Treasure Valley Christmas Calendar 2019
You don't have to look very far to find Christmas cheer in the Treasure Valley in the weeks leading up to Santa's big day! From tree lightings and parades to Christmas movies and ice skating, there's something for everyone!
To learn more about an event, click its name to get the full details on what you need to make that day merry and bright! We'll add more to the calendar over the coming weeks!
Know of something Christmas-y we missed? Click HERE to submit the title of the event, a brief description and link to the event. We'll be happy to add it to the list!
Santa arrives at the Boise Towne Square Mall on November 8 and will be available for photos daily (with the exception of Thanksgiving Day) through Christmas Eve. Pet pictures and sensory friendly visits with Santa will be offered in 2019.
More than 450 trees will be wrapped with over 43 miles of beautiful Christmas lights! The scented wax empire will flip the switch to turn the lights on at 6:15 p.m., but you're invited to join the celebration and foodtrucks between 5:30-8 p.m. And yes, the light tunnel will be back again this year!
Whether you’re spending your evening on the ice as a romantic date night or a fun night with the family, The Village is the perfect spot to lace up your skates. Warm up by one of the Village’s multiple fire pits or with a warm drink from Royal Coffee Co. afterwards. The rink is open, weather permitting, through January.
Santa arrives to light as the giant Christmas tree in Fountain Square lights up at the Village at Meridian. This year’s theme is “Heroes Holiday” and will feature patriotic singers in addition to Santa and other costumed characters The event begins at 6:00 p.m.
TSO has completely reworked it’s Christmas Eve and Other Stories show for 2019 and Boise gets one opportunity to see the new production, staging and effects!
The City of Caldwell will flip the switch on nearly one million lights that they've strung across the beautiful Indian Creek Plaza and actual creek. In addition to the lighting, the festival includes live music, a visit from Santa, Kid Play Land and ice skating on Idaho’s first Ice Ribbon! The event runs 5-10 p.m with the tree and creek lighting at 7:30 p.m.
Why wait until TBS’s Christmas Day marathon to see Ralphie go after this Red Ryder BB Gun? The Parker family’s antics come to life in the Tony Award-winning musical version of this Christmas favorite as part of the Morrison Center’s “Broadway in Boise Series” during five special performances.
The annual Boise tradition is back along Bannock and Jefferson Streets. This year’s “The Most Wonderful Time of the Year” themed parade has a very special grand marshal, former BSU President, Dr. Bob Kustra The parade begins at 10 a.m.
For some unknown reason praying for snow to blanket Bogus Basin and drinking craft beer just seem to go hand in hand with each other. Over 40 breweries, local ski resorts, The Shed, Bar Gernika and more team up to take over the corner of 6th and Grove from 12-8 p.m. In addition to enjoying the latest winter ales, the fest also includes a rail jam, live DJ and more!
Who says you have to go to Vegas to experience a jaw-dropping, circus show set to holiday music performed by a live symphony orchestra? Get ready to be dazzled right here in the Treasure Valley. Performance begins at 7:30 p.m.
The Boise Centre on the Grove turns into a winter wonderland November 21-26! The showcase of trees, wreaths and holiday decor benefits the women's mobile outreach program. Get tickets early for the black tie Gala that kicks off this year’s festival on Tuesday, November 26 or come watch the big finale at the fashion show on Monday, December 2.
Over 400,000 twinkling lights bring the Idaho Botanical Garden to life daily 6-9 p.m. Over the holiday season the display includes special visits from Santa, our friends from Capes & Crowns and special Winter Solstice Weekend activities. This year, they’re adding a 21+ area to the upper gardens on December 11 and 18 for “Wine Wednesdays”
Once you wrap up your shopping welcome Friday, November 29 from 5-6:30 p.m. The Downtown Boise tree will be lit up on the Grove during a celebration with carols, candle-lighting, live music, food and drinks. You’ll also have a chance to pay it forward to the Women’s and Children’s Alliance by grabbing a wish tag off the giving tree.
The 2C’s winter showcase is more than just a gallery of Christmas trees. The Ford Idaho Center transforms into a winter wonderland of custom-designed trees, centerpieces, wreaths and decorations. The event also includes a special breakfast with Santa! Back by popular demand? A Christmas themed Paint N’ Sip night! The festival wraps up on Sunday, December 1 but the fun continues through the Gala Dinner and Auction on Monday, December 2.
Nampa is stepping up their Christmas Tree Lighting ceremony to include a full day Christmas Market inside of Lloyd Square’s long building from 12-5 p.m. Leading up to the tree lighting ceremony, there will be selfies with Santa, free carriage rides and Christmas stories with Mrs. Claus. Entertainment at the Tree Lighting starts at 5:15 p.m. and the lights will flip on at 6 p.m.
Spend Thanksgiving weekend with Buddy the Elf at the Egyptian. Boise Classic Movies will host two showings of the Will Ferrell Christmas classic. The showings are scheduled for 4:15 and 8 p.m.
The Canyon County Historical Society’s Christmas events are seriously some of the best kept secrets in the Treasure Valley. That said, they’re also huge fundraising events for an amazing group so we want to make those events no so secret anymore! Christmas Tea at the depot is your chance to enjoy pastries and cakes bursting with flavor, the finest teas and explore the Festival of Wreaths while being serenaded by Dickensian carolers.
Didn’t we tell you the Canyon County Historial Society comes up with some of the most creative Christmas events in the Treasure Valley? They’ve teamed up with a local professional photographer to take a portrait of you in front of the Train Depot and Nampa Christmas Tree during your private Carriage Ride down Front Street.
Is it truly Christmas without the smooth sounds of Kenny G’s Christmas album Miracles: The Holiday Album? It’s been a part of our family’s Christmas for as long as we can remember. See Kenny G perform those Christmas favorite live at 8 p.m.
Meridian based running shop, The Pulse, is hosting the Candy Cane Stroll in conjunction with the Meridian Winter Lights Parade! The 1.25 mile fun run sends you down the parade route before the floats. Make sure you wear an ugly sweater, because race participants who go all out will have a chance to score some great prizes!
The Meridian Winter Lights Parade is back for it’s sixth year on Friday, December 6 at 6:30 PM. Watch over fifty lighted floats, trolleys, dance teams and bands walk through a Winter Wonderland! Come early to catch a screening of “The Grinch Who Stole Christmas” at 5:30 and 6 p.m. on the outdoor screen next to the main stage. After the parade, the city of Meridian lights their Christmas tree at Generation Plaza.The evening wraps up with a fireworks spectacular!
This is one of the most exclusive Christmas events in the 2C because the Canyon County Historical Society chooses to keep it small to enhance the experience for families who grab tickets. Before the four screenings, your family will get a private visit and portrait with Santa in the Nampa Train Depot Museum’s newly renovated 1942 Caboose before warming up with cookies and cocoa and watching the movie inside the museum.
The City of Eagle welcomes in the holiday season and lights its Christmas tree during its annual Country Christmas celebration. It kicks off at 1 p.m. in Heritage Park with a winter market, photos with Santa and Mrs. Claus, reindeer, horse drawn carriage rides and letter writing to Santa! It all wraps up with the Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony at 5:30 p.m.
Get out of the cold and warm up with the hot, holiday sounds of the Meridian Symphony! They’ll be performing festive sounds of the seasons ranging from classical to pops pieces! Centennial High School’s combined choirs will be joining them on stage for a special performance of Handel’s Hallelujah Chorus. Two performances are scheduled: 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.
Ho ho ho! Santa loads up his sleigh and sets course for the Treasure Valley and all of Zoo Boise's residents! Zoo Boise hosts a FREE admission day from 10 a.m. - 5 p.m. Not only will Santa take photos with your minis, there will be Christmas crafts for the kiddos and a chance to see the zoo animals open their gifts!
2C! Saturday, December 7 is your night to enjoy a holiday parade as over seventy floats make their way down Blaine Street in Caldwell. This year’s “Christmas in Toyland” themed parade is one of the biggest night light parades in the region and will begin at 6 p.m.
It’s the 22nd year of this great Idaho Steelheads tradition! If you’re attending their game against the Allen Americans on December 7, bring a new, stuffed, unbreakable toy with you. Instead of the traditional fish thrown on the ice after the Steelie’s first goal fans can throw those toys on the ice. They’ll be collected for our local chapter of the Marine Corps’s Toys for Tots Programs. Don’t have time to grab a toy? The Steelheads Booster Club will be selling them in the CenturyLink Arena Lobby.
Mannheim Steamroller is almost as iconic as Christmas music itself! Grammy winner Chip Davis’s show of beloved Christmas music and multimedia effects comes to Canyon County!
There’s nothing that screams Christmas music more than the sounds of the symphony backed by the Philharmonic Master Chorale. The Holiday Pops concert brings carols and sing-alongs to Nampa on Friday night and Boise on Saturday.
The Meridian Boys & Girls Club is transforming into the North Pole for a very special day for the kiddos! Stop by for pictures with Santa, cookie decorating, toy building, reindeer games and more from 10 a.m.-3 p.m.
This is an adorable Christmas themed 5K with a fantastic beneficiary. Wear your ugly sweater and get moving to help benefit the Junior Olympics, Nike NXN and FootLocker Cross Country events! The race takes place at Whittenberger Park in Caldwell.
You think you’ve seen this Ballet Idaho show before? Think again! Ballet Idaho presents the beloved tale of Clara, her beloved Nutcracker doll and vivid dream set to Tchaikovsky’s classic “Nutcracker Suite” with completely new sets and costumes in 2019! The show features over 100 kids from the Ballet Idaho Academy along side the professionals during this short residency weekend at the Morrison Center.
Join 107.9 LITE-FM for the 36th Annual YMCA Christmas Run, starting from Boise High! As a runner, I love this one because it’s one of the only races in the Treasure Valley that’s NOT on the Boise Greenbelt. The six mile course takes you up a pretty brutal hill but gives you one of the most incredible views of the city as you cross Highland View Drive onto 8th Street. There’s also a less challenging 2 mile run and 1 mile reindeer dash. Plus, you’ll see the best holiday costumes, carolers, Santa and LITE-FM on the course! Once come across the finish line, warm-up with some yummy soup from Create Common Good and the Boise Co-Op.