The Charming Small Town In Nebraska Where You Can Still Experience An Old-Fashioned Christmas

The holiday season brings bucketloads of cheer to cities big and small all across Nebraska. While every locale has its own traditions and events, there's one small town with a tried-and-true formula for Christmas joy. Minden's famous lights and old-fashioned, month-long festival make it the perfect family-friendly destination this holiday season.

As the holidays creep ever closer, more and more towns start bringing out the Christmas decorations. But no town does it better than Minden, Nebraska's official Christmas City.

Minden's impressive light display has been lighting up the town square since 1915. But Minden takes its title seriously, and it doesn't stop at the decorations.

The entire town gets into the spirit, with events running on weekends between Thanksgiving and the end of the year. There's a little something for everyone on the schedule, including a parade, a 5K, the Light of the World Pageant, a pancake feed, and a citywide Christmas lights competition.

Kids have a direct line to Santa in Nebraska's Christmas City. They're invited to drop their letters to the big guy into this bright red mailbox - no postage required.

The highlight of the seasonal activities is the Light of the World pageant, a performance that takes place on three sides of the courthouse building. There are just three performances - Thanksgiving weekend and the first two Sundays in December.

After the first performance of the pageant, the courthouse's famous lights are switched on for the season. After all three performances, locals and visitors can linger in the town square to enjoy s'mores made over fire pits. Isn't this the most charming picture of small-town holiday cheer?

You can find the full schedule of events and other news on the official Facebook page of Minden's Christmas Traditions Festival. Why not make a whole weekend trip of it? You can visit the well-known Pioneer Village and stay in this unconventional Airbnb.