Short answer: Christmas in New Orleans runs from Friday, November 27, 2026 through Saturday, January 2, 2027. The season is anchored by the Celebration in the Oaks Driving Tour in City Park, the Reveillon dinner program at French Quarter and Garden District restaurants, the hotel lobby hoppings at the Roosevelt, the Ritz-Carlton and the Windsor Court, Christmas Eve Mass at St. Louis Cathedral, and the NOLA ChristmasFest at the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center (December 23, 2026 through January 2, 2027), per the official event sites linked below.
The simplest way to do Christmas in New Orleans is to book the car once, run Reveillon dinner at a French Quarter or Garden District restaurant, hit the Driving Tour at City Park, end the night at the lobby of the Roosevelt, and add the ChristmasFest at the Convention Center for the family days.
2026 season at a glance
The 2026 Christmas calendar, cross-checked across the official event sites:
- Friday, November 27, 2026 (opening night): the Celebration in the Oaks Driving Tour and Walking Tour open in City Park, per celebrationintheoaks.com. The Driving Tour runs 5:00 PM to 10:00 PM on Fridays and Saturdays.
- Tuesday, December 1, 2026 (Reveillon opens): the Reveillon dinner program runs at participating French Quarter and Garden District restaurants through Wednesday, December 24, 2026, per neworleans.com/blog/post/reveillon-dinners. The 2025 program ran December 1 through December 24 at restaurants including Antoine's, Broussard's, Commander's Palace, Toups' Meatery and Muriel's Jackson Square; the 2026 program typically mirrors that window.
- Tuesday, December 1, 2026 – Friday, December 4 (Bike Nights): the Celebration in the Oaks Walking Tour bicycle-only hours run 6:00 PM to 9:00 PM, with bicycles entering at 4 Friederichs Avenue, per celebrationintheoaks.com/tickets.
- Friday, December 4 & Saturday, December 5: the first peak Driving Tour weekend at City Park. Driving Tour hours are 5:00 PM to 10:00 PM on Friday and Saturday.
- Thursday, December 24, 2026 (Christmas Eve): the Driving Tour is closed; NOLA ChristmasFest runs a single shortened session 11:00 AM to 3:30 PM with Skating with Santa; St. Louis Cathedral holds Christmas Eve Mass at 4:00 PM and 6:00 PM, per stlouiscathedral.org.
- Friday, December 25, 2026 (Christmas Day): the Driving Tour is open with Christmas Hours 6:00 PM to 10:00 PM, per celebrationintheoaks.com. NOLA ChristmasFest runs 1:00 PM to 5:00 PM. Most French Quarter and CBD restaurants are open with holiday menus.
- Saturday, December 26 & Sunday, December 27: the post-Christmas Driving Tour weekend. NOLA ChristmasFest's Saints game-themed day is Sunday, December 27 with the Polar Pub 3:00 PM kick-off.
- Thursday, December 31, 2026 (New Year's Eve): the Driving Tour is closed; NOLA ChristmasFest runs a single shortened session 11:00 AM to 3:30 PM. See New Orleans New Year's Eve for the riverfront fireworks and the Sugar Bowl parade.
- Friday, January 1, 2027 (New Year's Day): the Driving Tour's closing night runs 5:00 PM to 10:00 PM, per celebrationintheoaks.com. NOLA ChristmasFest runs 1:00 PM to 5:00 PM.
- Saturday, January 2, 2027 (closing day): NOLA ChristmasFest closes after the 11:00 AM to 3:30 PM and 4:30 PM to 9:00 PM Saturday block, per nolachristmasfest.com.
Celebration in the Oaks: the headline holiday event
The Celebration in the Oaks Driving Tour is the City Park Conservancy's largest annual fundraiser and runs Friday, November 27, 2026 through Friday, January 1, 2027 with the two-mile Driving Tour loop through the live oak canopy and a separate Walking Tour in the Botanical Garden, Storyland and Carousel Gardens Amusement Park. The Driving Tour entrance is at 4 Friederichs Avenue; the Walking Tour entrance is at 7 Victory Avenue. Hours and closed dates are listed on celebrationintheoaks.com. The Driving Tour ticket is per-vehicle and the Walking Tour ticket is per-person.
For chauffeured groups, Jazzy Limousine & Shuttle books the Celebration in the Oaks Driving Tour at standard minimums (three to four hours) and the all-in rate covers the dinner hour, the Driving Tour, and the post-tour pickup at the gate in one reservation. The full pricing table and the FAQ about the Dasher Pass are on the Celebration in the Oaks anchor.
Reveillon dinners: the Creole holiday tradition
A Reveillon dinner is the post-Midnight-Mass feast from 19th-century New Orleans, revived in the 1990s as a prix-fixe holiday dinner program at restaurants across the city. The 2025 program ran December 1 through December 24 at participating restaurants including Antoine's, Broussard's, Commander's Palace, Toups' Meatery and Muriel's Jackson Square, with menus priced from $35 to $90 per person per neworleans.com/blog/post/reveillon-dinners. The full list of 2026 participants and menus is published at holiday.neworleans.com/food-and-drink closer to the holiday season, typically in early October.
For chauffeured groups, a six-hour chauffeured block covers a 5:30 PM Reveillon dinner reservation in the French Quarter or the Garden District, the Driving Tour at City Park, and the post-tour stop for coffee and beignets in one reservation. The same driver handles the Reveillon night and any other holiday night of the trip.
NOLA ChristmasFest: the indoor family event
NOLA ChristmasFest is the indoor family-friendly holiday event at the Ernest N. Morial New Orleans Convention Center. The 13th annual edition runs Wednesday, December 23, 2026 through Saturday, January 2, 2027, per nolachristmasfest.com. The event features indoor ice skating, ice slides, snow tubing, holiday rides and visits with Santa.
| Date | Day | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Dec 23 | Wed | 11:00 AM – 3:30 PM & 4:30 PM – 9:00 PM |
| Dec 24 | Thu | 11:00 AM – 3:30 PM (Skating with Santa) |
| Dec 25 | Fri | 1:00 PM – 5:00 PM (Christmas Day) |
| Dec 26 | Sat | 11:00 AM – 3:30 PM & 4:30 PM – 9:00 PM |
| Dec 27 | Sun | 11:00 AM – 3:30 PM & 4:30 PM – 9:00 PM (Saints game @ Polar Pub 3 PM) |
| Dec 28 | Mon | 11:00 AM – 3:30 PM & 4:30 PM – 9:00 PM |
| Dec 29 | Tue | 11:00 AM – 3:30 PM & 4:30 PM – 9:00 PM |
| Dec 30 | Wed | 11:00 AM – 3:30 PM & 4:30 PM – 9:00 PM |
| Dec 31 | Thu | 11:00 AM – 3:30 PM (New Year's Eve) |
| Jan 1 | Fri | 1:00 PM – 5:00 PM (New Year's Day) |
| Jan 2 | Sat | 11:00 AM – 3:30 PM & 4:30 PM – 9:00 PM |
Tickets: weekdays $25 plus fees, Saturday and Sunday $30 plus fees, all valid only for the specific date and time purchased, no on-site sales. Tickets are required for ages 2 and up. Parking: $23 flat fee per day via the Park Mobile app at Lot F, New Orleans Morial Convention Center, 900 Convention Center Boulevard; entrance address is 400 Calliope Street. ADA parking is available by emailing [email protected], per nolachristmasfest.com/plan-your-visit.
The Convention Center is a 10-minute drive from the French Quarter and a 20-minute drive from the hotels along Jefferson Highway. A chauffeured drop-off runs $91 all-in in a sedan from the French Quarter and back.
Christmas Eve Mass at St. Louis Cathedral
St. Louis Cathedral holds Christmas Eve and Christmas Day Masses at 4:00 PM and 6:00 PM, with the Archbishop of New Orleans presiding at the 6:00 PM Christmas Eve Mass and the 10:00 AM Christmas Day Mass, per stlouiscathedral.org. The 2026 schedule is published closer to the holiday, but the 4 PM and 6 PM Christmas Eve plus Christmas Day morning Mass pattern has been the cathedral's standard since at least 2018.
The cathedral is at 615 Pere Antoine Alley, in Jackson Square. The Christmas Eve Mass is standing-room-only by 5:30 PM; the 4:00 PM children's Mass is the easier option for families with kids. Jazzy Limousine & Shuttle can drop the group at the curb on Pere Antoine Alley and stage the car on Decatur Street during Mass.
Teddy Bear Tea and hotel lobby hopping
The Roosevelt Hotel's annual Teddy Bear Tea is the headline hotel lobby event of the season and typically runs late November through late December, with tickets released in October and selling out within weeks, per therooseveltneworleans.com/teddy-bear-tea. The National WWII Museum also runs a Teddy Bear Tea at BB's Stage Door Canteen, with 2026 sessions priced at $82 for museum members and $85 for non-members, with the 12/05/2026 session at 10:00 AM as an example, per nationalww2museum.org/programs/teddy-bear-tea. The 2026 Roosevelt dates were not yet published at the time of this anchor's last update.
For hotel lobby hopping, the canonical three-stop pattern is the Roosevelt Hotel (123 Baronne Street), the Ritz-Carlton New Orleans (921 Canal Street) and the Windsor Court (300 Gravier Street). All three run ceremonial lobby lightings through the season, with the Roosevelt's lobby typically lit first in late November and the display running through New Year's Eve.
Christmas Day dining
Most French Quarter and CBD restaurants run reduced hours on Christmas Day with prix-fixe holiday menus, per neworleans.com/events/holidays-seasonal/christmas/restaurants-open-for-the-holidays. Galatoire's, Antoine's, the Court of Two Sisters, the Commanders Palace, Mr. B's Bistro and the Rib Room are typically open with holiday menus; reservations book up by mid-December. Jazzy Limousine & Shuttle covers the Christmas Day block with the same six-hour minimum.
Bonfires on the Levee (St. James Parish, Christmas Eve)
The Bonfires on the Levee is a Christmas Eve tradition in St. James Parish, about an hour west of New Orleans on I-10. The bonfires are built along the Mississippi River levee on Christmas Eve and lit at dusk in a tradition tied to Papa Noel guiding travelers to midnight Mass. The 2026 dates and the official Parish schedule are published by the St. James Parish Tourist Commission closer to Christmas Eve. A chauffeured block to the levee runs about 5 hours all-in from a French Quarter or CBD hotel.
A five-night Christmas in New Orleans itinerary
For out-of-town groups doing the full week of Christmas in New Orleans, the canonical five-night block:
- Friday, November 27 (arrival night): MSY airport transfer to a French Quarter hotel, dinner at the hotel, optional Driving Tour opening night at City Park.
- Saturday, November 28 (Bayou Classic / Oaks combo): the Bayou Classic game at the Caesars Superdome and the Driving Tour at City Park on the same day. See Bayou Classic transportation for the package.
- Sunday, December 13 (full Driving Tour day): the Driving Tour at City Park, lunch at Café du Monde City Park, Reveillon dinner at Antoine's.
- Wednesday, December 23 (ChristmasFest opening): NOLA ChristmasFest at the Convention Center, dinner at Galatoire's.
- Friday, December 25 (Christmas Day): Christmas Day brunch at the Court of Two Sisters, Driving Tour at City Park with Christmas Hours, evening Reveillon dinner at Commander's Palace.
Coordinating with New Year's Eve
The Christmas in New Orleans calendar overlaps the New Orleans New Year's Eve riverfront fireworks and the Sugar Bowl parade on New Year's Eve. The same chauffeured block that covers Christmas Eve Mass at St. Louis Cathedral at 6:00 PM covers a 9:00 PM dinner at Galatoire's and an 11:30 PM riverfront pickup for the fireworks. The Sugar Bowl parade route on New Year's Eve is Elysian Fields Avenue and Decatur Street to Canal Street, per allstatesugarbowl.org.
Coordinating with the Sugar Bowl
The Sugar Bowl 2027 CFP semifinal is on Friday, January 15, 2027 at the Caesars Superdome. The post-Christmas window (December 26 through January 2) overlaps the Driving Tour's final two weekends and the ChristmasFest's final week. The same SUVs and Sprinters that cover Christmas Eve Mass and the Driving Tour cover the post-Christmas Saints game on Sunday, December 27 (ChristmasFest's Polar Pub day). See Sugar Bowl transportation.
What to book and when
The Reveillon program and the NOLA ChristmasFest tickets release in October. The Driving Tour tickets release Sunday, November 1, 2026. The Christmas Eve Mass at St. Louis Cathedral is first-come, first-served with no reservation. The hotel lobby hopping is free and open to the public; the Teddy Bear Tea sells out within weeks of release.
For chauffeured transportation, Jazzy Limousine & Shuttle books Christmas in New Orleans with a six-hour minimum for any of the holiday events (Celebration in the Oaks on its own uses standard three- to four-hour minimums) (a Reveillon dinner + the Driving Tour combination is the canonical booking), all-in with gratuity and fuel surcharge. Booking early locks in the vehicle and the all-in price before the Bayou Classic Thanksgiving weekend, the Christmas week and the New Year's Eve window collide on the same SUVs and Sprinters.
From MSY
MSY (Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport) is about 25 minutes from the French Quarter. The all-in airport rate is $126.50 in a sedan, $165.50 in an SUV, $204.50 in a Premium SUV, and $278 in an Executive Sprinter for up to 14, per the airport rate card. The same chauffeur who handles the airport pickup on arrival day handles the Driving Tour night on a separate night of the trip, with the flight tracked and the curb staged.
Booking and what to bring
For chauffeured transportation, Jazzy Limousine & Shuttle books Christmas in New Orleans with a six-hour minimum for any holiday block, all-in with gratuity and fuel surcharge. Booking early locks in the vehicle and the all-in price before the Bayou Classic Thanksgiving weekend, the Christmas week, and the New Year's Eve window collide on the same fleet.
For groups flying in from out of town, the airport transfer from MSY to a French Quarter or CBD hotel is all-in from $126.50 in a sedan, and the same chauffeur who handles the airport pickup on Friday handles the Reveillon dinner and the Driving Tour on a separate night of the booking.