on the nice list

Dallas sparkles and shines as the 2nd most festive city in the U.S. for 2023

SMU celebrates Christmas with its own festive light display.

Dallas homes, businesses, and special events that go all out to deck their halls for the holidays have not gone unnoticed. Dallas-Fort Worth has been named one of the most festive metro in the United States in two different 2023 reports.

For the second year in a row, a study by home services provider Thumbtack put Dallas at the very top of the nice list in No. 2. The report compiled data from millions of Christmas-related home projects across all 50 states between October 2022 to November 2023 to reveal their list of the most festive cities in the nation.

And while Thumbtack specifically focuses on home holiday projects, Dallasites certainly can glean inspiration from the area's many festive displays, including Addison's Vitruvian Lights, Grand Prairie's Prairie Lights, and The Light Park in Frisco and Arlington.

Texas cities dominated the top 10, with Austin (No. 1) and Houston (No. 3) rounding out the top three most festive American cities. Also on the rise is San Antonio (No. 5), which ranked No. 10 in the 2022 report.

The average cost to hire a holiday lighting specialist, Thumbtack says, is between $168-$300, with other requests like wrapping outdoor trees tacking on an additional cost. If Dallas residents are looking to outsource their exterior home decorating to a specialist, they should probably avoid the last week of November, which is peak time, Thumbtack says. Americans most frequently hang their holiday lights and Christmas decorations during the Thanksgiving weekend, according to the report.

"Whether you’re looking to make your home a brightly lit winter wonderland or simply looking to add a few festive touches to your home’s exterior — sprucing up your home’s exterior with lights is an exciting part of getting into the holiday spirit," said Thumbtack design expert Morgan Olsen in the report. "Hiring a holiday lighting specialist can help you avoid stress (and unwanted injuries) so you can focus on enjoying the season."

Thumbtack's top 10 most festive metros in the U.S. for 2023 are:

No. 1 – Austin, Texas
No. 2 – Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas
No. 3 – Houston, Texas
No. 4 – Seattle, Washington
No. 5 – San Antonio, Texas
No. 6 – Atlanta, Georgia
No. 7 – Phoenix, Arizona
No. 8 – Tampa, Florida
No. 9 – Denver, Colorado
No. 10 – Orlando, Florida

Another "Most Festive U.S. Cities" study by travel experts Travelbag ranked cities based on search volume of festive terms like "Christmas lights" or "Christmas songs." While Dallas didn't nab a top three spot, it still earned No. 6 to remain in the top 10.

More than 780 searches are made for Christmas-related terms in November and December for every 10,000 residents, according to Travelbag's data.

Austin was the only other Texas city to earn a spot in Travelbag's study, claiming the No. 1 spot with 1,206 festive searches being made per 10,000 residents.

christmas rankings reports holidays dallas fort worth

Weed News

Texas AG Ken Paxton sues Dallas over decriminalization of marijuana

Photo courtesy of US Fish & Wildlife

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The City of Dallas has been sued by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton for its efforts to decriminalize marijuana.

According to a release, Paxton has sued the city for adopting a city charter amendment that would decriminalize marijuana-related offenses and prohibit police from enforcing Texas law.

That amendment was Proposition R, or Dallas Freedom Act, which decriminalizes possession of four ounces of marijuana or less. Voters passed the amendment in the November 5 election, with 67 percent voting in favor.

The lawsuit, filed against the Dallas City Council, alleges that Proposition R is unconstitutional and violates Texas drug laws criminalizing any amount of marijuana.

Paxton says that cities can't "pick and choose which state laws to follow." He's proposing a permanent injunction to stop Proposition R from going into effect.

"The City of Dallas has no authority to override Texas drug laws or prohibit the police from enforcing them," says Paxton in a statement. "This is a backdoor attempt to violate the Texas Constitution, and any city that tries to constrain police in this fashion will be met swiftly with a lawsuit by my office.”

Before the recent election, possession of two to four ounces of marijuana could result in a punishment of 180 days in jail and a $2,000 fine.

Ground Game Texas, the activist nonprofit that has also helped get marijuana decriminalization on the ballot in elections across Texas, first got the issue on the ballot in July with the necessary 50,000 signatures.

Dallas is not the only city to be sued; Paxton also filed lawsuits against five other cities in Austin, Denton, Elgin, Killeen, and San Marcos in January for their ballots and policies decriminalizing marijuana.

Both Austin and San Marcos had a judge overturn their cases, according to a FOX 4 report.

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