When most of us think of a “Christmas town,” we picture a quaint, slow-paced town rather than interstates and city traffic.

Because Nebraska is made up almost entirely of small towns (the state has over 100 towns with a population between 1,000 and 10,000), it should come as no surprise that Nebraska has many options for a small-town Christmas.

We will start with our 5 favorite places to spend Christmas in Nebraska. But we will also highlight some under-the-radar Christmas destinations, and some holiday points of interest that you won’t want to miss.

We’ll start with an obvious one – Minden, Nebraska is nicknamed “Nebraska’s Christmas City,” and for good reason.

There are very few Christmas scenes with more beauty than the Kearney County Courthouse fully illuminated for the holidays. This is a tradition that goes back for almost a century.

The town’s “Light of the World” Christmas Pageant also has a long history, and the event keeps getting better each year.

Whether you want to roast smores on an open fire, run the Christmas City 5K, or drop your Christmas list directly into Santa’s mailbox, Minden has holiday cheer for everyone.

Be sure to take the 15 minute drive north of town to see “Christmas in the Country” at the Zoerb Farm — a beautiful five-acre light display that you absolutely don’t want to miss.

Next on our list is Nebraska City, the proud “Home of Arbor Day.”

First, Lied Lodge at the Arbor Day Farm is one of the great lodging options in the entire state. It is picturesque any time of year, but it shines brightly during the fall and winter seasons.

Another attraction is the Arbor Lodge Mansion, a historic residence turned state park that takes holiday decorating quite seriously. With “Christmas at the Mansion,” you can see the Arbor Lodge at its most stunning, with vintage decor, Christmas decorations, and Christmas music playing.

The Arbor Lodge Mansion hosts holiday-themed events throughout the Christmas season, so keep an eye out for events like the Elf Hunt, Mystery at the Mansion, and Christmas Tea.

Visitors can also experience the Holiday Trolley Tour of Lights. The trolley will take you to all the best lights displays in town, and both the Tour of Lights and Christmas at the Mansion can be packaged with a stay at the Lied Lodge.

The Tree Lighting at the Otoe County Courthouse is an event that the entire town seems to attend, and the Holiday Tour of Homes is an annual event that is worthwhile for anyone, but particularly for architecture buffs.

North Platte is proud of its connection to Buffalo Bill Cody – his ranch in North Platte has turned into the Buffalo Bill Ranch State Historical Park. So it’s only fitting that a number of North Platte’s Christmas events have ties to Buffalo Bill, too.

Christmas at the Codys’ includes cookies and cider, caroling, Santa, horse-drawn carriage rides, and beautiful lights and decorations at the Cody mansion. The grounds are decked out in lights, making for one of the most picturesque Christmas scenes in Nebraska.

Christmas in Cody Park is the unofficial headquarters of the holiday festivities. Instead of a tree, the mayor lights the North Pole. Movie nights, pictures with Santa, and horse-drawn wagon rides are also provided.

The Christmas Carousel Tour of Homes provides an inside look at some of North Platte’s most spectacular homes. And the “Holiday Road” lights display in the 700th block of E. 10th Street offers a great light show for anybody that would rather remain in the car.

Christmas Village at the Lincoln County Historical Museum is another lights show that belongs on your list.

With a population of nearly 1 million in the metro area, Omaha might be too large to be considered a “Christmas town.” But nonetheless, Omaha is still one of – if not the – best places to experience Christmas in Nebraska.

The German-American Society hosts a “Christmas in Germany” event, which brings authentic food, dancing, and a German Christmas Market to the Midwest.

The Holiday Lights Festival is the city’s name for the Christmas lights displays throughout Omaha, from the Old Market to the Gene Leahy Mall to the illuminated districts of North Omaha and South Omaha. See here for a detailed guide that is worth reading for anyone spending Christmas in Omaha.

The Durham Station hosts “Christmas at Union Station,” which provides holiday concerts, a cultural festival, and a family night with Santa, all set with Omaha’s official Christmas tree as the backdrop. Omaha’s Holiday Poinsettia Show at Lauritzen Gardens is also well worth the price of admission.

If you want to take advantage of Omaha’s superb drink options, check out Mercury (a midcentury cocktail lounge turned Christmas bar) or Segreto (which turns into “Blitzen,” a Christmas-themed pop-up bar). The “Holiday Hut” at the Cottonwood Hotel is another Christmas pop-up bar worth checking out.

Lincoln is an excellent college town, and as the 2nd largest city in Nebraska there is no shortage of Christmas festivities.

The drive-thru lights show at Haymarket Park is a lot of fun, but admission isn’t exactly cheap! For an authentic experience, skip the light show and just spend some time in the Haymarket District, which is beautiful year-round but particularly during Christmastime.

Zoo Lights at the Lincoln Children’s Zoo will be a memorable experience for kids and adults, alike.

And perhaps our favorite thing about Christmas in Lincoln – this Facebook group that works tirelessly to track the top lights displays around town.

This Northwest Nebraska gem hosts the Chadron Parade of Lights and the Kris Kringle Christmas Boutique. Chadron State College hosts a holiday concert, and you can also see The Nutcracker on stage at CSC.

“Country Christmas” is a series of events that take place throughout Northwest Nebraska (including Chadron and the neighboring town of Crawford), and includes events like the Chadron Christmas Cruise, a community tree lighting, and a lights contest.

The highlights of Christmas season in Crawford take place at Fort Robinson, a former Army fort turned 22,000-acre state park.

As the name would imply, “Old Fashioned Christmas Dinner at Fort Robinson” is an 1800s style dinner that honors an era when the park was still a military fort. Tickets for this event sell out almost immediately, so you need to be prepared if you want to attend.

“Light Up the Fort” is a volunteer effort that relies on community members to decorate Fort Robinson State Park with lights and Christmas decorations.

The town also features a Parade of Lights and a downtown Community Tree Lighting.

When we think of “Christmas towns,” many of us picture the setting from a Hallmark movie.

But without Norfolk, Nebraska, Hallmark movies might not even exist! The Hallmark company traces its roots to Norfolk, where the Hall brothers established the Norfolk Post Card Company in the early 1900s.

The town has a beautiful downtown with numerous boutiques, gift shops, and places to dine. Visit Nebraska has a 2 day itinerary that sounds perfect, so be sure to check it out before traveling.

Hometown Holidays Festival features a Santa (and live reindeer) appearance along with a tree lighting ceremony, drone light show, caroling, and live performances of The Nutcracker and a nativity scene. Yuletide Market is another Christmas market that sees a solid turnout annually.

Legacy of the Plains Museum is the center for many of the Christmas festivities in the town of Gering.

High Plains Christmas is a one-day event featuring hayrack rides, bonfires, and a community lunch. Trees Along the Trail (also at the museum) is a tree decorating contest that receives a good turnout each year. Lastly, Yuletide Lights on the Prairie is an event that lets visitors walk through the museum when it is fully illuminated by Christmas lights – no overhead fluorescent bulbs needed!

The town also has a Christmas parade the day after Thanksgiving. Following the parade, Santa’s Village is opened, including a live reindeer appearance.

For a town of less than 5,000 people, Aurora has a surprising amount of cool stuff. 

The Plainsman Museum and Edgerton Explorit Center provide plenty of entertainment options, particularly during the holidays. 

The Explorit Center’s Holiday Hoopla is a successful fundraiser that is a lot of fun, as well. 

Plainsman Museum does “Christmas on the Boardwalk” and the “Winter Wonderland of Trees.” Christmas on the Boardwalk is a retro re-creation of Christmas that involves penny candy at the museum’s general store, ice cream at the soda shop, and exhibits with staff dressed in vintage clothing.

Aurora’s architecture looks great decorated in lights, and the town’s charming movie theater, 12th Street Cinema, holds a free screening of the movie “Elf.” Christmas performances, a live nativity scene, and a lighted tractor parade add to the Christmas cheer downtown.

If you’re looking for an old-fashioned Christmas in small-town Nebraska, “Cowboy Christmas” might be just the event for you. Located at the WJ Ranch, the event features a Cowboy Christmas store, pony rides, a Santa appearance, petting zoo, roping shows, and hayrack rides.

For an off-the-beaten-path family festival, Cowboy Christmas is excellent.

Comstock is a tiny town that goes big for Christmas. Inflatables, Santas, and snowmen are set up everywhere you look, and it really feels like a tiny Christmas town. Just don’t expect many options for cocktail lounges or fine dining!

“Nebraska’s 4th of July City” takes Christmas pretty seriously, too. 

We haven’t fact-checked Seward’s claim about having “Nebraska’s Largest Christmas Lights show,” but the Magical Lights of Seward are indeed magical. This attraction, alone, is worth the half-hour drive for anyone spending Christmas in Lincoln.

Anytime I travel for Christmas, I want to know where to find the best Christmas lights.

For anyone in the Ponca area, there is an easy answer – the Watchorn residence features more than 100,000 lights, 100 inflatables, and was the winner of the 2018 ABC television program “The Great Christmas Light Fight.” See here for more details.

“Santa Goes to Space,” hosted by the Strategic Air & Space Museum, is perhaps the most unique Christmas event in the state. If you want to surround yourself with Santa, storm troopers, space craft, and missiles – this might be the event for you!

If you have the opportunity to attend a service at the Holy Family Shrine (or even just see the building!), this incredible cedar and glass structure is worth the trip from Lincoln or Omaha. If you want to catch a service, be sure to check hours, since it is closed for most holiday services.

International Christmas Towns

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