Christmas Lights in Memphis 2026: Dates, Hours and Prices

Christmas lights in Memphis come in a few flavors: a drive-through show at Shelby Farms, a lantern walk at the zoo, Graceland in blue, and a handful of tree lightings and parades from downtown to Collierville. The hard part is the calendar. Half of what turns up in a search is last December's schedule, and the zoo's holiday lights aren't called Zoo Lights anymore.

So this list is 2026 only: every date and price below was checked at the organizer's own site on October 13, 2026. Where an organizer hasn't posted this season yet, we say so plainly and tell you what to expect, and we'll update the page when they do. Building out the rest of the holidays? Start with things to do in Memphis. — Josh

The big Christmas light shows

The ticketed, all-season light displays, the ones worth planning a night around. Two have posted their full 2026 calendars and one has posted its dates with prices still to come.

• Starry Nights at Shelby Farms ParkShelby Farms Park, East Memphis

  A brand-new drive-through show for 2026, 'Arctic Adventure,' with millions of lights and 500-plus animated displays synchronized to music, produced by World of Illumination and presented by the First Horizon Foundation. It runs Nov 21, 2026 through Jan 3, 2027; ticket prices and nightly hours weren't posted as of Oct 13 (the park says presale opens soon). Before or after, our Shelby Farms Park guide covers the rest of the park.

• Memphis Zoo Lantern Festival (formerly Zoo Lights)Memphis Zoo, Overton Park

  The zoo's holiday lights are now a lantern festival, which replaced the old Zoo Lights: giant animal-shaped lanterns, glowing pathways, snow at the front of the zoo and a new interactive Christmas maze for 2026. Select nights Nov 13, 2026 through Feb 14, 2027, 5–9:30pm (last entry 8:30), with a sensory night Dec 9; $23 members, $25 non-members, ages 2 and up, plus a new $75 season pass, and tickets are sold online only. Ziplines are $10 a ride, food and drinks extra.

• Cedar Hill Farm Christmas Traditions Light ShowHernando, MS, 8 Love Rd

  Drive or walk through thousands of lights at Cedar Hill Farm, with a synchronized nativity light show ('The Greatest Story Ever Told'), a Christmas train past North Pole scenes and Santa. 2026 light nights are Nov 27–28, Dec 4–5, Dec 11–12 and Dec 17–23, 4–8:30pm. General admission is complimentary (wristband required for ages 3 and up); combo tickets with the train run $18.95 adults and $15.95 kids online plus tax and fees, a bit more at the gate.

• Holiday Wonders at the GardenMemphis Botanic Garden, 750 Cherry Rd

  The Botanic Garden's after-dark holiday lights walk, with glowing trails through the gardens, firetables, food trucks and themed nights. 2026 dates not posted as of Oct 13; we'll update. Last year it ran select evenings from late November to Dec 30.

• Light GardenOlive Branch City Park, Olive Branch, MS

  Olive Branch's holiday light festival in the city park, which bills itself as the Mid-South's most immersive light show and closes its season with New Year's Eve fireworks. 2026 dates not posted as of Oct 13; we'll update. Making a DeSoto County night of it? See things to do in Olive Branch.

Christmas at Memphis landmarks

Three Memphis traditions that go all out indoors and out, each with a 2026 season on the calendar.

• Christmas at GracelandWhitehaven, Elvis Presley Blvd

  Elvis kept his decorations up from late November through his January birthday, and Graceland still does: the blue lights along the driveway, the life-size nativity and the mansion dressed inside. The lights shine Nov 19, 2026 through Jan 8, 2027, starting with the Holiday Lighting Ceremony on Nov 19; Christmas Afternoon Tours run daily Nov 19–Dec 23, 3–5pm, $100 adults, $69.50 ages 5–10, 4 and under free. Dean Z's Rockin' Christmas show plays the Graceland Soundstage Sat Nov 21 at 7pm ($43.50–$67.50).

• The Enchanted Forest Festival of TreesPink Palace (Museum of Science & History), 3050 Central Ave

  A Memphis holiday forest that benefits Le Bonheur Children's Hospital: decorated trees on the Pink Palace mezzanine, animated bears, elves and penguins, model trains, singing reindeer, a gingerbread village and Santa at the end. It opens Saturday, Nov 21, 2026, Tue–Sun 10:30am–5pm (box office closes at 4:30; closed Mondays, Thanksgiving and Christmas). $7 adults, $6 seniors and ages 3–12; the hospital's page lists both Dec 27 and Dec 31 as the last day, so check before a late-December visit.

• Duck Days of Christmas at The PeabodyDowntown, 149 Union Ave

  The Peabody unveils its gingerbread village in the Grand Lobby on Friday, Nov 27 at 11:15am, and that one is open to the public. So are Opera Memphis' Victorian carolers in the lobby Fridays Dec 4 and 18, 11am–noon, and live Christmas music those evenings, 6–8:30pm. The tree lighting ceremony and most other holiday events are for hotel guests only. The Peabody ducks are on our list of free things to do in Memphis.

Tree lightings, parades and town-square lights

The line-the-street side of the season. Collierville has posted its 2026 parade; downtown's schedule is still to come.

• Christmas in ColliervilleCollierville Town Square

  More than a quarter-million lights cover the historic Town Square, with carriage rides, shopping and dinner around it. The 49th annual Christmas Parade is Friday, Dec 4, 2026 at 7pm on Byhalia Road, from Polo Run Road to West Collierville Middle School, with no rain date. The town says the rest of the 2026 schedule comes out Nov 2; plan the day with things to do in Collierville.

• Downtown Memphis tree lighting, South Main Lights and the holiday paradeDowntown, Main St and Beale St

  Downtown's holiday run: the official Downtown Holiday Tree at Peabody and Main, the South Main Lights on Main between GE Patterson and Butler, and the Memphis Holiday Parade and market on Beale. 2026 dates not posted as of Oct 13; we'll update. Last year the parade ran on Saturday, Dec 13; our downtown Memphis guide has the rest of the neighborhood.

Not confirmed for 2026 — check before you go

A few names that come up in Memphis Christmas-lights searches had nothing from the organizer for 2026 when we checked on October 13. Southern Lights, the drive-through in Southaven's Central Park: we couldn't find an organizer page for it, so we couldn't confirm this year's run (one trap if you search: a different 'Southern Lights' festival is in Lexington, Kentucky). The Germantown and Bartlett tree lightings, and the Southaven and Olive Branch Christmas parades, had no 2026 dates posted on their own sites. Same for the Dixon's holiday evenings and the Overton Square tree lighting. If any of them post a 2026 schedule, this page gets updated, and in the meantime our Germantown and Southaven guides cover the rest of those towns.

One more note: we don't list private homes. The famous light-up streets are people's front yards, and none of them are posted by an organizer we can check.

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