It’s not every day a holiday toy comes to life and embarks on a journey with a mortal companion. Only the magic of the season could make it happen. Travel into this enchanting world when you come to see Houston Ballet’s The Nutcracker. The show runs through December 29th at the Wortham Theater Center.

The Houston Ballet recreates this holiday classic with the timeless Tchaikovsky score as the musical backdrop. The professional dancers take to the stage to tell the story of Clara, a young girl who’s surprised to find that the Nutcracker Prince she received as a holiday gift isn’t merely a toy. He leads her on a quest to the Kingdom of Sweets, where they meet many other magical characters—and even encounter a few instances of danger. Bring friends or family to enjoy this show at the Wortham Theater Center. Tickets start at $30.

Your average holiday light display usually involves a handful of decorated pine trees and an illuminated scene of Santa’s workshop. But Magical Winter Lights is far from your average holiday light display. Instead of embracing just a single interpretation of the holiday season, it showcases eight internationally inspired scenes crafted from creative versions of the Chinese lantern.

A glowing castle welcomes you to “The Kingdom,” filled with multi-colored trees, massive lotus flowers, and ethereal orbs of light. “The Globe” brings cultures from around the world to your doorstep with paper-lantern versions of the Egyptian pyramids, a Russian palace, and Spanish flamenco dancers. If you want to get swept away in the traditional holiday scene, head to “The Village.” It’s filled with towering candy canes and snowmen, decked-out holiday trees, and faux homes embellished in honor of the season. Magical Winter Lights runs now through January 6th, and tickets are $22 for adults.

The first Houston Thanksgiving Day Parade was a pretty simple affair. In the late fall of 1949, Santa Claus climbed into his sleigh and jingled all the way from Union Station to Foley’s, a major department store at the time. In the decades since, the parade has evolved into the modern-day H-E-B Thanksgiving Day Parade, and it’s celebrating its 69th birthday this year.

This Thanksgiving morning, round up your friends and family and head downtown to enjoy the festivities starting at 9 a.m. The parade is free to attend, but you can reserve general admission seating if you want a comfortable and close-up view of the action. Expect to see splashy floats, high-flying balloons of your favorite cartoon characters, and a noteworthy Houstonian as the grand marshal. (Last year it was Chandra Wilson of Grey’s Anatomy fame.)