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

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