Weekend Event Planner

These are 8 best things to do in Dallas on Christmas weekend

While many events in and around Dallas have either been postponed or canceled during the coronavirus pandemic, some organizations have pivoted to virtual or socially-distanced events to continue offering the masses some entertainment while we need it the most.

Below are the best ways to spend your free time over Christmas weekend. While not every event is out of the house, they all promise to provide a nice distraction from the everyday life.

For the best restaurants to take holiday guests, click here. For the most spectacular Christmas light displays around town, click here.

Wednesday, December 23

Holiday events galore
There is no shortage of in-person, drive-thru, and virtual holiday events to see, and most of them will be available every day this weekend. Options include The Trains at NorthPark, SnowDay Dallas, Holiday at the Arboretum, Lone Star Christmas, Luminova Holidays, Radiance!, Prairie Lights, Candy Cane Lane, Dallas Zoo Lights, In the Bleak Midwinter, The Nutcracker, and more.

Dinosaur Drive-Thru
Taking place in the parking lot at Six Flags Hurricane Harbor in Arlington, Dinosaur Drive-Thru features over 60 animatronic dinosaurs. Throughout the 45-minute show, visitors will stay in their vehicles to see dinosaurs displayed in chronological order, which will go along with an interactive audio tour guide describing all of the interesting facts, and some jokes, about each dinosaur, in both English and Spanish. The show will take place on various days through January 10.

Veracruz Cafe presents Oak Cliff's Holiday Cocktail Stroll
The Oak Cliff Holiday Cocktail Stroll takes place at participating venues in Bishop Arts and Trinity Groves every Wednesday in December. Participants can enjoy one complimentary holiday cocktail at each restaurant and discounted food and drinks all night. Venues will include Veracruz Cafe (check-in point), Chimichurri, Avoeatery, and Holy Crust. There will be complimentary shuttle service from Bishop Arts to Trinity Groves every 30 minutes.

Uptown Players presents Helen Holy's Holiday Streaming Spectacular
Wednesday is the final day to stream Uptown Players' special holiday edition of Sister Helen Holy’s 701 club, starring Paul J. Williams as his most popular "altar" ego, Sister Helen Holy of the First Southern Fried Self-Satisfied ‎"Babatist" Church. The production is a mix of holiday music, news, scripture interpretation, special guest performances, and interviews. Once activated, the video must be viewed by December 24.

Dallas Symphony Orchestra presents Cyrus Chestnut Trio: A Charlie Brown Christmas
The holidays don't officially arrive until you hear Vince Guaraldi's classic score from A Charlie Brown Christmas. Virtuosic and playful, pianist Cyrus Chestnut infuses these classic charts with his soulful sound. The concert, taking place at Meyerson Symphony Center, will include favorites like "Linus and Lucy," "Christmas Time is Here," "O Tannenbaum," and more.

Theatre Three presents Twas the Night at Theatre Three
In hopes of sharing a little holiday cheer from afar, the Theatre Three team has arranged an evening full of festive illustrations, heartwarming musical performances by Cherish Robinson and Sammy Rat Rios, and a reading of a holiday classic by Emily Gray from the Theatre Three stage. Viewers should consider each viewing opportunity as a performance that begins at the published time; videos must be accessed within 30 minutes of the start times for each show. There will be performances on Wednesday and Thursday.

Sunday, December 27

Dallas Museum of Art presents "To Be Determined" closing day
After three months on display, "To Be Determined" will close at the Dallas Museum of Art. The exhibition explores individual and collective meanings through works of art, sacred objects, and design. Drawing from the museum’s encyclopedic collection, including 13 new acquisitions and three major paintings by Dallas-based artists, the exhibition juxtaposes works from across time, geography, and cultures, from the 13th century to the present day, to trace how the resonance of art can shift when presented in new contexts and as viewers imbue them with their own personal meanings.

Dallas Children's Theater presents Heroes for the Pages
Dallas Children’s Theater's three-week free virtual series, which provides families with a chance to learn more about three December holidays and the children’s book authors who have written about them, will come to a close with an event highlighting author Donna L. Washington’s book L’il Rabbit’s Kwanzaa. The show will include a singalong, author Q&A, and a feature on the hero’s culture.

Prairie Lights in Grand Prairie is one of a slew of continuing holiday events that can be enjoyed throughout Chrismas weekend.

Prairie Lights drive-thru holiday lights

Photo courtesy of Prairie Lights

Prairie Lights in Grand Prairie is one of a slew of continuing holiday events that can be enjoyed throughout Chrismas weekend.

families event-planner holidays theater concerts

Movie Review

Michelle Pfeiffer is an unappreciated mom in Oh. What. Fun.

Photo courtesy of Amazon MGM Studios

Michelle Pfeiffer in Oh. What. Fun.

Of all the formulaic movie genres, Christmas/holiday movies are among the most predictable. No matter what the problem is that arises between family members, friends, or potential romantic partners, the stories in holiday movies are designed to give viewers a feel-good ending even if the majority of the movie makes you feel pretty bad.

That’s certainly the case in Oh. What. Fun., in which Michelle Pfeiffer plays Claire, an underappreciated mom living in Houston with her inattentive husband, Nick (Denis Leary). As the film begins, her three children are arriving back home for Christmas: The high-strung Channing (Felicity Jones) is married to the milquetoast Doug (Jason Schwartzman); the aloof Taylor (Chloë Grace Moretz) brings home yet another new girlfriend; and the perpetual child Sammy (Dominic Sessa) has just broken up with his girlfriend.

Each of the family members seems to be oblivious to everything Claire does for them, especially when it comes to what she really wants: For them to nominate her to win a trip to see a talk show in L.A. hosted by Zazzy Tims (Eva Longoria). When she accidentally gets left behind on a planned outing to see a show, Claire reaches her breaking point and — in a kind of Home Alone in reverse — she decides to drive across the country to get to the show herself.

Written and directed by Michael Showalter (The Idea of You), and co-written by Chandler Baker (who wrote the short story on which the film is based), the movie never establishes any kind of enjoyable rhythm. Each of the characters, including competitive neighbor Jeanne (Joan Chen), is assigned a character trait that becomes their entire personality, with none of them allowed to evolve into something deeper.

The filmmakers lean hard into the idea that Claire is a person who always puts her family first and receives very little in return, but the evidence presented in the story is sketchy at best. Every situation shown in the film is so superficial that tension barely exists, and the (over)reactions by Claire give her family members few opportunities to make up for their failings.

The most interesting part of the movie comes when Claire actually makes it to the Zazzy Sims show. Even though what happens there is just as unbelievable as anything else presented in the story, Showalter and Baker concoct a scene that allows Claire and others to fully express the central theme of the film, and for a few minutes the movie actually lives up to its title.

Pfeiffer, given her first leading role since 2020’s French Exit, is a somewhat manic presence, and her thick Texas accent and unnecessary voiceover don’t do her any favors. It seems weird to have such a strong supporting cast with almost nothing of substance to do, but almost all of them are wasted, including Danielle Brooks in a blink-and-you'll-miss-it cameo. The lone exception is Longoria, who is a blast in the few scenes she gets.

Oh. What. Fun. is far from the first movie to try and fail at becoming a new holiday classic, but the pedigree of Showalter and the cast make this dismal viewing experience extra disappointing. Ironically, overworked and underappreciated moms deserve a much better story than the one this movie delivers.

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Oh. What. Fun. is now streaming on Prime Video.

movies film