Christmas in Cleveland: The Ultimate Guide
Disclaimer: We are not paid to promote any restaurant, hotel, activity, product, or attraction. All opinions are subjective and based on our personal experience. Your experience may be different.
Wild Winter Lights at the Cleveland Metroparks Zoo
- Location: 3900 Wildlife Way, Cleveland
- Highlight: Over 1.5 million lights
- 2025 Dates: Nov. 18th-Dec. 30th, 5:00-9:00pm.
- Admission: $24-27 for members, $27-30 for non members. Discounts with advance online purchase
I have been to many zoo lights festivals all around the country and this is one of my favorites. Metroparks puts on a pretty spectacular festival each year which features over 1.5 million colorful lights, whimsical displays, special holiday treats, and a dancing musical light show on a 50 foot tree. We also saw a cute Rudolph 4D show which was included with our ticket.
Bundle up, grab a hot cocoa, and enjoy strolling around a winter wonderland. If you are lucky, you may even get to see some real snow (it snowed pretty heavily on our first visit here and really added to the magical ambiance). A bit pricier than most other events on this list, but worth it for the amount of effort put into the fabulous display! I think they did a really nice job organizing the lights and I love all the extra touches.
Santas in Tremont
- Location: Starts at The Southside (2207 W 11th St, Cleveland)
- Highlight: Festive run through historic Tremont where everyone dresses in their best holiday gear
- 2025 Date: Dec. 13th at 4pm
- Admission: $25 per person
This 1 mile fun run through historic Tremont is a fun casual race to add to your holiday calendar. As the course is only a mile (.85 actually according to my FitBit) and not timed, you can just have some fun with friends or family, dress up in your best holiday gear, and enjoy a bit of brisk winter jog through a beautiful historic neighborhood. I didn’t feel any pressure to get a PR so a nice change of pace from stressing about times on a regular 5k.
The race is $25 (so relatively cheap compared to others) and includes a festive cup, a free beer at The South Side, a Santa hat, and a beautiful long sleeve shirt. I really love the beautiful red long sleeve – this alone was worth the price of admission in my opinion. These holiday runs are really fun as everyone really goes all out with ugly Christmas sweaters, Santa suits, even leg lamp costumes!
As a bonus, there are a lot of great restaurants and coffee shops in Tremont. After your run, I recommend warming up with a cup of joe at Civilization or Roasted. My favorite restaurants in the area are Tandul (great Indian food in a nice setting) and The Rowley Inn (across from the Christmas Story house).
Crown Point Parkway Christmas Extravaganza
- Location: 16672-17170 Bennington Dr, Strongsville
- Highlight: Rated one of the best light displays in Northeastern Ohio
- 2025 Dates: Thanksgiving – New Years, from 5:30-10pm (11 on weekends)
- Admission: Free
This cul-de-sac in Strongsville organizes one of the best light displays in Northeast Ohio. There are only a few houses to view, but they really go all out with crazy decor. In fact, this display is comparable to one of those crazy neighborhood decorating contests you see in the movies or featured on The Travel Channel. Think Deck the Halls with Matthew Broderick and Danny Devito!
You can walk or drive to view the lights but definitely visit on a weekday to avoid the crowds! We visited during the week and didn’t see many other people and it was easy to find parking. In keeping with the holiday spirit, this event collects donations and gives to a local kid in need.
It will not take up much of your time to view this display, so I would plan something else in the area. The festive SouthPark Mall (beautifully decorated for the holidays) is located just minutes away.
Ice skating
Location: Various (Downtown Cuyahoga Falls, Downtown Cleveland, Lakewood Winterhurst Arena)
Highlight: A great way to get into the holiday spirit and burn some of those calories off!
In my opinion, ice skating is the ultimate holiday activity. In many Hallmark movies, one of the leads almost went pro and puts on a festive performance. Skating burns a ton of calories, it’s fun, and it is really not all that scary once you have braved the ice a few times. I’ll admit that this city is not one of my favorite cities for skating. There are not many outdoor rinks like other northern cities I’ve lived in, and those that I have found honestly have been subpar at best.
Fortunately, I own a pair of skates, and thus, I can take advantage of the reduced pricing – definitely invest in a pair as you will save a lot of money. For anyone on a budget, there is a free rink in downtown Cuyahoga Falls ($5 skate rentals). Be aware that the ice is rough because they don’t use a zamboni (Mike actually fell pretty hard). The most festive rink is located downtown as part of the Winterland CLE Celebration.
And of course, there are a few indoor rinks that are always open for business, rain or snow! My favorite is the Michael A. Ries rink in Parma Heights. It’s nicely maintained and admission is just 5 bucks.
A Christmas Story gift shop
Location: 3159 W 11th St, Cleveland
Highlight: Wall-to-wall A Christmas Story novelty items
For the ultimate in souvenirs, check out the gift shop located right across from the iconic house. Here you can pick up much more than just a leg lamp (although they do have these in a variety of sizes!). From t-shirts, to mugs, to shot glasses, to pajama pants, to magnets and eyeglass cases, to bunny slippers, you can find everything and anything here.
Also, there is a nice selection of Christmas Vacation and Elf novelty knick knacks. It’s really festive in here with holiday decorations and gift ideas taking up every nook and cranny. Best part of all, it is free even if you are not visiting the house.
