Every display, parade, living nativity, and hometown celebration worth the drive — from Texarkana to Jonesboro, Eureka Springs to Crossett — mapped and kept up to date by That Arkansas Dad, right here in Conway.
Looking for Christmas lights near you? This is the statewide guide built by an Arkansas dad for Arkansas families: 65 Christmas displays, parades, living nativities, Christmas markets, holiday shows, ice skating, Christmas trains and photo ops with Santa (and even the Grinch) — from free drive-through Christmas lights you can enjoy in your pajamas to walk-through gardens lit with millions of bulbs.
Every listing has verified 2026 dates, hours, prices, family intel (stroller-friendly? food on site? how far you'll walk), an official link, and star ratings from families who've been. Pick your town to see estimated drive times and what’s closest to you, or browse by town below — the best things to do with kids at Christmas in Arkansas, plus where to get pictures with Santa near you, all in one place.
Browse by town & region — tap a town to jump to its top spot:
Pick your town and the list below sorts itself closest first — every card gets an estimated drive time from there. Drive times are honest estimates from road distance — not live routing — so pad a little for traffic and cocoa stops.
Tap a pin for dates, hours, and prices. Colors match the kind of stop:
Pick a date and see every spot that’s lit that night.
Our editor’s picks at launch — the biggest, brightest, most worth-the-drive Christmas spots in Arkansas. As family star ratings roll in, your votes will shake this list up, so rate the spots you visit below.
Every place on the map, all across Arkansas, with the details a dad actually needs. Cards are tagged by the drive from home base in Mayflower/Conway — or pick your town up top and see your own drive times.
Nothing matches those filters — try a bigger drive time, or turn FREE only off.
The Enchanted Land of Lights & Legends in Pine Bluff — 1.3 miles and more than 240 animated displays through Jefferson County Regional Park, the largest drive-through show in Arkansas. It's free (donations welcome) and runs nightly 6–9 PM from November 17 through December 31.
Bass Pro Shops' Santa's Wonderland — in Little Rock and in Rogers — gives every family a free 4×6 photo with Santa from November 8 through December 24, 2026 (reservations at basspro.com/santa, open November 1). Other free Santa photo stops on this page: free photos with Santa at Cabot's Celebrate the Season, Santa's workshop inside the Capitol after the December 5 lighting ceremony, and free Grinch photos at Park Plaza's Grinchmas in Little Rock (expected one Saturday in mid-December, date not yet announced). Mall Santa sets at Park Plaza, McCain Mall, Northwest Arkansas Mall and Pinnacle Hills sell photo packages.
Four good bets: Searcy First Assembly's Living Nativity (a drive-through with about 300 cast members and a built Bethlehem — expected the first two December weekends; 2026 dates not yet officially announced), Bethlehem Revisited at Antioch Baptist Church in Conway (a guided walk-through, expected December 4–6, not yet confirmed), Three Trees Cowboy Church's drive-through nativity in Wynne (December 5–6 and 12–13), and the Live Nativity in Nashville (expected December 11–12, not yet confirmed). Lonoke's Christmas Road to Bethlehem is a drive past lighted painted scenes — beautiful, but not live actors.
Most of them. 44 of the 65 spots on this page are free, including the biggest drive-throughs — Pine Bluff, Finney's Christmas Wonderland in Crossett, Sherwood's Enchanted Forest, Batesville's White River Wonderland, and Van Buren's Christmas at the Parks. The ticketed spots are mostly walk-through gardens (Garvan Woodland Gardens), the Little Rock Zoo's GloWild lantern festival, holiday shows, Christmas trains, and mall Santa photo packages.
Mid-to-late November. Pine Bluff opens November 17, Garvan Woodland Gardens on November 21, and most displays — including Finney's, which opens Thanksgiving evening — are lit by Thanksgiving weekend. Santa photo season starts even earlier: Bass Pro's Santa's Wonderland opens November 8. Nearly everything runs through December 31 (Santa photos end December 24), and a few displays stay lit into the first days of January.
Our family's short list: Finney's Christmas Wonderland in Crossett (a million handmade lights), Garvan Woodland Gardens in Hot Springs (eight million lights and a 50-foot musical tree), the free Creekmore Holiday Express train in Fort Smith, Van Buren's Christmas at the Parks (an 85-foot light tunnel plus ice skating), and GloWild's giant lanterns at the Little Rock Zoo. See That Arkansas Dad's Top 10 on this page for the full ranking.
Pick your town at the top of this page and the list sorts itself closest first, with an estimated drive time on every card. Drive times are honest estimates figured from road distance, not live routing, so pad a little for traffic. You can also tap “Near me tonight” to use your phone's location and see only the spots lit tonight.