Christmas is about love and happiness, and what better way to spread love and feel happiness than to do Christmas-y activities around town!

You can find that happiness here in Colorado. There are many Christmas-themed experiences that are fun to do with family and  close friends.

During the very first week of December, Denver hosts their annual Parade of Lights,  where local school bands, including Horizon’s, play their decked-out instruments, and families who volunteer create a float to drive around the city.

Junior Bri Talmadge called her experience “enjoyable and traditional” because her family likes to attend the Parade of Lights every year.

Zoo Lights are also a common event that takes place in Denver. Seeing all the animals is always something fun to do but walking around and seeing the lights shaped as animals is fun too! Their hours are 5:30 to 7:30 at night, and the show is running every day through December except Christmas day.

Thornton Winterfest only comes around three days every year. It’s where all the different Christmas experiences are combined into one place. They have ice skating, live performances, loads of Christmas lights, a giant tree, including Santa Claus and his elves, plus a firework show on the second night.

Friends and families all over Thornton attend this event and most leave with a smile on their faces. The warmth of the Christmas cheer is enough to warm people up from the cold outdoors.

Another winter themed place that is popularly attended is the Denver Botanical Gardens. Junior Kaiya Martinez Lyle gushed about the event last year, stating, “there were so many lights and everything was decorated!”

Although Thornton has many big events revolved around Christmas, there are also places where winter can be enjoyed even when it’s not snowing, such as ice skating rinks.

Ice skating is definitely an experience that can be hard for some people, but it’s something  that everyone should go out and do during this time of the year.

There are ice skating rinks in Denver as well as Boulder, but if it’s too cold to skate outside, there is an indoor ice skating rink in Westminster that works just the same.

Christmas is the most wonderful time of the year, so get out there and spread some Christmas cheer by experiencing everything the Denver area has to offer!