Disclosure :: this guide is brought to you courtesy of our sponsors Dunham School and Children’s Hospital New Orleans.
2020 Baton Rouge Family Friendly Holiday Events Guide
‘Tis the season to shop, see lights, make gingerbread houses and so much more! Make sure to add these exciting events happening in and around the Baton Rouge area to your family’s calendar this year. Some event details are still unfolding, so check back often for the most up-to-date information for celebrating the holidays in Baton Rouge. Happy Holidays!
Baton Rouge Holiday Guide Featured Sponsors
Dunham School
Even during the busy season of the holidays we want you to know that Dunham School is now accepting applications for the 2021-2022 school year. Prospective students and their families are invited to schedule an in-person or virtual admissions meeting and campus tour at dunhamschool.org.
Children’s Hospital
The Children’s Hospital New Orleans specialty clinic is now relocated to a new, expanded multi-specialty clinic, located in the heart of Baton Rouge’s medical district on the campus of Baton Rouge General Medical Center. The new clinic features 24 exam rooms, 2 treatment rooms and a dedicated room for echocardiograms. The expanded clinic will allow for increased capacity, expanded provider coverage for our pediatric subspecialties, and the addition of mental and behavioral health services. From the CHNOLA BR family to yours we wish you a very happy and healthy holiday season!
Guide to Holiday Events In and Around Baton Rouge
Check out our event categories included below and jump straight to that section by clicking below to see all of the family friendly holiday events in and around Baton Rouge this year!
Holiday Shopping & Art | Holiday Outdoor Fun | Holiday Indoor Fun | Holiday Entertainment
Holiday Shopping & Art
Fall Market at Cedar House Roasting
November 14, 9:00am-2:00pm
We are so excited to have our first Market at Cedar House Roasting. Come enjoy live music, excellent vendors, freshly roasted coffee, and delicious food and treats! We have supervised childcare on site also.
Neighborhood Toy Store Day: WHOVILLE EXTRAVAGANZA
November 14, 11:00am-3:00pm
Visit Giggles as we transform our annual Neighborhood Toy Store Day to a Whoville Extravaganza!
+ “The Mean One” Mr Grinch is coming to visit from 11am til 3pm
+ balloon twisting
+ lead demos of holiday catalog products
+ LOCAL vendors to jump start gift giving… for kids, teachers & more! Stay tuned for those attending!
Specials all day long!
Holiday wish list time! The mailbox will be outside and we invite you to make your wish-lists and “mail it off to Santa”!
Did you know we hang onto those wish-lists? Come back and shop in store or online by name off what they jot down!
As we enter a new normal of holiday shopping, we will be hosting our event outside – except those wishing to shop inside! We ask that you please maintain distance when possible and HAVE FUN!
White Light Night
November 20, 6:00-10:00pm in Mid City
Held each Fall, White Light Night in the Mid City Art & Cultural District is an evening to celebrate local art, food and music. Meet the artists behind some of the latest trends in the city, enjoy live music while you shop and eat in the best establishments the area has to offer.
Ensuring everyone’s safety throughout this evening of celebration of community and art is our first priority. We ask that all attendees observe the city’s mask mandate. This year’s event will be held entirely outdoors and we ask that participating businesses provide sanitation stations and monitor capacity to ensure guests are able to maintain social distancing. Moreover, free shuttles, which are often crowded, will not be provided.
Holiday Market at the Mill in New Roads
November 20-22
Christmas On Pointe
November 27, 12:00pm at Pointe-Marie
Looking for an outdoor holiday experience? Look no further than Pointe-Marie.
Pointe-Marie community, Louisiana Nursery, and SmileBooth proudly present to you the first annual Christmas on Pointe. Turn your Black Friday into a day of celebration and excitement this holiday season.
Come out to our village and enjoy an arts market, food trucks, hot chocolate, photos with Santa, Live Christmas music, and more. We invite you to spend the day with us soaking up our beautiful space safely with friends and family.
Poinsettia Show & Sale
November 28, 8:00am-2:00pm
It’s not Christmas in Baton Rouge without Burden’s Annual Poinsettia Show & Sale!
Over 50 poinsettia varieties will be on display and available for sale.
The Botanic Gardens evaluates new poinsettia varieties developed by breeders worldwide which means they are exclusively sold at our annual show and sale.
A limited number of each variety are available so arrive on time so that you don’t miss out on these rare varieties of poinsettias!
Plants: 6.5″ – 3 gallon
Pricing: $12-$75 depending on size
Small Business Saturday Makers Tent Market at Sweet Baton Rouge
November 28, 9:00am-12:00pm
We are thrilled to announce our Inaugural Small Business Saturday Makers Tent Market with live music, local makers, and so much more to celebrate local business on the last day of our Local Pop-Up Holiday Event.
Local Pop-Up Annual Holiday Shops exists to connect Louisiana creators & makers with local customers and make local gift-giving, that much easier this holiday season.
Holiday Trunk Show at LSU Museum Store
December 4
Mistletoe Market at the Pontchartrain Center in Kenner
December 5, 9:00am-6:00pm
December 6, 10:00am-5:00pm
Cost: $6.00.
Agape’s Family Christmas Market
December 12, 4:00-9:00pm
December MidCity Makers Market
December 19, 4:00-8:00pm
Our goal is to create a laid back shopping experience for you in the middle of Mid City Baton Rouge that includes live music, food, and a kid-friendly environment. Shop small in your neighborhood with your very own local makers!
2020 Santa’s Arrival Tailgate Parade at Bass Pro
November 7, 5:00-7:00pm
Social distancing is very IMPORTANT!
Flashlight Night at the Swamp
November 13, 5:00-9:00pm
General admission fees apply / pass holders free
Candy Cane Lane Drive Thru Christmas Light Park in Calhoun
November 13-January 2, 6:00-10:00pm
Movie in the Park: Arctic Dogs at Lovett Road Park
November 19, 6:00-9:00pm
Holiday Lights at Baton Rouge General
November 20-December 31, 5:30-10:00pm
Running of the Elves 5k
November 21, 7:00am
Early $30 through Nov. 20th
Race day $35
T-shirts will be provided for registrations by 11/10/20
Pancake Cook Off 2020
November 21, 8:00-10:00am
Central Christmas Event!
Zoolights
November 27- December 30 at the Baton Rouge Zoo
Closed Christmas Eve & Christmas Day
A mile-long trail through the Zoo with more than 50 illuminated display sculptures of animals and traditional holiday displays! Cost: Adults/Teens: $5; Seniors: $4; Ages 2-12: $3, Friends of the Zoo Members: $3 per person
Celebration in the Oaks
November 26-January 3
Friday-Saturday 5:00pm-11:00pm
Sunday-Thursday 6:00pm-10:00pm
Closed 12/24 & 12/31
The 2020 season is the 34th anniversary of City Park’s largest fundraiser, Celebration in the Oaks. This year it will be a driving tour with Add-On Activities in Carousel Gardens, too.
Celebration in the Oaks in City Park is the most spectacular holiday lights festival in the country, with more than 165,000 visitors pouring into the Park to see the magical winter spectacle. City Park’s famous oaks are swathed in over a million twinkling lights and breathtaking light displays are scattered throughout 25 acres of the Park, including the Botanical Garden, Storyland, and Carousel Gardens Amusement Park. Cost: $10- $28
The Light of Christmas at Zoar Baptist Church
Beginning December 3
Thursday, Friday, Saturday, & Sunday Nights
Dusk – 9:00pm
Reindeer Ride
December 4, 5:30-8:00pm
A Jane Austen Christmas
December 5, 6:00-8:00pm
A Jane Austen Christmas, 6 – 8 p.m. The plantation comes to life during the holidays, as it shows off its seasonal decorations. Costumed guides accompany the visitor on a trip into the past through the candlelit Oakley House. Take a taste of wassail and chestnuts by the fire, or just enjoy the yearly Christmas dancing. All mandated restrictions at the time concerning masks and distancing will be in place.. An admission is charged. For more information call 888.677.2838 toll free or 225.635.3739 locally.
A Rural Life Christmas at Rural Life Museum
December 6, 10:00am-5:30pm
Ring in the Christmas season with the 19th century Louisiana celebration. Musical groups, demonstrating artisans, storytellers and costumed re-enactors will be present to set the holiday mood. The event will conclude with bonfire and a very special visit from Papa Noel.
Cost: Children 10 and under are free, all others $10.00 a person
Christmas in Central Parade – CANCELED
December 12, 11:00am
Celebrate Christmas in the City of Central at the 34th Annual Christmas Parade!
6th Annual Chanukah at the State Capitol
December 13, 4:30-6:00pm
Join us for annual Chanukah celebration at the Louisiana State Capitol. The biggest Chanukah event of the year! The lighting of the largest menorah in Greater Baton Rouge! Latkes, Donuts, Children’s activities, face painting, and the awesome GELT DROP!
Cajun Christmas Photos with Santa at The Royal Standard
November 7, 10:00am-1:00pm
For $30+ tax, we’ll email your digital images within a week of your photo so you can print or publish.
Santa’s Wonderland at Bass Pro
November 7-December 24
Holiday Dessert Pies – Leisure Class at the Louisiana Culinary Institute
November 12, 5:00-8:00pm
Holiday Chocolate Box – Leisure Class at the Louisiana Culinary Institute
November 12, 5:00-8:00pm
Garden Discoveries: Using Natural Materials for Holiday Decorating
November 14, 10:00-11:00pm
The Baton Rouge Botanic Garden Foundation will host a FREE Garden Discoveries event virtually via Zoom at 10 a.m. Saturday, November 14th to demonstrate how to use natural materials to create beautiful holiday decorations.
Peregrin’s Joel Franklin has a real artist’s eye in creating gorgeous interior and exterior home decorations for any season. He is noted for using natural materials like magnolia leaves, pine cones, holly branches, birch logs, mosses, and flowers and seeds. His presentation will show how to select materials and combine them for decorations from large outdoor door wreaths and garlands to small centerpieces, mantles, and bouquets for interiors.
Skating on the River
November 20-January 3
Christmas Tree Advent Calendar at Art Unleashed
November 21, 10:00am-12:00pm
Santa Day at Alexander’s
November 22, 12:00pm
Cajun Christmas Wooden Cutout Workshop at Create Studios
November 28, 6:00-9:00pm
Comprised of 11 cut outs that will be painted in class and Papa Noel even has guidelines to help with the details. Background will already be painted dark blue to help with time. All pieces will be attached to the background and you will add twine as reigns for the gators.
Holiday Cookies – Leisure Class at the Louisiana Culinary Institute
December 3, 5:00-8:00pm
– Peanut Butter Blossoms (her personal favorite)
– Sugar Cookies with a Candy Cane Twist
– Pecan Pie Thumbprints
Christmas Cookie Decorating Class at Art Unleashed
December 5, 10:00am-12:00pm
Christmas Cookie Decorating Class at Art Unleashed
December 5, 1:00-3:00pm
Teddy Bear Tea
December 5-6
Look no further Santa, the show will go on! We are partnering with Eye Wander Photo in December to once again bring this enchanting tradition back to the Capital City. Our Teddy Bear Tea is the ideal setting for children and adults to participate in a English tea service, see Jolly Ol’ St. Nick and get a holiday photo with him – peek-a-boo style! Children can enjoy holiday story-telling courtesy of Mrs. Claus and Red Stick Reads along with a teddy bear keepsake. Harpist Rebecca Todaro will be strumming her angelic strings and the mimosas will be flowing for Mom and Dad. Tickets are $65 per person. For $10 more, adults can enjoy bottomless mimosas. Complimentary mimosa comes with the ticket price. There will also be a cash bar available.
CHOOSE YOUR TIME SLOT AND PLAN AHEAD
Mini Holiday Workshop – Night Before Christmas – Ages 3 – 7 (Suggested)
December 5 & 12, 8:45am, 10:45am, & 1:15pm
Mini Holiday Workshop – Gnome for the Holidays – Ages 5 – 9 (Suggested)
December 5 & 12, 8:30am, 10:30am, & 1:00pm
Mini Holiday Workshop – Santa’s Sleigh – Ages 7 – 12 (Suggested)
December 5 & 12, 8:30am, 10:30am, & 1:00pm
Mini Holiday Workshop – Seasonings Greetings – Ages 9 – 15 (Suggested)
December 5 & 12, 9:00am, 12:30pm
Ice Tree – Glass and Resin Class at Art Unleashed
December 12, 2:00-4:00pm
Angel or Church Painting on Wood Class at Art Unleashed
December 19, 9:00am-12:00pm
Drive-In Concert Series at Perkins Rowe
November 5, 12, & 19, 6:00-8:00pm
BRBT presents “Nutcracker Sweets”
November 15, 29, & December 13
Every episode of this three part series* will introduce a unique part of the “Nutcracker” with storytelling, watching and learning our favorite parts of the show, dancing along with the ballerinas, plus crafting and enjoying treats that correspond to the dances you’ve learned.
*You may purchase all three events as a cost-saving package or as individual episodes. The Zoom recording will be sent to you the following Monday to enjoy all week!
Each purchase includes treats and craft package for the series or day selected.
Holiday Brass at Whimsical Alley
December 5, 7:00-8:30pm
One of the Baton Rouge’s favorite holiday traditions is headed to Zachary for the first time ever! The beautiful grounds at Whimsical Alley set the scene for this special edition of Holiday Brass. The Symphony brass, percussion and harp perform traditional holiday favorites, including some special arrangements for the BRSO.
As much as we would like to perform outdoors, this concert is subject to weather conditions and temperature. If needed, we will move the concert indoors.
Films at Manship presents “It’s A Wonderful Life”
December 13, 2:00-4:30pm
2020 Nightmare Before Christmas Variety Show
December 19, 7:00-10:00pm
