A guide to celebrating the holiday season in Colorado
From holiday markets to Christmas concerts, there's so much to enjoy in Denver and across Colorado this holiday season.
It's the holiday season, the most wonderful time of the year.
To help make sure you make the most of it, we've put together this guide to make sure you know what to cook for the holiday gatherings, the best places to celebrate the season and when to ship your gifts so they arrive on time.
Start making your plans now. From holiday markets to shopping and baking and wrapping, there's a lot going to around Colorado this holiday season.
This 9NEWS Holiday Guide will continue to grow through New Year's. We'll be adding helpful links, recipes and Colorado-specific winter season events throughout the season, so bookmark this page and check back often.
9NEWS Parade of Lights
Colorado's biggest holiday parade is back in the Mile High City.
The 49th annual 9NEWS Parade of Lights will bring sparkling lights, marching bands, giant balloons and colorful floats to the streets of downtown Denver at 6 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 2.
The Denver parade dates back to 1975 and has grown into the largest and most-watched parade in the Rocky Mountain region.
We will broadcast the parade live at 6 p.m. Dec. 2, on 9NEWS, 9NEWS.com, the 9NEWS app, 9NEWS+ and the 9NEWS YouTube channel.
Here's what you need to know about Denver's brightest holiday season tradition.
9Cares Colorado Shares
While you're out grinding the shopping aisles trying to find the perfect gift or chowing down on some delicious food, remember: Not everyone is as fortunate. The holidays are the perfect season for giving back.
The 42nd annual 9Cares Colorado Shares Food Drive continues the fall holiday tradition of helping our neighbors in need by filling the food banks and pantries in our community.
For a second year, 9NEWS has moved away from a one-day in-person donation drive to focus on raising money to feed more people by raising funds to benefit Colorado food banks.
9NEWS has partnered with King Soopers and Food Bank of the Rockies for the 9Cares Colorado Shares Food Drive. The drive will help support four Colorado food banks: Community Food Share, Food Bank for Larimer County, Food Bank of the Rockies, and Weld Food Bank.
Donations can be made online or at all Colorado King Soopers stores.
Christmas lights
Coloradans go all-out when it comes to Christmas lights, and that's why we want your help.
Show your fellow Coloradans the best lights in your neighborhood by uploading them to the "Near Me" section of the 9NEWS app. Your photos will be added to a statewide map highlighting the best places to see light displays around the state.
Holiday celebrations
A Christmas Carol and The Nutcracker are back in Colorado, but there's also walkable and drive-through light displays.
Seasonal celebrations with lights, music, hot cocoa and photo opportunities for the family are open at Gaylord Rockies, Elitch Gardens, Hudson Gardens, Civic Center Park and Loveland.
With tree lightings and outdoor celebrations, Colorado has no shortage of places to soak in the sights, sounds and smells of the holiday season.
Shopping season
Many big-box retailers began the holiday shopping season back in October, but there are still deals to be found, as well as local markets and fairs across Colorado.
Before you take your list and check it twice, do you know the shipping deadlines to ensure your gifts arrive on time for Christmas? Here is a list of shipping deadlines to keep in mind if your want your package to be delivered before Monday, Dec. 25.
Christmas music
There's no better way to get in the holiday spirit than by listening to the classics of Bing, Dino, Burl, Mariah, Barbra, Bublé, Mathis and Groban.
Denver's KOSI 101.1 and stations across Colorado provide us with 24/7 Christmas tunes, and we gladly accept. This is the 22nd year that KOSI has become Denver's Christmas music station.
SiriusXM is spreading cheer with its biggest holiday music lineup ever. SiriusXM now has 26 ad-free holiday music stations. Most of the holiday stations will be available through Dec. 26.
Holiday TV and movies
The holiday season would not be complete without seeing James Stewart running through the streets of Bedford Falls or Natalie Wood pulling the whiskers of Santa Claus.
NBC's holiday lineup this year includes the annual broadcast of "It's a Wonderful Life" on Christmas Eve.
Freeform's "25 Days of Christmas" lineup will continue through Christmas Day. Returning favorites this month include "The Santa Clause" trilogy, "Home Alone," "Home Alone 2: Lost in New York," "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" and Jim Carrey's "How the Grinch Stole Christmas." "Noelle" will make its Freeform premiere this holiday season after previously being exclusive to Disney+.
So prepare your cocoa, fireplaces and blankets because your Christmas plans have been made.
Christmas trees
From Rockefeller Center and Washington, D.C., to Castle Rock and Kremmling, massive Christmas trees are a festive sign of the season.
Hiking through the forest in search of the perfect Christmas tree is a memorable way spend some time during the holidays in Colorado. There are several Forest Service cutting areas in the state and along the Front Range.
America's tallest digital tree is back in Colorado this holiday season. The seven-story tall Mile High Tree features light shows choreographed to music at Denver's Civic Center.
The biggest tree in New York City was lit for the season Nov. 29. The 80-foot-tall, 50-foot-wide Rockefeller Christmas tree has been dressed up with more than 50,000 multicolored LED lights and topped with its traditional Swarovski star.
Recipes
Is there a better part of the season than gathering in the kitchen to make festive cookies, pies and casseroles?
Here are some must-try holiday recipes:
The 9NEWS Holiday Guide is always a work in progress, and we'll be adding helpful links, recipes, events and Colorado-specific Christmas-season events.
What would you like to see in our Holiday Guide? What part of the holidays in Colorado are you curious to know more about? drop us a line.
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