Fun, wacky, and creative holiday celebrations in Alabama

It’s hard to overstate Alabama’s enthusiasm for the holidays. After all, the Yellowhammer State was the first in the nation to declare Christmas as a legal holiday. From “snow” on trees to parties and parades, you’ll find plenty of road trip–worthy ways to celebrate the season all over the state. 

For those who love their holiday lights tastefully whimsical, Alabama offers plenty of options. (Take, for example, the 300-plus individually decorated Douglas firs on Huntsville’s beloved Tinsel Trail or the 3 million twinklers bedecking the botanicals at Bellingrath Gardens and Home—both of which kick off November 26.)

But for the ugly-sweater set, the Wacky Tacky Tour of Birmingham, now celebrating its 10th year, offers something truly outrageous.

Board a private shuttle with your pod for a two-hour tour of the most questionably over-the-top displays in the city, from Santa’s walk-through trailer park to the Hanukkah House, with its rooftop fiddler (among other punny details). Norman Rockwell, it ain’t. “Oh, it’s fun! There are a lot of tacky people in Birmingham,” says organizer Verna Gates, who’s seen grown men attend in Christmas jammies. “Sometimes people just want to do something a little goofy.” What started as an annual tradition among Gates’ friends has since become a fund-raiser that sent 170 kids to summer camp this year.

The Wacky Tacky Tour runs December 14–16 and December 21 and offers shared shuttles and drive-yourself route options. The tour includes a stop for libations. (Be sure to designate a driver if you plan to drink alcohol.)

At tree farms across the state, families do more than select the perfect evergreen—they build traditions. Sip cocoa at Pine Hill Farms in Tarrant, where a trained blacksmith gives weekend demonstrations in a century-old barn and makes items for sale at the on-site gift shop. His most popular creation? A hand-held jingle bell doused in elf water to make it ring. “It’s magic!” says Charlene Walker, who has operated the farm with her husband since 1988.

Up north at Shell’s Christmas Tree Farm in Tuscumbia, guests can take mule-led wagon rides, make wreaths and garland, and visit with Santa Claus himself all while enjoying piping hot cider from an old wood cookstove. And down south in Summerdale, Fish River Trees rents cabins on its Christmas tree farm and gives guests the chance to see how its award-winning trees are grown.

All three operators offer cut-your-own options for native trees and import precut northern varieties.

If you’re dreaming of a white Christmas, there’s a little town in the state’s southern reaches where flakes fall like clockwork every weekend. Each December, the famous Christmas in Candyland turns Andalusia’s historic Court Square into a winter village within a village.

Dozens of kid-size structures invite youngsters to draw, slide, and play inside cheerfully decorated cottages, castles, and gingerbread houses. The flurries fly for 30 minutes at preset times throughout the weekend, filling the sky with floating white clusters of tiny bubbles—and giving families the perfect holiday photo op.

“It flies through the air like snow does,” says Maggie Holmes, director of membership for the Andalusia chamber. “It’s a Christmas wonderland.”

When health regulations permit, Candyland’s attractions also include an ice rink, a snow-tubing slide, and train rides spread across the attraction’s two downtown sites. Special events throughout the month let visitors hobnob with Frozen’s Elsa, sing along to carols, and see professional ballet performances.

This time of year, Santa really gets around, but there’s no place to visit with the Jolly Old Elf quite like Rickwood Caverns State Park’s annual Wonderland Under Warrior.

Amid 260-million-year-old subterranean rock formations, visitors find waterfalls made of twinkle lights, dazzling laser displays, a picture-perfect Christmas village, and fanciful surprises tucked into every nook and cranny.

Bonus: In a cave, you don’t have to wait until nightfall to appreciate the LEDs. Santa, who returns after his 2020 hiatus, has set up shop in the park’s (aboveground) Nature Center, which helps keep cave crowds to a minimum. But his entourage, from toy soldiers to elves to Whovillians, roam the park delighting kids and kids at heart.

This year, look for more lights above ground and original holiday music from a local composer. Decorations debut in November; Santa takes up residence after Thanksgiving. Tours are self-guided. Reserve tickets in advance online. Adults, $10.

What began as a boat parade on the Tombigbee River 50 years ago has snowballed into a weekend-long holiday party that draws up to 25,000 visitors from all over the country to the west Alabama town of Demopolis.

Today, Christmas on the River features a cavalcade of festivities, including a daytime parade, a 5K, the Alabama State BBQ Championship (part of the Kansas City Barbecue Society circuit), and a fireworks display from December 1–4. Tree lightings, carol concerts by schoolkids, arts and crafts, a food fair, and a closing gala round out the offerings.

Award-winning travel journalist Jessica Fender chronicles her globe-trotting adventures on the female-focused travel blog travelerbroads.com. A frequent contributor to AAA Explorer, her articles include:

• A girlfriend getaway to Alabama’s Lake Martin
• Alabama’s 7 natural wonders: How many have you seen?
• A fun family vacation on Alabama’s Gulf Coast