Christmas at Opryland Hotel in Nashville was a memorable experience: Streams of lights falling like incandescent snowflakes; children’s books and cartoon characters hanging from small-scale hot-air balloons and parachutes. Only Santa could bring more excitement.
Located seven miles from downtown Nashville, Opryland was then part of the Marriott portfolio, but the festivities still begin in early November and end in early January. A Country Christmas has been an Opryland tradition for over 30 years, and a reminder of the foundation of Nashville on Christmas Eve, in 1779.
The Holiday Extravaganza in the Tennessee Capital
Nashville is famous as the home of country music, the Blue Bird Café, the legendary Grand Ole Opry Hall, and Gibson guitars, but Opryland is the best show in town at Christmas.
You might not deck your halls before December, but Opryland does. It takes months to hang 180 miles of strings with two million (LED) lights outdoors, and 200,000 lights indoors, 15 miles of garlands everywhere, plus the 26 decorated magnolia trees of the 40-acre resort. Did I mention ten miles of red hand-tied ribbons? Numbers kept blowing my mind. Imagine 36 truckloads of ice delivered over 15 days.
A Christmas Experience at the Opryland As If You Were
From our balcony inside-view room or from the Cascades Skywalk, we felt part of the decor. Like other people, we watched, spellbound by the sounds and sights. We listened to Carolers, spotted gnomes peeking from under the bushes, and joyfully greeted Christmas characters.
In the nine-acre Garden Conservatory under a dome of metal and glass, walkways led us to themed flowerbeds filled with full-size trees, bushes, and some 500,000 tropical plants. The poinsettias alone made their seasonal statement: gazillions of them! And anywhere they could be strung, lights twinkled.
We forgot we were inside a climate-controlled biosphere as we ambled along Delta Island’s lively streets. By the time we reached the Frostbite Factory, our amazement was endless. A complete Nativity scene and ice sculptures were carved from two million pounds of ice, as clear as Waterford crystal—the result of ‘de-ionized water slowly frozen to allow the molecules to line up.’
Opryland is spectacular in any season, but the Holidays highlight its signature features: the musical show of a fountain shooting 85 feet in the air, the 44-foot-high cascade trickling down rocky rivulets, the paddlewheel boat hosting a dinner-show cruise, and, why not, an indoor lake…
Christmas at Opryland Has Something for All Ages
Children with moon-rounded eyes and gaping mouths pointed fingers like magic wands. Kid-friendly activities began with one of their beloved characters phoning to invite them for breakfast. Playtime followed in real snow on the six-lane hill of the Arctic Plunge Snow Tubing and down the 20-foot-tall ice slide. Dr. Seuss’s How the Grinch Stole Christmas was the featured musical, and Rudolf the Red-Nosed Reindeer lured us into his whimsical world.
That year, after a dinner show with Larry Gatlin and the Gatlin Brothers, our very last Christmas shopping ended on Main Street with the sweetest of stocking stuffers: Goo Goos—Nashville’s treat of caramel, peanut, nougat, and marshmallow dipped in chocolate.
Create your own memories! Check out: 2026 A COUNTRY CHRISTMAS AT GAYLORD OPRYLAND
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First published – 2011 Buckettripper – updated 2026
