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

This week's hot headlines

Michelin Guide awards shine in 5 most-read Dallas stories of the week

dallas.culturemap.com

Tatsu Dallas

Editor's note: Restaurants that received Michelin Guide honors were the hottest topic of the week in Dallas and all across Texas. Also of note: The death of a beloved Dallas restaurateur, a new wing joint, and more. Here are the most-read stories of the week. Looking for things to do this weekend? That list is here.

1. More than a dozen Dallas restaurants earn Michelin Guide awards. The winners of the first Michelin Guide awards in Texas have been revealed, with 117 restaurants earning some kind of nod, including 15 one-star establishments. More than two dozen restaurants across Dallas-Fort Worth earned some kind of nod or another, but only one won a star. Then, oops, there was a goof on Michelin's list.

2. Reducetarian Summit had to be unlikeliest convention in Dallas ever. Dallas likes to promote itself as a great place to host conventions, but one of the most unpredictable would have to be the Reducetarian Summit, which took place at the end of October at the Fairmont Hotel in downtown Dallas, where 500 people from around the world met to brainstorm on ways to reduce consumption of animal products.

3. Where to eat in Dallas right now: 10 hot new restaurants for November. This month's installment of Where to Eat is bursting at the seams with newcomers and spinoffs. For November, we've got a vast range of cuisines, from Asian to seafood to the beloved Dallas staple, the Irish pub. To find many cuisines in one spot, there's also a new food-hall near downtown Dallas.

Dallas restaurateur Al Biernat, RIP. Facebook

4. Beloved Dallas restaurateur Al Biernat dies at 69 after ALS battle. Beloved Dallas restaurateur Al Biernat, founder of the acclaimed local steakhouse Al Biernat's, passed away on November 13, following a battle with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, also called ALS or Lou Gehrig’s disease; he was 69.

5. Pluckers Wing Bar opens first Dallas location in a decade in Mesquite. A Texas wing staple is bringing the wings to Mesquite: Pluckers, famous for its wings in many flavors, is opening at 1340 N. Peachtree Rd., in the old Joe’s Crab Shack space. According a marketing spokesperson, it's opening in mid-December.