Christmas in Baton Rouge has no shortage of family fun , and it’s not hard to see why! The holiday season here offers many family-friendly activities that cater to everyone’s tastes. Whether you’re in the mood for a festive Christmas parade, captivating holiday performances, a chance to meet Santa, some ice skating excitement, or simply soaking in the breathtaking light displays, Baton Rouge boasts a cornucopia of holiday-themed programs and Christmas events throughout the season. It’s truly a magical time in the Capital City!
Thanks to Capital Renaissance International School (CRIS) for sponsoring the 2023 Christmas Events Guide!
CRIS provides complete language immersion learning in up to three languages: Spanish, French, and Chinese. Their unique curriculum ensures that children are linguistically, academically, and culturally prepared to succeed globally. At CRIS, students learn about the world without ever having to leave Louisiana!
Now accepting new students! Learn more at CRIS.org
While every effort has been made to ensure this information is accurate, we encourage you to contact the display directly to verify that all details are correct and have stayed the same.
This guide will be updated as new events are listed; check back for more Baton Rouge holiday family fun!
CHRISTMAS AND HOLIDAY EVENTS IN BATON ROUGE
Santa Rocks the Rowe
December 9TH, 5-8 PM
Perkins Rowe
Join us on Saturday, December 9th from 5pm-8pm for Perkins Rowe’s annual Santa Rocks the Rowe event! They’ll have paid photos with Santa, live music, face painting, letters to Santa with Baton Rouge Family Fun, games, and more! This event is free and open to the public.
Baton Rouge Zoo’s ZooLights
NOV. 24 – DEC 30
5–9 PM
Join BREC’s Baton Rouge Zoo for Zoolights from November 24th through December 30th! Discover the magic of the season at Zoo Lights, presented by Our Lady of the Lake Children’s Hospital! This year, the lights are shining brighter than ever, creating an enchanting experience for the whole family.
DATES: November 24 – December 30 Closed Christmas Eve & Christmas Day.
Gates open 5:00 p.m. to 9 p.m.
Baton Rouge General Holiday Lights
Open Nightly
Corner of Bluebonnet Blvd. and Picardy Ave.
Step into a world of enchantment as BRG lights up the night with dazzling displays, including three dancing-light mega trees, 24-foot illuminated tunnels, singing trees, candy canes, snowmen, a giant walk-through ornament, and more!The CPKC Holiday Train
December 1st
1401 Foss St. CPKC Yard
The CPKC Holiday Train program is back for its 25th year of spreading holiday cheer and raising donations to help people struggling with food insecurity. 
Get the Details: https://batonrougefamilyfun.com/cpkc-holiday-train/
Uptown Scotlandville Christmas Tree Lighting
December 1ST / 6PM-9PM
Scotlandville Plaza
Embrace the joy of the season at the Uptown Scotlandville Christmas Tree Lighting on December 1st! From 6pm-9pm at the Scotlandville Plaza, immerse yourself in the festive spirit with food trucks, vendors, and activities for kids. With games and more, it’s a family affair that promises laughter and holiday cheer. Join us in creating magical memories—this event is free and open to all in the Baton Rouge community.
Baton Rouge Symphony Orchestra Holiday Concerts
December 1ST, 3RD, 4TH, 9TH
OLOM Holiday Brass – -November 30th
Houmas House Holiday Brass – – December 3rd
Hemingbough Holiday Brass – – December 1st
Home for the Holidays 2023 – December 9th
2023 Downtown Baton Rouge Festival of Lights
December 1ST 4 – 8 PM
Enjoy an evening under downtown’s historic oaks to commemorate Baton Rouge’s oldest holiday tradition. Transforming the winter sky into a wonderland, the Mayor will light North Boulevard with half a million sparkling lights. Experience the magic beneath the 35-foot Christmas tree in Town Square.
A December to Remember
December 2nd, 5:30 pm to 8:30 pm
N. Sherwood Forest and Big Bend
Join us for ‘A December to Remember’ at the Park Forest Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony on December 2nd from 5:30 pm to 8:30 pm! Enjoy an enchanting evening with tree lighting, Santa photos, storytime with Mrs. Claus, snow fun, free food, the Polar Express Train, and more. Bring your festive spirit and join the celebration at the corner of N. Sherwood Forest and Big Bend. 
Broadmoor’s Annual Christmas Parade
December 2nd, 11 AM
1316 S Woodhaven St, Baton Rouge
• This is an outdoor event and the parade will roll as long as weather conditions permit.
• The parade route begins at Broadmoor High School parking lot (on Goodwood Blvd), east onto Goodwood Blvd, through the S curve, then north on Woodhaven St, then west on S. River Oaks Dr., then south on Cora Dr., then east on Goodwood Blvd back to the Broadmoor High School parking lot. The parade route is about 1.9 miles in length.
Annual Christmas in Central Parade
December 2nd, 8:00 AM – 12:00 PM
Joor & Hooper to Joor & Lovett
A Rural Life Christmas
December 3, 10:00 am – 5:00 pm
4560 Essen Lane, Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Ring in the Christmas season with a 19th century Louisiana celebration. Musical groups, demonstrating artisans, storytellers, and costumed re-enactors will be present to set the holiday mood. The event will conclude with a bonfire and a very special guest.
Ticket prices:
Age 0 – 3 Free
Age 4-11 $10
Age 12+ $12
Sensory Santa
December 9th 9 AM-12 PM
North Sherwood Forest Community Park
Visits to Santa Clause make it feel like a “Not-So Wonderful Time of the Year”? Stroll down to BREC’s North Sherwood Forest Community Park for BREC Adaptive’s Sensory Santa! Here, children and adults with intellectual, developmental, or sensory processing disorders have an opportunity to enjoy holiday activities and have one on one time to take a picture with Santa, without the hassle of standing in long and hectic lines. Spots fill up fast so make sure to register online at BREC.org/adaptiveregistration and visit brec.org for more adaptive opportunities happening all year long!
Let it Sneaux
December 9TH 5-8 PM
Perkins Road Community Park
Friends, community and holiday cheer, make this season the most wonderful time of the year! Bring the entire family out to Perkins Road Community Park because it’s turning into a Winter Wonderland for this year’s Let It Sneaux presented by Jersey Mike’s Subs!
This free family event features flurries of holiday fun including photos with Santa, s’mores, live music by Capital City Soul, the new Mini Maker’s Market featuring local kidpreneurs grades K through 12, activities for all and snow much more! To wrap it all together – BREC is excited to announce the showing of Baton Rouge’s FIRST EVER holiday drone light show! It’s something you’re sure not to want to miss!
2023 Cortana Kiwanis Christmas Parade
December 9TH 5:30PM
Downtown Baton Rouge
The Annual Cortana Kiwanis Downtown Christmas Parade will roll through Downtown Baton Rouge on December 9th at 5:30 pm. Every year, more than 70,000 people watch the parade live and thousands more enjoy it on television through the holiday season. The Parade is a celebration and a great way to connect with the community. The parade is open to everyone. Typically the parade includes about 80 entries. These entries are a mix of marching bands, celebrities, dance troupes, non-profit organizations, and local businesses in seasonal themes.
Creole Christmas + Holiday Fair
December 10th 12-5 PM
Magnolia Mound 2161 Nicholson Drive Baton Rouge
Magnolia Mound Plantation – Creole Christmas is an annual event featuring seasonal decorations in the historic house, traditional songs in French and Spanish sung by local school children, period demonstrations, folk crafts and the annual bonfire to welcome Papa Noel.
Chanukah at the Capitol
DECEMBER 10TH 4:30pm
900 North Third Street
Baton Rouge, LA 70802
Celebrate Hanukkah with a hot latke bar, menorahs, dreidels, and more hosted by Chabad of Baton Rouge. Children can get their faces painted, play festive games, and enjoy strolling performers. The event is free to the public at the steps of the State Capitol.
The Nutcracker: A Tale from the Bayou
December 16-17 @ 2 & 6 p.m.
River Center Theatre for Performing Arts
Baton Rouge Ballet Theatre’s annual holiday production, The Nutcracker – A Tale from the Bayou is finally returning to the stage in its traditional home, the River Center Theatre of the Performing Arts. It has been three years since the Company has been able to perform on the stage where it feels most comfortable, so our return to live performances on our “home stage” will truly be a celebration! We will again be joined by the Baton Rouge Symphony Orchestra, so don’t miss this magical celebration of the holiday season, where you’ll be enchanted by the beautiful choreography, fun magic, and lush scenery and sets by Nels Anderson.
December 18th -December 31st
Raising Cane’s River Center
The Raising Cane’s River Center will once again magically transform into a “Winter Wonderland” just in time to create some new holiday memories. Ice Skating on the River is an annual Baton Rouge holiday tradition that will kick off on Monday, December 18, 2023.
Holiday Events Beyond Baton Rouge
Celebration In The Oaks- New Orleans
November 23 – December 30
4 Friederichs Avenue, NOLA 70124
Celebration in the Oaks in City Park is one of the most spectacular holiday lights festivals in the country. This beloved annual celebration is fun for all ages and has become an enduring holiday tradition for families, who come to Celebration in the Oaks to ride the train or carousel every year. Visitors are treated to a wide range of attractions, from light displays to the walkways lined with dozens of Christmas trees decorated by local school groups. Perennial favorites include the two-mile train ride through glittering light exhibits, the animated Cajun night before Christmas display, and of course, New Orleans’ iconic snowman Mr. Bingle.
Christmas in the Park
December 1–December 30, 2023
Lafrienere Park 3000 Downs Boulevard
Metairie, LA 70003
Lafreniere Park sparkles for the holidays with millions of twinkling lights and displays! Constructed with over 10 million LED lights, this year’s new exhibit is an interactive Christmas tree. Elaborate decorations, artificial snow, and festive lighted displays illuminate Lafreniere Park and include themes such as Star Wars, Marvel & D.C Comics, Minions, Disney Princesses, a pirate ship, and so much more.
The 37th Annual Christmas in the Park will be held nightly at Lafreniere Park beginning on Friday, Dec. 1, 2023, and ending on Friday, Dec. 30, 2023.
NOLA Christmasfest
DECEMBER 21ST – 30TH
New Orleans Ernest N. Morial Convention Center
Kenner’s Heritage Park Christmas Village –
December 1 – December 31
2015 Fourth Street, Kenner, LA
Each year in December, the streets and buildings in Rivertown from the railroad tracks to the river, are adorned with dazzling lights and displays. The festivities culminate in Kenner’s Heritage Park, located at the center of the district and open every day and evening.
There, visitors can wander through and view the festival displays, shop local food and craft vendors, find a unique gift, take a photo with Santa, or watch a song or dance performance by community churches and school groups.
Children revel in the sudsy “snow” that blankets the park throughout the evening, and a special holiday-themed musical laser light show plays in the Kenner Planetarium theater right across the street. You’re sure to catch some holiday cheer in Rivertown.
A Jane Austen Christmas– St. Francisville
December 1st, 9 AM-11:30 AM
December 2nd, 5:30 PM- 8:00 PM
11788 La Highway 965, Saint Francisville, LA
Preregistered students will learn about Christmas traditions in Colonial America. Wassailing, hunting for Christmas dinner, period games, and the origins of Christmas traditions are just some of the things students will experience. There will be Black powder weapon hunting demonstration, Christmas traditions of Jane Austen, wassail, period games, and more.
On Saturday night, the plantation comes to life during the holidays as it shows off its seasonal decorations. Costumed guides accompany the visitor in a trip into the past through the candlelit Oakley House. Take a taste of what’s cooking in the kitchen, or just enjoy our yearly Christmas dance, music by the Lagniappe Dulcimers. Chestnuts will be roasting and wassail served.
Preregistration is required. For more information please contact Audubon State Historic Site in St. Francisville, La. at 1-225-635-3739.
Christmas in the Country St. Francisville
DECEMBER 1, 2, 3
11936 Ferdinand St. , Saint Francisville
Nothing says Christmas to an excited child more than a parade, especially a safe small-town one like St. Francisville’s popular Christmas in the Country parade the first Saturday each December, complete with marching bands and decorated floats, Santa resplendent in his sleigh. Millions of tiny white lights trace soaring Victorian trimwork and grace gallery posts to transform the entire town into a veritable winter wonderland for Christmas in the Country, as special activities throughout the extensive National Register-listed downtown Historic District provide fun for the whole family at this celebration of the season, a joyful alternative to mall madness. View the full schedule of events:
Noel Acadien au Village – Lafayette
DECEMBER 1 – 23
LARC’S ACADIAN VILLAGE
200 Greenleaf Drive
Lafayette, LA 70506
LARC’s Acadian Village hosts its 23 night Christmas festival fundraiser annually in December to benefit LARC, a local 501c(3) non-profit organization benefiting persons with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
Admission is $9.00 for ages 3 and above online
Noel Acadien au Village features half-a-million lights, including the fully lit Chapel, NEW ANIMATIONS, lighted holiday displays, live entertainment, carnival rides, local cuisine, photos with Santa, holiday shopping in the Christmas Store and much more! All proceeds directly benefit LARC’s Acadian Village and the residential, vocational, and community supports and services at LARC.
Christmas in the Park. Moncus Park
DECEMBER 15th, 16th, 17th – 6-9 PM
Christmas in the Park. Moncus Park. 5:00 pm – 10:00 pm. Celebrate the season with a CHRISTMAS event that will have live music, as well as separate activities for kids. Visit the link for a full live music lineup. MoncusPark.org/Christmas.
Get ready for a festive wonderland featuring:
Live Music to get you in the holiday spirit
The Polar Express on the big screen presented by Manuel Commercial
☕ Mobile Hot Chocolate Stations presented by Roots Pediatric Dentistry
Santa Photos, brought to you by Whataburger
Hay Rides presented by Service Chevrolet Cadillac
S’mores Stations presented by Rader
And the best part? It’s all FREE to attend!
27th Festival of the Bonfires – St. James Parish
DECEMBER 8th, 9th, 10th
Lutcher Recreational Park 2545 Louisiana Avenue Lutcher, LA 70071
CHRISTMAS ON THE RIVER…CAJUN STYLE! Enjoy great food, live entertainment, crafts, Santa’s Very Merry Forest and carnival rides throughout the weekend. Each night will be highlighted with a single bonfire lighting! Come out and experience a prelude to the famous Christmas Eve Bonfires: A tradition unique to St. James Parish and all the world!! LOCATION: Lutcher Recreational Park Lutcher Avenue- La HWY 3193 Lutcher, LA 70071
Louisiana Holiday Trail of Lights
November 17- December 31st
A weekend trip or long day trip with lots of driving along with lots of memories made.
The Louisiana Holiday Trail of Lights has existed for nearly 30 years to enhance the holiday experiences for locals, visitors, and group tours. The trail spans I-20 and I-49 in north Louisiana and incorporates Shreveport-Bossier, Minden, Monroe-West Monroe, Natchitoches, and Alexandria/Pineville.
Festivities generally start in mid-November and run through the New Year. Some of the popular and recurring events include shopping/dining/entertainment at the Louisiana Boardwalk Outlets in Shreveport-Bossier, Fasching Festival in Minden, shopping and dining in Antique Alley in Monroe-West Monroe, Festival of Lights in Natchitoches and the Christmas parades in Alexandria/Pineville.
The Louisiana Holiday Trail of Lights can be experienced in one day or a week with each day totally unique and special. The cities are all within driving distance of one another, making the tour a convenient hour-long trip from any one city to its neighboring city. Visitors are encouraged to see the brilliant lights, dine at the local restaurants, dance at the festivals, shop, and play in all of the eight festive cities.
95th Annual Natchitoches Christmas Festival
NOVEMBER 18th -JANUARY 6TH
Named after a Native American tribe, Natchitoches (pronounced Nack-a-tish ) is the oldest permanent settlement in the Louisiana Purchase Territory. Since 1927, they are home to one of the oldest community-based holiday celebrations in the country. Starting as a one-day festival, the Natchitoches Christmas Festival has evolved into a six-week long Christmas Season. The Christmas Season begins on the Saturday before Thanksgiving and concludes on January the 6th, the Epiphany. Over 300,000 lights and 100 plus set pieces are on display every night at dusk. Celebrate the Christmas season in Louisiana’s oldest city. Enjoy our daylong festival filled with music, entertainment, arts and crafts, food vendors, and our famous firework show choreographed to holiday music over Cane River Lake.
Christmas in the Park – Dark Woods Adventure Park
4343 University Parkway, Natchitoches, LA 71457
- $7 per person ages 4 and up on Weekdays through December TBA
- $8 per person ages 4 and up on December TBA
- Children 3 and under are FREE.
Our Christmas events in Baton Rouge guide will be updated as new events are listed; check back for more Baton Rouge Family Fun! If we’ve missed an event, please email us and we will get it added asap!
While every effort has been made to ensure this information is accurate, we encourage you to contact the patch directly to verify that all details are correct and have not changed.