More Bang for Your Buck

These are the best discounts for holiday events around Dallas-Fort Worth

Don't pay full price for holiday events like Luminova Holidays if you can help it.

Photo courtesy of Luminova Holidays

Holiday-themed events around Dallas-Fort Worth can be a lot of fun, but let's face it — they can also be very expensive, especially if you have a big family. To help our readers out, we've combed through event listings and Internet sources to find ways for them to save money during their holiday outings. We will update the list throughout the season as more deals are offered.

Gaylord Texan presents Lone Star Christmas
This holiday festival is unique in the area, as it has multiple options visitors can choose. Of course, you don't have to do all of them, but the more you do, the more the cost piles up. If you visit on "Value Days" (in general, Monday-Fridays, except for November 27 or December 18-26), you automatically save on the centerpiece event, I Love Christmas Movies, with each ticket level being discounted anywhere from $6-$8.

However, if you buy one of the Silver, Gold, or Platinum Play & Save Passes, you can save anywhere from 15-30 percent more off of I Love Christmas Movies and other events in the package. The catch is that you have to buy at least three of the events, which automatically makes the visit more expensive. But it's still better than paying face value for separate events when your kids beg you to do snow tubing or ice skating.

If you'd rather not buy multiple events at once, you can use the code REINDEER online to get 50 percent off on select dates for I Love Christmas Movies or $5 off Yuletide Bright, their walkthrough outdoor light attraction.

Texas Motor Speedway presents Gift of Lights
The annual drive-through holiday event at Texas Motor Speedway was already set up to be pandemic-friendly, and visitors can make it a little friendlier on their wallets if they go on certain discount days.

November 30: Crazy Car Day - Anyone who decorates their car will receive $10 off at the gate.
December 1: Crazy PJs Day - Anyone who dresses in their pajamas will receive $10 off at the gate.
December 2: Military, First Responder, and Health Care Worker Night - Anyone with a valid ID from one of those professions will get in for free.
December 7: Bring Your Pet Day - Anyone who brings their pet will receive $10 off at the gate.
December 8: Crazy Christmas Sweater Day - Anyone who wears a crazy Christmas sweater will receive $10 off at the gate.

Luminova Holidays
There aren't many discounts to be found for this new event at Globe Life Field in Arlington, but the Family Pack gives you five tickets for $59.99 on non-peak days ($79.99 for peak days). Buying two individual adult tickets and two children tickets would normally add up to $70, so on non-peak days it's like getting $10 off for a family of four or $25 off for a family of five. Additionally, all military (active, reserves, and retired), EMS and Nurses, and First Responders get a $5 discount on any day.

Six Flags Over Texas presents Holiday at the Park
The annual holiday event at the theme park will take place on various dates, November 20-January 3, and you'd have to be a fool to buy your tickets at the gate, where the cost is $79.99 per person. Buying online saves you anywhere from $40-$60, depending on the day you want to go. If you plan on going multiple times, a season pass (starting at $59.99 per person) pays for itself in 2-3 visits.

Panther Island Ice
The annual pop-up ice skating rink at Coyote Drive-In in Fort Worth offers a $3 discount off the $13 normal price for active duty military, guard, reservists, veterans, and their families, as well as students and faculty of Tarleton State University. Both groups must show proper ID to get the discount.

SnowDay Dallas
The Instagram-friendly holiday event at Galleria Dallas has a significant difference between adult tickets ($22) and children's tickets ($8), but it also gives a $2 discount for seniors 65 and older, military, and first responders with proper ID.

shopping holidays lists

Movie Review

Amanda Seyfried and Sydney Sweeney go off in trashy film The Housemaid

Photo courtesy of Lionsgate

Amanda Seyfried and Sydney Sweeney in The Housemaid.

Both Amanda Seyfried (the upcoming The Testament of Ann Lee) and Sydney Sweeney (Christy) are starring in movies with Oscar ambitions this year. By sheer coincidence, the two actors are also co-starring in The Housemaid, a thriller coming out within weeks of their more ambitious works, one that is likely to be seen by many more people than those prestige plays.

Sweeney is given top billing as Millie, a down-on-her-luck ex-convict looking to land any type of job so as not to break her parole. She finds a too-good-to-be-true lifeboat with Nina (Seyfried), who hires her to be a housemaid for her large house on Long Island, where she lives with her husband, Andrew (Brandon Sklenar), and daughter, Cecilia (Indiana Elle).

After a warm interview, Nina almost immediately becomes highly erratic, whipping back-and-forth between happy-go-lucky and rageful. It seems clear that Nina is suffering from mental health issues, as she’ll often accuse Millie of misplacing or stealing items that she didn’t take. Andrew, apparently used to Nina’s tirades, tries to protect Millie from the worst, something that grows increasingly difficult as Nina ups the ante.

Directed by Paul Feig (A Simple Favor) and adapted by Rebecca Sonnenshine from the bestselling book by Freida McFadden, the film is likely the trashiest mainstream movie to come out in 2025. The first half of the movie relies not on story but on moments as Nina embodies the word “hysterical” to an unbelievable extent. The resigned acceptance of the abuse by Millie, as well as the saintly patience of Andrew, make almost every scene laughable, as nobody seems to be acting anywhere close to how a person would normally react to such extreme situations.

The scenes and the performance of Seyfried are so over-the-top, in fact, that it’s clear that the filmmakers are in on the joke. It’s next to impossible not to have a little bit of fun while watching the actors react to outrageous incidents as if nothing is out of the ordinary. The worse Nina acts, the more Millie and Andrew retreat into their chosen roles, and the funnier the film becomes.

Fans of the book will know that the story changes course, eventually turning into a more stereotypical thriller that also has some relatively gnarly visuals to offer. But the trashiness continues, with Sweeney’s, um, assets repeatedly on display in both clothed and unclothed ways. The sex appeal of the R-rated movie makes it an outlier, as recent studio films have shied away from asking their big stars to disrobe completely.

Both Seyfried and Sweeney are far from their Oscar hopeful roles here. Seyfried is given free rein to act as brazenly as she pleases, and she takes full advantage of that ability. Sweeney seems to have been told to be much more reserved, and unfortunately that results in too many wooden line readings. Sklenar continues his breakout streak (It Ends with Us, Drop) with a role that allows him to show more range than either Seyfried or Sweeney.

The Housemaid is an unusual type of movie to be released at a time of year when most films are either those aiming for awards or more family-friendly fare. Despite its many flaws, it’s still an enjoyable watch that features a variety of crazy scenarios not typically seen in movies nowadays.

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The Housemaid is now playing in theaters.

movies film