Branson Bulletin: Christmas Trees

CHRISTMAS TREES 

Starting the first weekend of November, residents and visitors alike gaze in amazement at a town that has miraculously become America’s Christmas Tree City—Branson’s proud official title since 2017. This year’s displays are bigger and better than ever, with more than 1,500 decorated trees on public display all around the greater Branson area. As that suggests, anyone who visits Branson in November or December can’t go very far without seeing some sort of spectacular Christmas tree, or groupings of trees, that are the perfect spots to take selfies—or let’s call them “elfies” for the holidays—to share on social media.

LIGHTS OF JOY

Lights of Joy, formerly Branson’s Gift of Lights, opens to families, limousines, and motor coaches at dusk on Nov. 1 and is open nightly through Jan. 1. The holiday drive-thru light display is a little over a mile long and lined on both sides with hundreds of displays celebrating the joy of Christmas and all it represents. Visitors will see fantastic and brilliant LED lights that illustrate Santa and the 12 Days of Christmas, but they will also see the life of Christ represented from his nativity to his resurrection and ascension. This is the fifth year in operation, located at Expressway Lane just north of Sight and Sound Theatre.

SHOPPING SPREES

Christmas shopping opportunities in Branson are as wonderful, and delightfully extensive and varied, as the Christmas trees. The city’s stores abound with holiday decorations and special gift items, many of which would be hard to find anywhere else. And shopkeepers are more than happy to wrap, pack, and ship gift purchases, making shopping just as easy and far more fun than online—not to mention the many unique or hard-to-find stocking stuffers visitors will find in Branson.