From jagged peaks to lush forests hiding rolling plains, Tennessee is a long stretch of natural beauty that wears several different attractive hats. The Volunteer state is home to some of the best vacation getaways in the south, though it is often overlooked when considering remote winter getaways.

While native Tennesseeans may want to keep the awe-inspiring beauty of their wonderful state a secret, we are here to blow the lid off several gorgeous Christmas destinations. Whether you want to spend a week in the iconic city of Gatlinburg or prefer the more quaint feel of a place like Rugby; this list offers every inch of yuletide charm that the Big Bend state has to offer.

Sevierville is a mid-sized town of 18,500 just past the Smoky Mountains National Park and close to Pigeon Forge, Gatlinburg, and other popular destination spots. The lively mountain city has several worthwhile attractions both in the city limits and surrounding it. If you want a quiet, scenic destination with all the amenities a vacationing family could wish for – Sevierville is the place to be.

Inside the city starting December 2nd is the Sevierville tree lighting ceremony which takes place downtown. Kids can enjoy various arts and hobbies at the stations strewn around the event and get pictures with St. Nick. There is plenty of walking foods to enjoy as you make your way through the warm lighting of a festive downtown Sevierville.

The following day you can enjoy a delicious breakfast at one of the many diners, cafes, and eateries in the area before hitting the 11 am parade. The event has been going on for over sixty years now and is a must for anyone in the area. The shops in the area take advantage of this annual celebration by keeping their doors open well after the last firetruck has left the main strip.

If you are a tad more graceful than the average bear, you can set your sights on the Smokies Waterpark Resort where they have a very charming skating rink and several fun things to do with an emphasis on the yuletide theme.

Outside of Sevierville, just a bit north in Kodak (there are several towns lumped into each other around this area) you can spend some time at Smokies Stadium. The stadium offers a drive-through light show that will span about a mile or more in and around the facility. The event begins in mid-November and will continue until the New year, so you won’t have to stress about missing it.

Just south of Sevierville lies the year-round tourist destination of Gatlinburg. While it may only contain around a few thousand people, the town is stuffed full of holiday activities that will keep you busy throughout December. The town sits in the serene peaks of the Great Smoky Mountains and is a sight for sore eyes in its own right. Next door is Pigeon Forge, a slightly larger city that hosts just as many attractions that will break up the minutia of Gatlinburg.

If you come early in the month of December, you can catch the Fantasy of Lights parade on the 2nd which is host to countless Christmas lights, dozens of parade vehicles, and an overwhelmingly patriotic Santa offering a wave and smile to onlookers. The parade regularly hosts various country singers who have risen to prominence from a state that invented the genre. A bit past seven you can also witness the town light its Christmas tree before the nighttime parade gets in full swing.

Fans of DIY crafts, art, and everything in between should cut some time out to visit the Great Smoky Christmas Crafts Show. Strewn throughout miles of various shops are a myriad of nearby artists displaying a dazzling collection of self-made pieces. To see pottery, paintings, artisan creations, and more – visit the arts & crafts community before December 5th, when the creative showcase shuts down for the year.

Ripleys Aquarium has several winter events that feature Santa, sealife, and much more. You can watch Father Christmas and a few of his helpers dive into the aquarium and interact with a colorful spectrum of fish. For kids who have yet to shake hands with the big man, there are also photos with Santa which goes all the way until the 23rd, every day from 10 to 4 pm.

Most cities have their own version of a light show during Christmas, though Gatlinburg – never to be outdone – becomes the light show. Millions of lights make sure the small southern town can be seen from space or the comfort of your car. If you do want an aerial view, the Skybridge at Skylift park is an incredible chance to take in the majesty of the holiday from up high. The sky bridge itself also has a shimmering tunnel outfitted with brilliant lights that is a uniquely memorable experience for any couple, family, or despondent individual.

If the boisterous foot traffic of Sevierville is too much for you, the choice of a modest community of 75 is staring at you in Rugby. Established in 1880, the village has grown little over the years yet maintains pride in its historical roots and goes all out for the holidays. Fans of the outdoors, obscure travel destinations, and rustic old-world architecture will get a real kick out of the small hamlet.

On the first and second Saturdays, the community will have a townwide celebration that brings several activities, food, drinks, and more while keeping the bygone charm it has become known for. There will be plenty of caroling, musical performances, and events to keep you and your children immersed in southern charm. The town remains practical with its food selection, offering food vendors, trucks, and enough sugar to put you down for the rest of the week.

Santa may also drop by to say hello to the folks walking through the enchanting event, as long as you stay on your best behavior. The local Church – Christ Church Episcopal – has an annual seasonal worship that includes several Christmas favorites and talented local performers. The church has been upright for over a century now and is a fascinating time capsule into the 19th century.

The Harrow Road Cafe is expected to have a Christmas Dinner which will run you about $30 for every man, woman, or child in your holiday posse. The price may seem steep, though this holiday dinner is regularly raved over and has three courses all orchestrated by a talented chef they hire just for the occasion.

The area is littered with comfy cabins and elegant Air B&Bs so you don’t have to suffer the indecency of a poorly reviewed Econo Lodge. If you are up to your ears in stress from your daily commute, obligations, and responsibilities – the small candlelit town of Rugby is the perfect panacea to any emotional ailment plaguing you this holiday season.

Bristol is a delightfully strange city for all the right reasons. Largely considered the home of country music, the community is separated between two different cities of the same name that are in Tennesee and Virginia, respectively. Often labeled “Twin Cities” for this very reason, Bristol is a great spot to get away for a while if you can handle its ample population of around 27,000.

Outside of being the birthplace of plucky guitar melodies, Bristol is also home to the Bristol Motor Speedway. The stadium hosts a light show of around three million Christmas decorations, all lit up beautifully in a four-mile stretch. The event is a must-visit for anyone in the area and continues from the 18th of November all the way into the first week of January. Inside the stadium is a host of pop-ups, rides, and much more to give the driver of your vehicle a break.

There is also a skating rink at the speedway as well, which will run you anywhere from 12 to 15 dollars depending on the day of the week. In close proximity are Ripleys Aquarium and Dino Land, so you have plenty of opportunities to escape reality for an extended period of time. If you are looking for things to do, there are plenty within a stone’s throw around the Bristol Motor Speedway.

If you want to get off your feet for a while, you should absolutely check out some of the theatre performances at The Cameo Theater and Paramount Bristol. Shows range from classic Christmas musicals like The Nutcracker performed by the Bristol Ballet Company to Wizards of Winter, which is a list of Christmas songs performed by a very proficient outfit of rock performers. These are only a few of the many holiday shows and no trip to Bristol would be complete without them.

For the more traditional, Bristol has a great downtown Christmas parade as well as a tree lighting ceremony that hosts numerous evergreens of varying sizes resplendent in sparkling colors. If you want to get out of the city for a while, there is a host of outdoor activities in the surrounding countryside.

Opposite Bristol, just along the Northwestern border of Tennesee sits Union city, a tight-knit community of 11,000. Just a few miles shy of the Kentucky state line, Union city is home to one of the most impressive museums in the country and hosts a number of worthwhile winter activities. For those looking for a getaway that isn’t on the eastern edge of the Volunteer State, the ever-modest Union City is a perfect choice.

The Christmas parade is on the 1st of the month and hosts a wide array of traveling food vendors, various shops and peddlers, and an impressive main-street display. The parade is an all-day affair with shops opening their doors around 10 in the morning with accompanying food options joining in the fun an hour later.

The honorary guest of the evening, Santa, will be taking pictures from 4 to 6 pm, with the illumination of the town tree following immediately after. After you have regrettably stuffed yourself with the endless stream of delicious cuisine, the nighttime parade will commence at 7. Throughout the river of cars are bright lights and Christmas colors to help you wind down the evening of food and window shopping.

While in Union City, there is no excuse for those that don’t visit the iconic Discovery Park which is its premier attraction. The massive museum is home to a number of different activities year-round including artist showcases, beautiful outdoor gardens, historical tours, and more. If you have an interest in dinosaurs, cars, space, tech, American history, or anything that is mildly educational – Discovery Park will have an exhibit on it.

It also hosts a drive-thru light show throughout the months of November and December which has the outdoor part of the park transform into a luminescent winter wonderland. There will be tunes throughout the venue, plenty of winter drinks to keep you warm and hydrated, and a workshop full of worthwhile souvenirs. You could forget a town exists around the massive establishment as you waste hours exploring it’s every nook and cranny.

Sitting as an unofficial median between Nashville and Knoxville, Cookeville is a town of 38,000 along Interstate 40. Surrounded by state parks, resorts, and miles of natural beauty – the Tennesee city is a prime destination for Christmas vacationers with a host of fun things to get up to. Regardless of if you want to spend time in the outdoors or lose yourself in the comfort of Christmas decorations, there is plenty to do in Cookeville.

If you feel slighted by the lack of respect towards Dr. Suess during the holiday season, Cookeville has a wonderful two-day event known as the Grinch Festival. From 10 to 4 on the 3rd and 4th of December, you can dress up as everyone’s favorite curmudgeon and possibly win a prize for it. The event is filled with plenty of games, food, and holiday events worth taking a day for.

The food trucks at this festival are some of the best around and give you plenty of chances to sample the famous barbecue that Tennesee is known for. You can shop around for Christmas decorations, souvenirs, and even clothing and accessories. Kids can shake hands with the green guy himself and Santa after a long day of working out their seemingly endless energy.

The Cookeville Performing Arts Center has a small Christmas performance in the early days of December which helps the funding of local performers in the small city. While it isn’t a show on broadway, the charm, and intimacy of the small theatre is a great place to waste a few hours between activities with a great collection of neighborhood talent.

The town tree lighting will take place on the 4th and features a 40-foot tree as well as several musical performances and nighttime distractions. There is a brief light show at the start of every hour that has animated lighting that pulses with the tempo of holiday jams. Fans of holiday locomotives can also spend time at the Cookeville Depot Museum, which offers an open house on the 3rd.

Situated east of the Tennesee River, Savannah is a town of 7,000 with a beautiful downtown and plenty of outdoor activities to keep you absorbed in the surrounding scenery. Just a bit above the divide between Mississippi, Alabama, and Tennesee; Savannah is a beautiful escape on the southern edge of the Volunteer State.

As anyone from the town will tell you, the biggest attraction is their incredible Christmas on Main event which takes place on the first three weekends of December. The entire event is completely free of charge, though you may have to drop a few dollars on some of the games, activities, and food that permeate the charming downtown.

Those that prefer to travel without the burden of using their own appendages will be more than pleased with the endless selection of rides during the affair. Take a trek on a horse-drawn carriage as it trots through the dreamy downtown area, drowning in the warmth of string lights. Snuggle into a seat onboard their downtown train ride that is without a track and finds a similar path along the busy main street events.

You can also take a trip on the Savannah trolley which will run you through the historic parts of the town which have transformed into blocks of Christmas-themed colonial architecture.

The activities extend from ice skating through the rink near the Savannah market, which is open to everyone each Friday and Saturday. Kids can enjoy an assortment of hobbies and crafts in the courthouse where there are stations for the chitlins to waste away hours making food art and getting their faces painted among other fun things. There will be no shortage of music, suspiciously good food, and free showings of movies at the Savannah Theatre. While we don’t want to force anyone’s hand on how they spend their vacation, you should absolutely take advantage of the Christmas on Main.

There is plenty of places to stay in the area that spans from nearby cabins to local inns. The food in Tennesee is as good as anywhere (though perhaps a bit more calorie dense than you may prefer) and there are no shortages of breweries to try once the kids retire for the evening. No one wants to waste a Christmas in the city, so spend it in the cozy Christmas lights of Savannah, Tennessee.

North of Memphis and east of the Mississippi river sits the quiet cutout of Covington. Home to 8,500 the humble city is a great choice for any December departure, especially for those in the area. While it may not have all the glitz and glamour of Memphis, it also doesn’t have the back-to-back traffic and round-the-clock noise. The quiet community hosts a number of Christmas-themed activities and has access to plenty of natural grandeur.

On December 2nd, there is a Covington holiday parade that descends on the heart of the town. Featuring a number of firetrucks, squad cars, and high-flying floats, the parade will start around 5 pm and carry on for about two hours. The parade is a perfect chance to introduce yourself to the center of the city, as it will be where the majority of your time is spent in Covington.

The often overlooked Christmas icon – Charles Dickens – is remembered fondly in the city of Covington. Past the beautiful brick architecture of the downtown strewn with holiday decor is an event for all ages known as the Dickens of a Christmas. The event has people dressed in victorian attire and features several of the memorable personalities in A Christmas Carol.

The downtown fits the bill perfectly as its historic buildings travel you back in time, accompanied by the passersby decked out in their snappiest tophat. If you choose to make the event, be sure and try and dress up or face the wrath of peculiar looks from others in the area. There are carriage rides, Christmas songs, and plenty of food and drinks for the entire family.

Be sure to check out many of the unique shops and hideaways in the historic square. A notable one is the Tipton County Museum, which pays homage to veterans and shows the local history through letters, attire, and much more. Stop into Something Special a gift shop that hosts a number of antiques and worthwhile take-home trinkets. Like any good southern city, the food is exceptional and the barbecue is dangerously appetizing.

Rounding out the list is Collierville, a suburb of Memphis with an ample population of around 50,000. To keep folks out of the cramped downtown area of Central Memphis, we will be recommending a much less populated outer suburb in close proximity to the home of the Blues. While we may feature some of the more attractive holiday events in Memphis, there is plenty to do in Collierville if you never step foot outside of it.

If you enter the city early in the season you can catch the tree lighting in the last days of November. More realistically, the first event you will likely attend is the early December Christmas Parade which starts at White road and concludes just past the local middle school. There are plenty of transient food trucks and drinks to occupy your empty stomach and activities throughout the day.

An annual tradition in the city is the showing of A Christmas Story (the best Christmas film) which features cocoa and free television at the Depot Visitors Center. You can also catch the Miracle on 34th Street at the Harrell Theatre, which will play numerous times throughout the holiday. Once you’ve gotten your fill of holiday classics, you can head to the heart of the town square to see the main stretch illuminated in brilliant warm, orange hues.

The evenings host a number of events throughout, which live musicians performing in the town as well as carolers. After your kids shake hands with ol’ St. Nick, they can enjoy a horse-drawn carriage that creates a clopping perimeter around the main square, soaked in winter lights. If you get there early you can even check out the Morton Museum of Collierville History, just a block north of Town Square Park.

If you want to dip your toes in Memphis water you can fill up your entire month with all the different activities. Whether you want to experience Christmas at Graceland, The lights at Memphis Zoo, or the Enchanted Forest Festival at the Museum of Science and History – there are dozens of fun things to do just east of Collierville.

An amusement park from the country icon that requires no introduction, Dollywood may be the biggest attraction in the entire state. Located in Pigeon Forge (very close to Sevierville and Gatlinburg), Dollywood is an incredible time for anyone at any age and it is especially remarkable in the winter months. If you find yourself near the amusement park anytime in December, reserve a day or two to give it a visit.

In the wintertime, Dollywood is outfitted with a few million lights creating lit walkways and luminescent canopies that encompass the patrons of the park. Some of the seasonal events include a northern light exhibit, a Christmas light show, and even rides through the park in various amusement rides throughout the venue. After you get done, you can check out another great Tennesee event in Pigeon Forge.

From mid-November until well into February, Winterfest is an incredible time for anyone looking for wondrous holiday activities. It’s hard to nail down who exactly Winterfest is for due to it checking off so many boxes. So in the interest of keeping you in the know, here is a detailed rundown of all the festivities.

As a disclaimer, while you can stay in Pigeon Forge – it gets extremely congested during the holidays, so it may prove disastrous on your sleeping schedule and ability to get to events on time.

There are comedy shows throughout the event, and you can take a trip to Guy Fieri’s Flavortown after a country-themed comedy tour. There is rock climbing, massive trampoline pits, mini golf, and several different choices of entertainment. For a thrilling, action-packed experience; check out Beyond the Lens as they show The Polar Express with your seats reeling back and swaying side to side.

You can also take some time to visit a recreation of the RMS Titanic at the Titanic Museum, which is decorated in beautiful yuletide colors during the holiday season. There is no shortage of cabins and hotels to stay at (if you dare) and the food in Pigeon Forge ranges from delicious dives to incredible five-star affairs.

While it is technically in Georgia, the Rock City Gardens are just a couple minutes south of Chattanooga, Tennessee – so we bent the rules a bit. Anyone close to the south of Tennesee should take a trip out to the beautiful natural landscape of the Rock City Gardens. The breathtaking landscape comes alive with varying spectrums of glowing holiday colors adorning the jagged formations in and around caves and scenic backdrops.

There are over a million different lights that make the whole area look like something out of an obscure high fantasy novel, though the several edible accommodations that include hot drinks and Christmas candies will bring you right back to a body-warming reality. Prices differ, from a low of around $15 all the way up to $30 dollars, though that comes with the perk of meeting Santa.

By the admission of several proud Tennesee natives, the Dancing Lights of Christmas is the largest drive-thru light show in the state. It has millions of lights throughout the drive and costs $30 dollars per vehicle. Because of its state-wide renown, it is strongly recommended that folks take the trip on a weeknight to avoid sitting idly in their car for an hour or two.

The event takes place in Lebanon and by their own word is open on all holidays through the year, if you want Christmas in July. Outside of the long stretch of illuminated roadway, there is a petting zoo and a workshop with Santa and various toys and trinkets spread throughout it. So whether you want to simply drive through a field of lights or pat a llama on the head, the Dancing Lights of Christmas is a must for anyone near Nashville.

For those looking to further distance themselves from the city lights, the Museum of Appalachia is a time capsule into a 19th-century mountain community with all the trimmings of colonial society. The entire historic recreation has around 60+ acres with a few dozen cabins and no shortage of old-school amenities and craft stores.

While there you can step into their restaurant to get a bite to eat before perusing a gift shop stocked to the brim with worthy souvenirs. Kids will love the livestock and animals across the plot of land and everyone will enjoy the subtle rustic architecture full of cozy wooden buildings, subtly shifting waterwheels and warm lamplight ambiance.

The museum hosts several presentations by skilled craftsmen from cobblers to tailors and there are Appalachian musicians regularly playing Christmas favorites during the winter time. If you want a simpler experience that lacks no shortage of wonder, the Museum of Appalachia may be perfect.

International Christmas Towns

Looking to travel abroad?