It’s officially the holiday season — the temperature has dropped, there’s snow on the ground and decorations are up.

So how are you going to get in the holiday spirit?

There are markets, celebrations, festive gatherings, holiday music and more in and around Ames that are sure to get you in good spirits ahead of Christmas Day.

Grab a hot cocoa, maybe hot apple cider and get ready to be merry this holiday season.

Sights to see

Winter Wonderscape
5 to 9 p.m. Dec. 5 and 6, 11-13, 18-23, 26 and 27 | Reiman Gardens
Throughout the month of December, Reiman Gardens will be decked with over 200,000 lights that transform its gardens into a winter wonderland with light tunnels, disco balls, Candy Land, s’mores and more.
Tickets $16 general, $14 members and ISU students, $7 ages 2 to 12, free for youth under 2.

Yuletide at the Farm House Museum
5 to 7 p.m. Friday, Dec. 5 | Farm House Museum
Iowa State University’s oldest building, the Farm House Museum, will be open during the university’s holiday celebration. The museum will have free Victorian yuletide themed activities and crafts while you enjoy holiday treats.
FREE

The Santa Express
Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays through Dec. 21 | Boone & Scenic Valley Railroad
Have milk and cookies, sing Christmas carols and meet Santa Claus himself on the Boone & Scenic Valley Railroad.
$28+

Altrusa Holiday Home Tour
9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 6 | Ames
The 35th Annual Altrusa of Ames Holiday Home Tour will showcase the decked halls of five homes to kickstart the holiday season.
$22

Snowshoeing in McFarland Park
1 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 6 | McFarland Park
Embrace the cold weather with an invigorating snowshoe hike at McFarland Park. No experience is necessary and snowshoes will be provided.
$5 registration

Holiday Paint & Sip
7 to 9 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 6 | Homewood Golf Course
Cozy up next to the fireplace in the clubhouse at Homewood Golf Course with snacks and drinks (including beer and wine) along with paintbrushes and a canvas to paint something “Merry & Bright.”
$42

A Hometown Christmas
Dec. 5-7 | Nevada
Spend the weekend full of holiday cheer throughout Nevada. There will be cocoa, cookies, hay rides, tree lighting and more.
FREE

Mucky Christmas
6 p.m. Dec. 9 and 10 | The Mucky Duck Pub, 3100 S. Duff Ave.
Have a holiday meal of turkey, bread pudding, roasted vegetables, sausage, glazed carrots and stuffing at the Mucky Duck Pub. Dinner is served at 7 p.m. and will be accompanied by carols and an open mic night.
$42+ (Purchase here)

Hidden Candy Cane Hike
Noon to 4 p.m. Monday, Dec. 22 | McFarland Park
Look for hidden candy canes at McFarland Park along the Touch-a-Life trail.
FREE

Special events for finding gifts

Lucky Star Holiday Market
9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 6; noon to 5 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 7 | Prairie Moon Winery, 3801 W. 190th St.
Lucky Star Market celebrates its holiday market at Prairie Moon Winery, with a ticketed preview night on Dec. 5, and will hold its market on Saturday and Sunday. Local makers and vendors will have gifts that will wow your family and friends.

Christmas-Palooza Craft and Vendor Show
6 to 9 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 5; 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 6 | Boone County Fairgrounds
Holiday crafts, snacks and vendors with the perfect holiday gifts will be set up at the Boone County Fairgrounds.

Jingle & Mingle Holiday Market
3:30 to 7:30 p.m. Friday, Dec. 5 | Beardshear Hall
Support Iowa State students and their businesses at the Jingle & Mingle Holiday Market in Beardshear Hall at Iowa State. Food, gifts and crafts will be ready to put under your tree or in your stockings.

Mother’s Closet Holiday Market
11 to 3 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 7. | Mother’s Pub, 2900 West St.
A holiday market with local vendors with second-hand goods and crafts perfect for the holiday season will be at Mother’s Pub.

Holiday Creations
1 to 3 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 20 | McFarland Park
Would you rather make your own holiday decorations and gifts? Decorate ornaments, wooden boards and pinecones at McFarland Park.
$25

Holiday celebrations

Snow Magic Kick-Off
5 to 8 p.m Thursday, Dec. 4 | Downtown Ames
Downtown Ames will be Iowa’s own North Pole with carolers, Santa, Buddy the Elf, carriage rides, decorated store fronts and more at the Snow Magic Kick-Off.
FREE

WinterFest
Friday, Dec. 5. | Iowa State University
The Iowa State University campus will turn into a holiday celebration on Friday, Dec. 5. Holiday arts and crafts, holiday markets, open houses, holiday music, tree lighting and more will be around campus throughout the day.
FREE

Holiday performances

Tubachristmas
3 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 6 | Stephens Auditorium
The 15th Tubachristmas, a free holiday musical event, is good for all ages. Low brass instruments and their players will fill the auditorium with holiday cheer.

Central Iowa Symphony: Strumming in the Season
7:30 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 6 | Ames City Auditorium
Herald in the holidays with the Central Iowa Symphony, and welcome yet another rarely seen solo instrument to the front of the orchestra as guitarist, Alex Aldridge, brings Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco’s effervescent first guitar concerto to life.
$20; free for students and youth

“Lights of Hope” Holiday Concert
7 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 7 | St. Andrew’s Lutheran Church, 209 Colorado Ave.
The Ames Women’s Choir will perform holiday songs that celebrate resilience, unity and the enduring power of hope at St. Andrew’s Lutheran Church.

Holiday Concert: ISU Choirs and Orchestra
3 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 7 | Stephens Auditorium
Iowa State’s Choirs and Orchestra, featuring Iowa State Singers, Iowa Statesmen, Lyrica and Cantamus, and the ISU Symphony Orchestra will perform.
$15, free for students and youth

Holiday Concert: ISU Bands
7 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 7 | Stephens Auditorium
Experience the magic of the holiday season with an enchanting evening of music featuring the ISU Wind Ensemble, Symphonic Band, Concert Band and Campus Band.
$15, free for students and youth

Holiday Orchestra Concert
7:30 p.m. Monday, Dec. 8 | Wayne Hansen Performing Arts Center, Ames High School
Ames High Orchestra presents its holiday concert.

The Nutcracker Ballet
1 and 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 13; 1 p.m. on Sunday, Dec. 14 | Stephens Auditorium
If the Nutcracker is your style, Stephens Auditorium will have its annual local production of the beloved ballet.
$25+

Santa at North Grand Mall
4 to 7 p.m. Friday, Dec. 13 and 20; noon to 4 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 14 and 21
Come to the mall and let Santa Claus know what you’d like to see waiting under the tree come Christmas morning. Pets have their chance to see Santa from 5 to 7 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 17.
Free

Holiday Spectacular
7:30 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 13 | Martha-Ellen Tye Recital Hall, Music Hall
The Central Iowa Wind Ensemble will present a joyful, hilarious and heartwarming musical celebration of the holiday season.
FREE

Ames Choral Society Winter Concert
3 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 14 | St. Andrew’s Lutheran Church
The Ames Choral Society will perform holiday classics that bring peace and joy this season.
$15 adults; $5 youth 6-12

Holiday Band Concert
6:30 p.m. Monday, Dec. 15 | Wayne Hansen Performing Arts Center, Ames High School
Ames High Band presents its holiday concert.

Dolly Parton’s Smoky Mountain Christmas Carol
7 p.m. Monday, Dec. 15 | Stephens Auditorium
A new holiday musical featuring songs by Dolly Parton and book by David H. Bell, adapted by Bell, Curt Wollan and Paul T. Couch. Set in the Smoky Mountains in the 1930s, you’ll get a taste of some familiar holiday stories.
$38

A Magical Cirque Christmas
7 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 17 | Stephens Auditorium
A traveling holiday extravaganza set in the Golden Age makes its way to Ames.
$49+

Holly Jolly Holidays with Howie and Jenn
7 p.m. Friday, Dec. 19 | Ames City Auditorium
Michael Howland (Howie) and Jenny Throckmorton, both local singers, perform holiday favorites.
$10

Need a real Christmas tree?

Strautman Tree Farm
11 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays; 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekends | 58976 290th St. in Cambridge
Choose and cut your own tree or get a wreath and be treated to complimentary cookies and cider at Strautman Tree Farm.

Rettig Tree Farm
A charming family farm, Rettig Tree Farm, 7602 NE 114 Ave. in Bondurant, has trees ready for the holiday season.

The Christmas Tree Farm
3 to 5 p.m. weekdays; 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekends | 33459 663rd Ave., Maxwell
Pick out and cut your own tree and maybe visit Santa at the Christmas Tree Farm.

Let’s all go to the movies

A Christmas Story
10 a.m. Saturday, Dec. 6; 6:45 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 10 | Movies 12
In the 1940s, a young boy named Ralphie Parker attempts to convince his parents, teacher and Santa Claus that a Red Ryder Range 200 Shot BB gun really is the perfect Christmas gift.
$5

How the Grinch Stole Christmas
Daily beginning Friday, Dec. 12 | Movies 12
The Jim Carrey-led version of the classic Dr. Seuss story gets a theatrical rerelease for its 25th anniversary. “On the outskirts of Whoville lives a green, revenge-seeking Grinch who plans to ruin Christmas for all of the citizens of the town.”
$5+

Elf
10 a.m. Saturday, Dec. 13; 6:45 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 17 | Movies 12
Raised as an oversized elf, Buddy travels from the North Pole to New York City to meet his biological father, Walter Hobbs, who doesn’t know he exists and is in desperate need of some Christmas spirit.
$5

Christina Aguilera: Christmas in Paris
7:30 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 14 | Movies 12
Christina Aguilera celebrates 25 years of My Kind of Christmas with a dazzling live Paris show, featuring theatrical spectacle, fantasy elements and grand visual displays.
$14