8 family-friendly ways to celebrate the holidays in Indianapolis

Indianapolis celebrates the holidays from the heart. While other destinations might be glitzier, those cities might envy Indy’s exuberance. “It becomes a holiday town,” says semi-retired public relations executive and former Indy resident Norman Wilkens, who has traveled to Chicago, New York, and other large cities during the season. “They all have great festivities, but in Indianapolis, the whole downtown takes on the spirit of Christmas.”

At museums, theaters, and other attractions throughout Indiana’s capital city, friends and families create multigenerational gatherings that become annual traditions. Celebrations deck downtown with delight and ripple outward. Here are 8 events that might inspire you to start your own annual tradition if you visit Indianapolis during the holidays.

On the Friday evening after Thanksgiving, families, couples, and friends pack Monument Circle, the city’s hub, to witness the season’s signature event: Circle of Lights, the lighting of a colossal Christmas “tree.”

Volunteers from the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local Union 481 create the tree by stringing strands of colored lightbulbs on the 284-foot-tall Soldiers and Sailors Monument from top to bottom. The winner of a coloring contest for children ages 3 to 12 turns on the lights, which stay on through December 30. Local bands and other groups entertain, and fireworks brighten the skies. This year marks the event’s 60th anniversary. Free.

Also on Monument Circle, AES Indiana presents holiday-themed light displays on the 267 windows of its 10-story headquarters building throughout the season. The tradition began in 1954, when workers lit the windows in red and green stripes. Today’s technology enables more elaborate displays, like the American flag or a Christmas tree. Free.

In a restored 1916-era movie palace on Monument Circle, the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra (ISO) presents a holiday gala. The AES Indiana Yuletide Celebration includes  holiday songs, a telling of ’Twas the Night Before Christmas, and tap-dancing Santas.

“The staging and costuming are amazing,” says Bill Sharp, a former travel product development manager who attends every year. “It’s the closest you can get to the Christmas Spectacular at Radio City Music Hall without going to New York.” ISO Principal Pops Conductor Jack Everly conducts, and this year, singer and Las Vegas favorite Frankie Moreno hosts.

Sharp enjoys the sense of occasion. “Families dress up for this, boys in jackets and ties, girls in fancy dresses,” he says. “It wouldn’t seem like Christmas without going.” Twenty-seven Yuletide performances will take place between December 2 and 23 at the Hilbert Circle Theatre. Adult admission starts at $24.70.

Glazed terra cotta fronts another former downtown movie palace, the 1927-era Spanish Baroque building where the Indiana Repertory Theatre (IRT) marks its 50th anniversary season this year and where, for more than 20 years, IRT has presented its annual production of Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol.

Local actor Rob Johansen plays Ebenezer Scrooge, a role he stepped into only last year, although he’s played numerous parts with the company. “These actors are real people to us audience members,” says Diana Russell, an IRT usher. “Seeing them playing different parts proves they can go from one role to another.”

Russell also likes greeting the audience members, many of whom she’s come to know. “This show is a tradition for so many,” she says. “It’s fun to see the families getting out together—the little bitty ones all the way up to the elderly.” A Christmas Carol, adapted by Tom Haas, runs November 19 through December 24. Adult admission starts at $25–$94.

For more than 100 years, L.S. Ayres & Company reigned as downtown’s most famous department store. Residents would often agree to meet “under the Ayres clock” on the building’s corner at Washington and Meridian streets.

On Thanksgiving Eve in 1947, a bronze cherub appeared, seemingly by magic, atop the clock. Ayres had commissioned sculptor David Rubins to create the cherub to celebrate the company’s 75th anniversary. The angel’s appearance was a holiday surprise that became an annual event.

L.S. Ayres & Company dissolved in 2006, but the clock remains, and local lore says the L.S. Ayres cherub will again materialize this year on Thanksgiving Eve, remaining until Christmas Eve, when it will again vanish. Free.

In 1967, the Indianapolis Zoo became the country’s first zoo to offer a holiday lights experience. Today, Christmas at the Zoo includes visits to Santa’s Village, where Santa hangs out and Mrs. Claus makes treats in her kitchen with 2 elves.

“Visitors feel like they’ve stepped inside a glittering snow globe,” says Director of Public Relations Judy Palermo. In the zoo’s Flights of Fancy aviary, kids can even see vacation-mode Santa, as he enjoys some tropical vibes with the zoo’s resident flamingos.

As night falls, you can stroll the pathways where LED images of a lion, rhinoceros, giraffe, and other zoo denizens peek out among trees glittering with more than half a million colored lights. Some real animals might show up, too, like a red panda and maybe even a tiger. Christmas at the Zoo runs from November 19 through December 30, except Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve, and Christmas. Adult tickets start at $28.75 in advance.

At The Children’s Museum of Indianapolis, the world’s largest such museum, kids visiting during Jolly Days can climb inside the Ice Castle, sock skate on a pretend pond, and go faux ice-fishing with magnets and stuffed sea creatures. “It’s always so cute,” says Director of Media and Public Relations Kimberly Harms Robinson. “Kids hold up their fish like they caught a real fish.”

Children and adults can careen down the 2-lane Yule Slide erected over the main staircase. (Pro tip: The inside lane is faster.) And the whole family can enjoy The Snow Queen, a live play adapted by Thomas Cardwell, from a Hans Christian Anderson story. Select performances are signed by an American Sign Language interpreter.

Children’s entertainer Zak Morgan hosts Countdown to Noon on December 31, where you can join revelers in the Atrium for an early countdown, capped by confetti bursts at noon and 1 p.m. “The kids get all excited,” says Harms Robinson, who often brings her grandchildren. “They feel like grown-ups, but they get to celebrate at a family-friendly hour.” Jolly Days runs November 25 through January 1. Adult tickets start at $18; free for all on Christmas Eve.

The railroads helped to develop the American West, and the Eiteljorg Museum of American Indians and Western Art, which honors North America’s indigenous populations in its stunning collection of Native American and Western art, pays homage to that heritage with Jingle Rails: The Great Western Adventure.

Nine model trains traverse 1,200 feet of track—over bridges, through tunnels, and past micro versions of Pueblo villages, the Grand Canyon, and Old Faithful, which, like the original, erupts frequently. Artisans craft the settings from natural materials such as bark, leaves, pine cones, and nut shells.

This year, expanded space offers activities for families, who can enjoy close-up views of details such as the Indiana State Fairgounds in the Indianapolis section. “It’s a popular part of the display,” says Director of Marketing and Communications Bert Beiswanger. “It has a colorful working Ferris wheel the kids love.”

Also appearing in miniature are the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and even the Soldiers and Sailors Monument, all lit up like a Christmas tree. Jingle Rails runs from November 19, 2022 through January 16, 2023. Adults, $15.

During A Merry Prairie Holiday at Conner Prairie in Fishers, about 20 miles northeast of downtown Indianapolis, take a stroll through Prairietown, a living-history museum that conjures a fictional 1836 village, or take an 1863 Civil War Journey. During the holidays, the eras merrily mix, and you can walk back and forth between past and present. You can also take the kids for snowless tubing on the Polar Bear Plunge or skating at Frosty’s Skating Rink.

In the Civil War Journey area, take the approximately mile-long Winter Wonderland Stroll through a light display—half traditional favorites, half new—coordinated with music. Reindeer, a rodeo scene, and farm animals are among the images that promise to dazzle this year.

“It encourages a family to share a holiday experience together,” says Director of Programs Johnny Marquis, who started visiting Conner Prairie when he was 11 years old. “You’re not in front of a screen, you’re not in the car looking out different windows. You’re all sharing the same view; there’s no rush. You can make a memory every year, for generations.” A Merry Prairie Holiday runs Fridays through Sundays from November 25 through December 18, plus December 21 and 22. Adults, $22.

Indianapolis native Elizabeth Harryman Lasley is currently the president of the Society of American Travel Writers.