6 Things to Do in Winter in San Antonio

San Antonians love the Christmas holiday season and start celebrating it from Thanksgiving Day when the streets and driveways are lined with hundreds of luminarias, little lanterns containing glowing candles. 

Kick off the winter vacation in San Antonio’s River Walk, where 200,000 holiday lights hang from stone bridges, graceful tree limbs, and the outlines of lampposts, shops and hotels. Riverside stores fill their windows with lavish displays, and Alamo Plaza is outfitted with a large Christmas tree, all welcoming the arrival of Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s Day. 

San Antonio’s theme parks take advantage of the city’s fascination with holiday festivals, decorating their rides with twinkling lights, Santa Claus displays and holiday trees.  

Holiday-themed concerts and rides, Christmas cookies and hot chocolate are part of the celebration at Six Flags Fiesta Texas. And in nearby New Braunfels, the Schlitterbahn Waterpark Resort trucks in snow and ice equipment to help visitors get in the spirit of winter with sledding and ice-skating. When your cheeks are nice and rosy, why not sit down for a cup of hot chocolate or mulled wine to get ready for another sled ride.  

On New Year’s Eve, live music, Latin American folk dancing and food booths line the streets. Head to La Villita, San Antonio’s old town and HemisFair Park, site of the 1968 World’s Fair for some of the best spots to view the action. Multiple stages fill the air with Latin, American and German music.  

Don’t return to your winter hotel in San Antonio before midnight. The evening finishes with a night sky blazing with fireworks, a psychedelic backdrop to the 750-foot (230 metres) Tower of the Americas. 

After a day outside in the crisp winter air, it's time to warm up over a bowl of hot chili, a Tex-Mex favorite. There’s no single way to make chili, and comparing the bowls from one restaurant to another is half the fun. Whether the dish includes tender chunks of beef or a mix of vegetables, sizzling hot peppers or mild beans, a creamy white base or a tomato broth, San Antonio’s chili will satisfy your appetite and warm you up.  

Look for the best chili at authentic Mexican restaurants Mi Tierra at Market Square, Casa Rio on the River Walk or Tomatillos on the North Loop. 

Celebrate the holiday season in San Antonio with Latin American music festivals. Hundreds of mariachi bands and soloists meet in the Mariachi Vargas Extravaganza. The event takes place for a week in November, with bands competing for music awards and participating in mariachi workshops. 

Throughout December, Market Square is the site for Fiestas Navideñas, a month-long festival with Mexican crafts and Latin-influenced Christmas music. Check out the Mariachi Mass, which takes place every Sunday at Mission San José. Always festive, the weekly service features authentic holiday music in December.

About a million twinkling lights usher in the holidays at Light the Way, a Christmas tradition at San Antonio’s University of the Incarnate Word. Walk or drive through a campus of reindeer, crèches, university buildings and gardens, all outlined in tiny white lights. 

Take in the thousands of lights and the themed decorations and get into the holiday mood. Have your camera ready to snap some stunning pictures and maybe even have them made into unique Christmas cards to send to your friends.