roam for the holidays

Luxe rideshare Alto chauffers holiday light tours to 2 Dallas neighborhoods

Enjoy curated light tours — and that all-important designated driver.

Photo courtesy of Alto

In a festive city like Dallas, a jolly drive to see holiday lights is a time-honored tradition. But there are considerations: where exactly to go? What’s the perfect playlist? Is the trip worth risking a potential run-in with someone staring at their phone while driving?

And one other dilemma — who gets to imbibe the spiked nog and who’s the designated driver?

Luxury rideshare service Alto answers those pressing questions with its inaugural holiday light tours, covering two Dallas neighborhoods:

The East Dallas tour takes users through Lakewood, Swiss Avenue, and Lake Highlands
The West Dallas tour cruises through Highland Park, Preston Hollow, and Midway Hollow, and other sought-after destinations

Users log on to the Alto app and can reserve a West Dallas or East Dallas holiday lights trek, compiled by Alto’s Dallas team based on research and firsthand knowledge of the city, per press materials.

West Dallas users should plan for a pickup specifically at Inwood Village to start the tour. Once the trip is confirmed, Alto will send the exact pickup spot for the light tour. They’ll also credit user accounts $25 for the trip there. In East Dallas, light tour pickup is at Hillside Village.

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The tours make a for an easy date night, guest tour, or a research-headache-free holiday jaunt.

Alto Light Tours must be booked 24 hours in advance, are $150, and accommodate two to four users. Tour times run Thursday through Saturday, now through December 21, at 6 pm and 8 pm, and last between 60 and 90 minutes.

The company is simultaneously offering tours of two neighborhoods in Houston.

As this is Alto, expect a courteous, elevated experience, complete with a holiday playlist soundtrack. And since Alto is the designated driver, guests will also receive two to four Alto tumblers to toast the trip with the aforementioned spiked nog, spirit, etc. of choice — for all those good tidings and cheer.

holidays

Turkey Day news

Dallas eats up top-5 rank on list of best cities for Thanksgiving

Photo courtesy of Razzoo's

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Dallas is sitting at the head of the table as one of the best places in the country to celebrate Thanksgiving this year, a new study has revealed.

Dallas ranked No. 5 out of 100 of the largest U.S. cities in WalletHub's annual "Best Places to Go for Thanksgiving" report, published November 12. The city made a huge leap over its 2023 ranking as No. 17, and remains the highest-ranking Texas city.

The study analyzed each city based on 18 metrics to determine the best places for Thanksgiving, such as the number of pumpkin patches per capita, the average cost of a Thanksgiving dinner, the number of volunteer opportunities, the average weather forecast, and more. The metrics were then organized into five overall categories to determine the rankings.

The category that Dallas ranked the highest in was the number of celebrations and traditions (No. 2), and the average weather forecast during the holiday period (No. 9), while the lowest-ranked category was for safety and accessibility (No. 82). Other categories that determined Dallas' overall ranking were affordability (No. 60), and a "giving thanks" rank (No. 26).

Dallas restaurants are getting prepared for their big Turkey Day feasts, and CultureMap has rounded up a thorough list of all of the local restaurants hosting holiday feasts, from brunch to dinner.

"The best cities for celebrating Thanksgiving all have an abundance of high-quality restaurants and places to buy festive decorations, and their residents get very excited for the holiday based on their Google search history," said WalletHub analyst Chip Lupo.

By Thanksgiving on November 28, Dallas will be fully decked for the December holidays. Dallasites who will have extended family in town during Thanksgiving weekend can take in of all the marvelous Christmas lights brightening the city. Dallas-Fort Worth goes all out for the most wonderful time of year.

Across North Texas, three Dallas-area cities also made big improvements from their 2023 rankings. Irving moved up 10 spots to claim No. 19 this year, and Garland jumped up 21 spots on the list as No. 34. Arlington made the biggest improvement in the region, moving from No. 78 last year to No. 55 this year.

Meanwhile, Plano and Fort Worth slipped in the rankings, falling into No. 44 and No. 45 in 2024, respectively. Plano previously ranked No. 38 in 2023, and Fort Worth was No. 36.

San Diego, California (No. 1) topped the overall list of best places to go for Thanksgiving this year, followed by its Golden State neighbors San Francisco (No. 3) and San Jose (No. 4). Atlanta, Georgia (No. 2) rounds out the top five.

dallas fort worth thanksgiving wallethub rankings