We're here to provide you with the PERFECT guide to help maximize your holiday experience.
We are talking about light shows, pop-up shops, Santa sightings, and more holiday events in Memphis. Let’s go!
We are talking about pre-and post-thanksgiving concerts, light shows, pop-up shops, Santa sightings, and more holiday events in Memphis. Let’s go!
Thanksgiving prep:
Offering to-go meals/open for thanksgiving day
- Brookhaven Pub
- opens at 5PM-1AM Thanksgiving Day
- Char Restaurant
- Accepting pre-orders for Pecan Pie and Thanksgiving sides here.
- El Mero Taco
- Dips, sauces, sides, and meats available for purchase in bulk.
- Evelyn & Olive
- Call 901.748.5422 to place an order for take home Stuffed Jerk Turkey.
- Restaurant Iris
- Holiday Take Home Meals can be ordered here.
- Corky’s Ribs and BBQ
- Deadline to order is Monday, November 22
- Curb Side Casseroles
- Felicia Suzanne’s
- Deadline to order is Saturday, November 20
- Folk’s Folly Prime Steak House
- Frost Bake Shop
- Happy Glaze Donuts
- Julles Posh Food Co.
- Muddy’s Bake Shop
- Seasons 52
- open for dine in and to-go
- R.P Tracks
- Starting at 5pm on Thanksgiving Day
- Max’s Sports Bar
- open on thanksgiving evening
- LunchBox Eats
- Has a Thanksgiving order guide
- The Hi-Tone
- Will be open with a Walrus Thanksgiving show at 10PM
- Brookhaven Pub
- opens at 5PM-1AM Thanksgiving Day
- Capital Grille
- open Thanksgiving Day and offers to-go meals
- Bishop Memphis
- Open for brunch and dinner
- Bar Keough
- Opens late Thanksgiving Day
Thanksgiving events
- November 9th: Friends Trivia (The One About Thanksgiving) at Railgarten
- November 12: Memphis Wing & Turkey Leg Classic
- November 12: 2nd Annual Keto Friendsgiving
- November 18: ‘It’s Giving’ Vegan Buffet
- November 19: Memphis- Friendsgiving Trivia Pub Crawl – $15,000 + in Prizes
- November 25: 2nd Annual Black Friday Turkey Burn-off/ Hike Along the Wolf River
Holiday Lights & Displays:
Is that the North Pole? No, it’s Memphis all decked out in its most festive fit! When the holiday lights get hung, the real fun begins.
Holiday Happenings:
New years Eve events:
- 2022 Trivia w/ Cerrito Trivia
- The Ball Drop at Hi Tone
- New Years at The Peabody
- NYE 2023 feat. Jason D Williams at Hernando’s Hide-A-Way
- New Year’s Eve with Louder Than Bombs and Solar Powered Love
- Dress Down NYE Countdown at Butterific Bakery & Cafe
- New Year’s Eve Party at The Westin Hotel
- Lamplighter New Years Eve Extravaganza
- NYE Bass Experience 2023
- Emotions False New Years Eve Bash at Hi Tone
- New Years Eve on Beale
- PC Band Presents: New Years Eve Black Tie Affair
- Big Top Tease: NYE Spectacular at Drus
- New Years Eve Party at the Bluff
- 90’s New Years Eve Party at the Flying Saucer
- Southern Soul N.Y.E Bash at the Perignons Restaurant
- NYE Bash with 8 Ball & MJG w/ Comedian Oscar P
- New Year’s Eve at Tiger & Peacock
- Picasso’s New Year’s Eve Masquerade Party
- Ring, Ring, Ring in 2023 at Dave & Buster’s
Parades:
- December 2: Collierville Christmas Parade
- December 10: Germantown Holiday Parade
- December 10: Memphis Holiday Parade
Tree Lightings:
- November 17: Graceland Holiday Lighting
- November 19: Downtown Holiday Tree Lighting
- November 22: Collierville Tree Lighting
- December 3: Overton Square Tree Lighting
adults-only festivities:
- December 3: Stumbling Santa Pub Crawl
- December 10: Devil in a Cardigan – Ugliest Sweater Party
- December 16: Blue Christmas at Grind City Brewing Company
- December 17: Memphis Ugly Sweater Bar Crawl
- December 17: JINGLE JAM 2022
Shopping:
- Open now until December 22nd: Women’s Exchange Holiday Market
- November 17: First Dibs Holiday Bazaar with Arrow Creative
- November 18-19: Broad Avenue Holiday Open House
- December 3: First Fridays on Broad: Sip, Shop, and Ugly Christmas Sweaters
- December 10: Nerd Alert Krampus Holiday Market
- December 17: 4th Annual Black Holiday Expo
Concerts:
- November 17-19: Graceland Holiday Concert Weekend
- November 29: Rudi E. Scheidt School of Music Holiday Concert
- December 7: Deck the Halls Ball ft. The Band Camino & Andy Grammar at the Orpheum
- December 10: Magic of Memphis with Memphis Symphony Orchestra
- December 11: Pentatonix: A Christmas Spectacular
- December 18: The Holiday Jam ft. Johnny Gill
- December 21: Drew & Ellie Holcomb’s Neighborly Christmas at the Orpehum
- December 29: Mannheim Steamroller Christmas by Chip Davis at the Orpheum
Performances:
- November 22-27: Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas! the Musical (Touring)
- November 26-27: New Ballet Ensemble’s Nut Remix
- December 2: Navidad Spectacular! A Christmas Musical with Latin Flavor
- December 3-11: Elf the Musical in Collierville
- December 8: Back to the Light: Not Too Late Night Talk Show – Holiday Spectacular!
- December 13: Carols of the Victorians
- December 16-18: Ballet Memphis Presents: The Nutcracker
- December 18: The Holiday Jam at the Cannon Center
- December 29: Mannheim Steamroller Christmas
Movie screenings:
- December 2: Holiday Kick-Off at Saddle Creek (Polar Express Screening)
- December 3: 2nd Annual Interactive Star Wars Holiday Special Screening
- December 3: Nutcracker Movie Screening at the Brooks Museum
- December 9: Season of Delight: Festive Music and The Grinch
- December 10: Time Warp Drive-In: Strange Christmas 9
- December 16: Season of Delight: Amurica photo booth and Gremlins (1984)
- December 17: Kids Holiday Movie Marathon
- December 22: Dinner & A Movie Holiday Special: A MUPPET CHRISTMAS CAROL
- December 23: Holiday Movie Screening: THE NIGHTMARE BEFORE CHRISTMAS
santa sightings:
- Weekends in December: Photos with Santa at Saddle Creek
- December 3: Santa Paws Pics at Hollywood Feed on Collins
- December 9: Pictures with Santa on Beale
- December 10: Breakfast with Santa at the Fire Museum
- Saturdays in December: Christmas in Collierville (Free pics with Santa- Bring Your Own Camera)
- December 10 & 17: Saturdays with Santa at the Children’s Museum of Memphis
- December 17: Pizza With Santa at Aldo’s
Arts & Crafts
- November 28: Nutcracker Paint Party with Dorothy Collier at Arrow Creative
- December 3: The Wild Holiday Rumpus at the Brooks
- December 6-27: December Events at the Well
- December 9 & 10: Dixon Gallery & Gardens MERRY and BRIGHT
Toy Drives:
- Collecting donations through December 3: MAM Christmas Store
- Donations will be collected December 3: Stumbling Santa Pub Crawl benefitting Porter-Leath
- Collecting donations through December 9: 2022 BGCM Toy Drive
Gifs: Wonderland Escape Rooms
- Memphis Arts Collective: Memphis Arts Collective is hosting their 3rd Holiday Artist Market. The Charity Beneficiary is THRIVE Memphis (a facility for adults and teens with intellectual disabilities.)
- November 26th- December 24th
- Mondays-Saturdays 10:30 AM – 6:30 PM. Sundays Noon-5:00 PM.
- BIG Holiday Expo: Get a jumpstart on your holiday shopping with the biggest holiday shopping event of the season! There will be 100+ exclusive vendors, music, food, and fun for the whole family.
- November 17th
- Tickets:
- $2 for general admission
- $175 vendor pass
- Turkey Trot: You never need an excuse to delve into delicious Thanksgiving Day food, but running the turkey trot would definitely make room for more stuffing!
- November 24th
- Sign up here.
- Holiday Tree Lighting benefiting St.Jude: Head to the corner of Peabody Place and S. Main Street for the annual Downtown Memphis Tree Lighting!
- November 27th
- Hours: 4:00PM-7PM
- Friendsgiving at the Bluff with DJ Epic
- November 24th
- Hours: Starts at 10PM
- Wonderland Escape Rooms: Wonderland is an interactive photo experience with five different places to explore and sixteen different photo settings!
- Starts on November 5th
- Small Business Saturday Pop Up Shop: Spend the biggest shopping weekend of the year supporting small businesses! Head to Summer ave. for live music and tons of local vendors.
- November 27th
- Hours: 1PM-5PM
- Collierville Christmas Parade: Join in on the festivities at the 44th annual Collierville Christmas Parade!
- December 3rd
- 7 PM
- All Aboard! Holiday Kick-Off at Saddle Creek: Kick off the 2021 holiday season with an outdoor showing of Polar Express, train rides, and a visit from Santa himself!
- December 3rd
- Hours: 6PM-8PM
- Stumbling Santa benefitting Porter-Leath: 17th Annual Stumbling Santa Pub crawl is back! This bar crawl is at no cost to you except bringing a new, unwrapped toy for a Porter-Leath preschool children.
- December 4th @ 7PM
- Once Upon A Dream: Christmas Pop Up Shop
- December 5th, The Dream Center Event Venue
- Hours: 12PM-6PM
- 2021 Memphis Holiday Parade: The 2021 Memphis Holiday Parade is the biggest parade in Memphis! It features elementary and high school bands, community organizations, dance groups, cheerleaders, and even Santa! You do not want to miss the fun that is gonna go down on Beale.
- December 11th
- Hours: 3:00 PM-4:30 PM
- Talk and Walk- Winter Walk: During this cold season series, you’ll discover how life survives by using different cold weather strategies plus take a guided walk with a naturalist.
- December 11th
- 9:00 AM
- Tickets:$10.00
- Christmas in Bartlett- Market and Festivities:
- Dates/Hours: Dec 10th, 4:30-7:30pm. Dec 11th, 9:00 am-4:00pm
- A. Keith Mcdonald Pavilion at Freeman Park, 2968 Bartlett Blvd
- Beale Street Holly Jolly Holiday Celebration: Enjoy a FREE outdoor holiday experience in the newly renovated W.C. Handy Park on Beale Street. Partake in socially-distanced pictures with Santa, holiday music, and FREE hot chocolate.
- December 4 & December 11th
- Hours: 4:30PM- 6:30PM
- The Christmas Bar Crawl for Toys for Tots
- December 11th, 4PM-Midnight
- Holiday Wreath Making Class
- December 12th
- 2:00 PM-4:00PM
- Tickets: $45
- Candle Making with Brooke Williamson: What is a better gift for a loved one than a hand-poured candle that you personally made? Join Brooke Willamson from New Harbet Candles to learn tricks of the trade when it comes to soy candle making.
- December 17th
- Hours: 6:30PM-8:30PM.
- Tickets: $65
- Christmas Fiesta: This Christmas, Cazateatro Bilingual Theater Group and Opera Memphis present a Christmas Fiesta! Head to Dixon Gallery and Gardens to enjoy the Christmas traditions of Latin America and the Caribbean. Enjoy music, food, and crafts!
- December 18th
- Hours: 11 AM-3 PM
- Rainbow Holiday Market at Black Lodge: Come support local queer creators + find unique gifts for the people on your holiday shopping list at the first-ever Bevy Rainbow Holiday Market at Black Lodge.
- When: December 19th
- Time: 2PM-7 PM
- Admission: $10
- Stumbling Santa benefitting Porter-Leath
- 17th Annual Stumbling Santa Pub crawl is back! This bar crawl is at no cost to you except bringing a new, unwrapped toy for a Porter-Leath preschool children.
- Find Holiday Trivia events here.
Theatre/Musicals
- Ballet Memphis presents The Nutcracker: Ballet Memphis returns to the Orpheum Stage with the live Memphis Symphony Orchestra
- December 17th-19th
- Tickets
- Cirque Dreams Holidaze: Celebrate the most wonderful time of the year Broadway style with Cirque Dreams Holidaze! This Broadway Style musical is combined with contemporary circus artistry for the perfect holiday event.
- December 1st
- Tickets
- Hamilton: What better way to celebrate the holiday season or ring in the new year than with the groundbreaking Hamilton.
- December 21-January 2
- Tickets
- Bilingual Play- The Last Christmas (La Ultima Navidad):
- December 3rd-5th.
- A Christmas Carol at Theatre Memphis
- December 3rd-23rd
Santa Sightings
What about giving back?
Giving Tuesday is creeping up! You’ve got time to get involved and give back to the city that built you or is building you! This is the perfect opportunity to turn your hearts towards generosity and showcase the proud Memphian you are.
Volunteer Opportunities
Check out this blog to find ways to get involved this holiday season!
- Porter-Leath Toy Truck: Toy Truck puts a new toy under the Christmas tree for over 2,500 children served by Porter-Leath’s Preschool program. You can drop off new, unwrapped toys as well as cash, check, or credit card donations. Please bring dolls, puzzles, balls, blocks and other toys that promote early childhood learning.
- Silver Bells 2021: Brighten a homebound senior’s holiday by donating online or adopting a silver bell!
- 6th Annual New Year’s Eve Party & Supply Drive for the Homeless
New Year’s Eve Parties
- New Year’s Eve on Beale
- New Year’s Eve at Lafayette’s
- 6th Annual New Year’s Eve Party & Supply Drive for the Homeless