Christmas, New Orleans Style!

It's not too early to make plans to spend an unforgettable Christmas in New Orleans. Exquisite sights, wonderful Creole food, attractive hotel rates, and jazz concerts abound. It's all here during Christmas New Orleans Style, a month-long celebration that offers long-treasured Creole traditions spiced with 21st-century fun.

Many of New Orleans' finest restaurants at elegant Reveillon dinners, feature four and five course prix fixe menus. Look for special holiday favorites and many luscious masterpieces to choose from in restaurants dotting our city.

Start the season off right by finding the perfect gifts for family and friends – you might even find a little something for yourself too! Christmas Shopping in New Orleans is an absolute treat! From the elegance of Royal Street to the fun and funkiness of Magazine Street and the Arts District, there’s something to please even the fussiest person on your gift list.

Tour magnificent Celebration in the Oaks at City Park, a festive display of nearly two million lights decorating one-hundred-year-old oak trees. Ride a horse-drawn carriage through the park or travel by foot or car. Don't miss this dazzling display!

Can’t get those Christmas carols out of your head? Bundle up and swing by “Caroling in Jackson Square.” Each caroler is given a song sheet and a lit candle, so join up with the crowd and sing along to your favorite carols. The event is free and usually takes place the Sunday before Christmas depending on how early in the week Christmas occurs. If Christmas falls Monday, Tuesday, or Wednesday, then the event is usually scheduled two Sundays before.

If you’re not confident in your singing voice, then stop by St. Louis Cathedral for one of their Christmas concerts. Free concerts are held in historic St. Louis Cathedral, the oldest continuously active Roman Catholic cathedral in the U.S. Some of this city's legendary musicians perform nightly to large and mesmerized audiences. On any given night, you might hear Chris Thomas King or local folk rocker Theresa Andersson and many more. The dates and performers change every year, so make sure you check the schedule before heading out the door.

Celebrating Chanukah in New Orleans? “Hanukkah at the Riverwalk” lights the largest Menorah in Louisiana and features contemporary Jewish music and free latkes (potato pancakes). Children are treated to dreidels and chocolate coins during the celebration. Temple Sinai, a Reform Judaism Temple located on Saint Charles Avenue, hosts “Chanukah on the Avenue.” During this celebration, a traditional Menorah is lit in an outdoor ceremony, accompanied by the Temple’s Youth Choir. The lighting is partnered with a family service in the sanctuary.

There is plenty more to do in New Orleans during Christmastime; every year the Preservation Resource Center sponsors a Holiday Home Tour, which will take you inside private Garden District homes exquisitely decorated for the Holiday season. Check out the PRC’s website for more information on ticket prices and dates for the tour.

There's so much to do during the holidays in New Orleans that we couldn't possibly tell you everything. And aren't surprises part of the Christmas fun? Come to New Orleans. Let the city be your very own gift, tied with one spectacular bow.