Holiday Events for Kids in Denver and Colorado: 6 Best Picks for 2026

Holiday events for kids in Denver and Colorado start on November 6, when the first Polar Express pulls out of the Colorado Railroad Museum in Golden, and close on January 10, when Blossoms of Light goes dark. In the ten weeks between, Denver runs three light shows, a steam train to the North Pole, a zoo lit after dark in Pueblo, and a Victorian house trimmed for Christmas.

GetOut partners with three of those six venues, and the membership covers daytime admission at each. The holiday events sell their own tickets. The table below shows what the membership covers at each stop.

Holiday Events for Kids in Denver and Colorado at a Glance

The Light Shows

Zoo Lights at Denver Zoo

Three million lights go up across 80 acres for the 35th year of Zoo Lights, and the anniversary season brings back displays from the old Wild Lights days. The event runs select nights from November 23 through January 3. Gates open at 4:30 p.m. and close at 9 p.m. Sunday through Thursday, an hour later on Fridays and Saturdays. Thanksgiving and Christmas are dark.

Two price tiers split the calendar. Peak nights run $29.95 for adults and seniors and $22.95 for youth. Value nights drop both to $25.95 and $18.95. Children 2 and under enter free on either.

Peak dates start November 23 through 25, then November 27 and 28, December 3 through 5, 10 through 12, 17 through 24, and 26 through 30. Value nights land on November 29 through December 2, December 6, 8 and 9, 13 through 16, and January 2 and 3. Between the tiers sits a $4 gap per ticket, which adds up across four people on a night when the light show looks the same.

Tickets go on sale November 5, and members get first access on November 2 with 10% off.

Eighty acres is a long walk for short legs. The Zoo Lights Bundle answers that with two ride vouchers for the Denver Zoo Railroad or the Conservation Carousel, plus a souvenir cup of hot cocoa, priced $28.65 to $44.95 depending on the night. One carousel ride halfway around resets a tired four-year-old.

Three theme nights sit inside the run. Gothmas on December 8 and 9 leaves the traditional cheer at home. Dickens Nights on December 14 through 16 invites pajamas straight out of a Victorian novel. Summer in December on December 28 through 30 swaps the winter theme for something warmer.

Blossoms of Light at Denver Botanic Gardens

Blossoms of Light runs nightly from November 20 through January 10, 4:30 to 9 p.m., closing only on November 26 and December 25. Every fixture in the display is LED.

Prices move with demand this year, from $19 to $45 for the public and $16 to $38 for members, with children 2 and under free. Public tickets go on sale November 9 at 10 a.m. after a staggered member presale that opens November 4. Buy early and the same walk costs less. Saturday nights and the days around Christmas sit at the top of the range.

One night is designed for families who find crowds hard. A sensory-friendly evening runs December 1 from 5 to 8 p.m. with capacity capped and the path quieter. A holiday bar opens along the route from December 20 through January 4, closed Christmas Day, for the adults in the group.

Trail of Lights at Chatfield Farms

Chatfield Farms sits southwest of the metro in Littleton, and its light walk threads through the cottonwoods around the old Hildebrand Ranch, with the silo lit at the center of the path. The run goes November 21 through January 3, 5 to 8:30 p.m., with last entry at 8:30 and the gates closing at 9:15. Six dates go dark: November 26, November 30, December 1, December 7, December 8, and December 25.

Tickets cost $13.50 to $30 for the public and $11.50 to $25.50 for members, free for children 2 and under. Of the three light shows, this one asks the least at the ticket window, which matters for a family buying four at once.

S'mores and hot chocolate sell near the entrance, with fire pits and music along the path. Part of the route is not wheelchair accessible without help, so a stroller or wheelchair should start at the welcome center and ask which way the accessible path runs.

The North Pole Train in Golden

The Polar Express at the Colorado Railroad Museum

Three parts make up the evening, and the train is the middle one. It opens in the heated Polar Express Pavilion with caroling, the "Hot Chocolate" song and dance, cocoa, cookies, and a staged reading of the book. Everyone steps outside for the steam locomotive's arrival, boards vintage coaches, and rides to the North Pole, where Santa gives out the first gift of Christmas. The return trip ends with a Silver Bell for each passenger and a visit with Santa in his workshop.

Performances run November 6 through 24 on selected evenings, then nightly from November 27 through December 23. Showtimes are 5, 6:30, and 8 p.m., with arrival suggested a half hour ahead for the preshow. The whole evening takes two to two and a half hours.

Standard seating costs $80 for ages 2 through 15 and $100 for ages 16 and older. Lap riders under 2 come free. First Class tables of four run $475, and the new Preferred Viewing tables run $505 with center-stage pavilion seating and the clearest view of the North Pole from the train. Every performance before Thanksgiving takes 10% off. Pajamas are encouraged; layers matter more, since the walk between pavilion and platform happens outdoors.

Tickets have sold out in advance every year since 2020, and the run ends December 23, which leaves three weeks of evenings.

A GetOut membership gets you into the museum once for the year, redeemed on arrival, and the museum opens Tuesday through Sunday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. with more than 100 locomotives spread across a 15-acre railyard. The train ride is a separate ticket. The membership covers a daytime museum visit. That daytime visit works as its own outing, and our winter day trips from Denver that stay open when the passes close put Golden on the same loop. A family that drives east on I-70 to see relatives over the holidays can see which venues the GetOut Kansas City membership opens on the other end of that trip.

Holiday Nights in Pueblo

ElectriCritters at Pueblo Zoo

Light displays fill the zoo grounds after dark for Southern Colorado's holiday show, which opens November 27 and runs Fridays through Sundays until December 13, then nightly December 17 through 23 and December 26 and 27. Hours run 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. with last admission at 8. The show closes December 24 and 25.

Adults 18 and older pay $9.50 online and children pay $7.50, with those 2 and under free. Gate prices run a dollar higher. Snow, rain, or a clear sky, the event runs regardless; the train depends on the weather, and substitutions are offered when it stalls.

Santa Sundays bring Santa to the grounds on November 29 and December 6, 13, and 20 from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m., camera welcome. Two quieter nights sit inside the run: a members-only evening on December 14 and a sensory-friendly night December 15 with smaller crowds, softer music, and less blinking. An adults-only night on December 16 costs $20 and includes a drink coupon and 3D glasses.

ElectriCritters needs its own ticket. Zoo admission on a GetOut membership is a daytime admission, valid once for the year, so the light show and the animals make two trips.

A Decorated Victorian House

Molly Brown House Museum

Margaret Brown's house on Pennsylvania Street dresses for the season, and a self-guided tour covers the parlors, the exhibits, and the Titanic history that made her famous. Doors open Wednesday through Sunday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., with Thursdays running until 7 p.m. Last entry comes an hour before closing.

One self-guided admission comes with a GetOut membership for the year. Guided tours cost extra. Winter Teas run separately at $55.10 and pair a high tea with a walk through the decorated home, which suits a grandparent and one older child better than a family of four.

Ages 6 and up get the most out of this stop. The rooms are small, the tour runs quiet, and the stories carry it. An active hour afterward balances that, and our list of indoor sports spots to try in Denver covers where to burn it off on a cold afternoon.

New Year's Week With Kids in Denver

The week between Christmas and New Year's draws the heaviest crowds of the season, and the calendar thins out fast after December 25. Zoo Lights runs through January 3 and stays open on December 31. December 26 through 30 sits in the peak tier, with the Summer in December theme on the last three nights. January 2 and 3 drop to value pricing, making the first weekend of the new year the cheapest night of the entire run.

Blossoms of Light keeps going through January 10, so the gardens stay lit after the decorations come down at home. Trail of Lights closes January 3, with New Year's Eve and New Year's Day both inside the run. Families who spend the break on skis can see what the GetOut Utah membership opens near the resorts.

Two stops end earlier. The Polar Express finishes December 23 and ElectriCritters finishes December 27, which leaves the light shows as the options for a New Year's week outing. A December 31 visit to Zoo Lights or Trail of Lights puts kids in the middle of the holiday with no midnight bedtime attached.

How to Plan the Holiday Weeks

Five of the six events sell a ticket tied to a date, and the ones with hard capacity run out before the season peaks. The Polar Express sells by performance and has sold out in advance every year since 2020. Blossoms of Light and Trail of Lights sell by entry time, ElectriCritters by night. Zoo Lights opens its own ticket sales on November 5.

Most of the discounts sit in the first half of the season. Polar Express tickets run 10% less before Thanksgiving, and weeknights in early December price below weekends near Christmas. Value nights at Zoo Lights cut $4 off every ticket.

Each ticketed event closes on certain dates. Zoo Lights closes Thanksgiving and Christmas. Blossoms of Light closes November 26 and December 25. Trail of Lights closes six dates across the run. ElectriCritters closes December 24 and 25. The Polar Express skips Thanksgiving evening and ends December 23.

Cold is the one thing to plan around, since every light show is an outdoor walk in December and the Polar Express moves between pavilion and train in the open air. Boots and gloves for everyone. A night when the temperature drops below what the kids will tolerate has an answer in our guide to indoor activities for kids in Denver and Colorado.

Pueblo sits outside the metro, south on I-25 past Colorado Springs. Pairing ElectriCritters with a daytime zoo visit on the membership turns the drive into a full day out, and a family that keeps going south for the holidays can line up the other end of the trip with the GetOut New Mexico and West Texas membership.

Frequently Asked Questions

Which of these holiday events come with a GetOut Colorado membership?

Each of the six events sells its own ticket. What the membership covers is daytime admission at three of the venues: the Colorado Railroad Museum, Pueblo Zoo, and the Molly Brown House Museum. The Polar Express train ride, ElectriCritters, Zoo Lights, Blossoms of Light, and Trail of Lights are all separate purchases.

Which stop suits a toddler?

Trail of Lights has the lowest ticket price, and children 2 and under enter free at all three light shows. Zoo Lights works with the bundle, since the carousel and train break up the walking. The Polar Express runs longest, at two to two and a half hours.

When is the cheapest night to see the lights?

Trail of Lights starts at $13.50 per ticket. Zoo Lights value nights run $25.95 for adults and $18.95 for youth, and January 2 and 3 fall in that tier. ElectriCritters charges $9.50 for adults and $7.50 for children all season, with a dollar added at the gate.

Which dates are closed?

Zoo Lights and Blossoms of Light both close November 26 and December 25. Trail of Lights closes November 26, November 30, December 1, December 7, December 8, and December 25. ElectriCritters closes December 24 and 25. The Polar Express runs through December 23 and skips Thanksgiving evening.

Do any of these events run after Christmas?

All three light shows do. Zoo Lights and Trail of Lights run to January 3, and Blossoms of Light runs to January 10. ElectriCritters closes December 27 and the Polar Express closes December 23, so the week after Christmas belongs to the light shows.

Plan the Season With GetOut

A GetOut Colorado membership costs $49.95 for the year and reaches more than 80 venues around the state, three of them on this list. Elitch Gardens is the one premium add-on, at $74.95.

Each partner venue takes one admission on the pass, which leaves the ticketed holiday events to buy separately. The pass covers the rest of the year as well, opening the climbing gyms, bowling alleys, museums, and fun centers that fill the school breaks on either side of December. Families driving north on I-25 to Nebraska for the holidays can check the GetOut Nebraska membership for the same on the other end of that drive.

The calendar decides most of this. Polar Express seats disappear first, and Zoo Lights prices climb toward Christmas.

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