown village awaits, where guests can wander through a replica saloon, post office, working print shop, and re-enactments of the Lucas Oil Gusher discovery.
At Christmastime, the village embraces the holiday spirit with Christmas in Boomtown. Each night visitors can see the boomtown village draped in magical Christmas lights and experience special festivities on weekends in December.
6. Community Christmas Parades and Festivals
Looking for some small-town fun during your Christmas in Beaumont visit? As the holidays near, multiple communities in the area get into the Christmas spirit with some much-loved Christmas parades and festivals each year.
Many of these long-running local events provide festive foods, Christmas markets, live music, and heartwarming parades guaranteed to get you into the holiday spirit.
Here are some of my favorites in the Greater Beaumont area:
- Lumberton’s Annual Lighted Christmas Parade – Lumberton, TX
- Kiwanis Christmas Parade – Orange, TX
- Christmas in the Big Thicket – Silsbee, TX
- Groves Lighted Christmas Parade – Groves, TX
7. Holiday at Ford Park
Popular year-round for concerts and other live entertainment, Beaumont’s Ford Park becomes a winter wonderland in December with Holiday at Ford Park.
Visitors spending Christmas in Beaumont will love gazing upon over 600,000 twinkling Christmas lights throughout the park. Be sure to reserve tickets early for your magical stroll!
In addition, you’ll want to stay to see live reindeer, go ice skating, look for gifts at the holiday market, enjoy live holiday music, and more.
8. Beaumont Civic Ballet’s The Nutcracker at the Julie Rogers Theatre
Locals and visitors crowd the historic Julie Rogers Theatre to see the Beaumont Civic Ballet’s performance of The Nutcracker each holiday season.
An annual tradition for over 50 years, visitors can see this holiday classic beautifully performed in an opulent theatre and enjoy a treasured Christmas in Beaumont experience.
Each production casts over 100 local performers from the Beaumont Civic Ballet’s Junior and Senior Company dancers. This holiday tradition makes for a great date night or family outing!
9. Christmas Tours of Beaumont’s Historic Homes
As a city rich in history, Beaumont provides a number of historic homes that visitors can tour year-round. Each holiday season, many of these historic homes allow guests to step back in time and experience a vintage Christmas of Beaumont’s cherished past:
- McFaddin-Ward House – Beaumont’s most famous and most lavish, visitors can see the McFaddin-Ward house decked out with 100 poinsettias and turn-of-the century holiday decor.
- Chambers House – Tour this stately home and see vintage holiday decorations, cards, and toys from the 1920s-1940s that belonged to the Chambers family.
- John Jay French House – Built in 1845, visitors can tour Beaumont’s oldest home by candlelight at Christmastime.
10. Local Holiday Treats at Rao’s Bakery
A Beaumont institution since 1941, Rao’s Bakery is a lively gathering place for the community all year. Known for its baked goods, desserts, gelato, and coffee, Rao’s has been providing tasty treats for generations of locals, especially over the holidays.
The bakery provides a great place to grab a warm holiday drink or fresh-baked dessert over a break from all the holiday happenings. Strike up a conversation with a local and enjoy the festive ambience provided by Rao’s enthusiastic holiday decor.
Famous for its Christmas cakes and cookies that even Santa would love, you’ll want to add a visit to Rao’s for your Christmas in Beaumont experience. Be sure to look out for holiday baking classes for the kids, too!
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Did we miss any of your favorite things to do in Beaumont at Christmas?
Let us know in the comments so we can add more to the list!