Happy Y'allidays

Downtown Austin Alliance’s ultimate guide to the holidays is here

If your December calendar is starting to look like a tangled string of lights, the Downtown Austin Alliance is here to plug you into pure holiday ease.

Their newly refreshed holiday website is basically Austin’s seasonal command center — a cheerful, hyper-local guide designed to help you plot out festive outings, shop like a pro, score deals, and keep Austin wonderfully, magically weird all month long.

Think of it as your sleigh’s GPS. Only instead of reindeer, it runs on tacos, twinkle lights, and the collective joy of downtown.

Downtown Austin holidays Photo courtesy of Downtown Austin Alliance

Downtown Austin holidays family with Santa

Photo courtesy of Downtown Austin Alliance

Find fun events and great gifts for every member of the family.

Start with the events — because there are dozens.
Downtown is packed with celebrations this year, and the site makes it almost too easy to find them. From weekly traditions to one-off spectacles, the events calendar gathers everything in one place so you can stumble upon your next favorite holiday moment. Want a craft market? They’ve got it. A brass band under the stars? Probably happening tonight. Something your in-laws will enjoy? Scroll a little — it’s all there.

Pop-up holiday bars? Oh yes.
Downtown’s bars have donned their gay apparel (and then some), transforming into tinsel-laced holiday hideaways with themes ranging from Die Hard to A Christmas Story. The website’s “Holiday Hideaways” guide shows you where to sip something festive — bonus points for any cocktail that comes garnished with a full candy cane.

Family in town? You’re covered.
If you’re hosting tiny humans or just the young-at-heart, the “Fun for the Family” section gathers the sweetest, most magical outings: light shows, hands-on activities, sparkly strolls, and cozy moments designed to make everyone forget about bedtime.

A brand-new tradition lands at Republic Square.
For the first time ever, Republic Square is hosting its own holiday market, popping up Thursdays through Sundays until Christmas Eve. Local vendors, charming finds, and warm, sippable treats — the website breaks down everything you need to know before you go.

Downtown Austin holiday market Photo courtesy of Downtown Austin Alliance

And then there are the deals.
More than 200 downtown businesses are rolling out holiday specials, from local blowout deals to app-exclusive discounts. Instead of hunting all over the city, the site compiles them into one tidy hub, which is especially handy if your gifting budget is groaning louder than a snowman in the sun.

Speaking of gifting… the guides are seriously good.
Downtown Austin Alliance built not one, not two, but nine gift guides to make sure literally everyone on your list is covered. There are stocking stuffers that will win the office White Elephant, as well as picks tailored for old-school Austin purists, wellness warriors, cinephiles, trendsetters, kiddos, and everyone in between. These guides are curated from real downtown shops, meaning you can support local while knocking out your list in record time.

And yes — free Uber rides are back.
The Downtown in December Uber Program is rolling out vouchers throughout the season. Supplies go fast, so text “ATX Holidays” to 512-890-3099 to get notified as soon as new drops go live. Vouchers and usage are available on a first come, first served basis and are limited by allocated program funding.

Whether you’re here for the lights, the laughs, the cocoa, or the holiday chaos in the best possible form, the Downtown Austin Alliance website is your one-stop shop for making December downtown unforgettable. Go explore — your most Austin holiday yet is ready when you are.

downtown austin alliance holidays gift guides holiday events holiday markets pop-up holiday bars promoted

Movie Review

Superficial Christmas movie Oh. What. Fun. takes the fun out of Texas

Photo courtesy of Amazon MGM Studios

Michelle Pfeiffer in Oh. What. Fun.

Of all the formulaic movie genres, Christmas/holiday movies are among the most predictable. No matter what the problem is that arises between family members, friends, or potential romantic partners, the stories in holiday movies are designed to give viewers a feel-good ending even if the majority of the movie makes you feel pretty bad.

That’s certainly the case in Oh. What. Fun., in which Michelle Pfeiffer plays Claire, an underappreciated mom living in Houston with her inattentive husband, Nick (Denis Leary). As the film begins, her three children are arriving back home for Christmas: The high-strung Channing (Felicity Jones) is married to the milquetoast Doug (Jason Schwartzman); the aloof Taylor (Chloë Grace Moretz) brings home yet another new girlfriend; and the perpetual child Sammy (Dominic Sessa) has just broken up with his girlfriend.

Each of the family members seems to be oblivious to everything Claire does for them, especially when it comes to what she really wants: For them to nominate her to win a trip to see a talk show in L.A. hosted by Zazzy Tims (Eva Longoria). When she accidentally gets left behind on a planned outing to see a show, Claire reaches her breaking point and — in a kind of Home Alone in reverse — she decides to drive across the country to get to the show herself.

Written and directed by Michael Showalter (The Idea of You), and co-written by Chandler Baker (who wrote the short story on which the film is based), the movie never establishes any kind of enjoyable rhythm. Each of the characters, including competitive neighbor Jeanne (Joan Chen), is assigned a character trait that becomes their entire personality, with none of them allowed to evolve into something deeper.

The filmmakers lean hard into the idea that Claire is a person who always puts her family first and receives very little in return, but the evidence presented in the story is sketchy at best. Every situation shown in the film is so superficial that tension barely exists, and the (over)reactions by Claire give her family members few opportunities to make up for their failings.

The most interesting part of the movie comes when Claire actually makes it to the Zazzy Sims show. Even though what happens there is just as unbelievable as anything else presented in the story, Showalter and Baker concoct a scene that allows Claire and others to fully express the central theme of the film, and for a few minutes the movie actually lives up to its title.

Pfeiffer, given her first leading role since 2020’s French Exit, is a somewhat manic presence, and her thick Texas accent and unnecessary voiceover don’t do her any favors. It seems weird to have such a strong supporting cast with almost nothing of substance to do, but almost all of them are wasted, including Danielle Brooks in a blink-and-you'll-miss-it cameo. The lone exception is Longoria, who is a blast in the few scenes she gets.

Oh. What. Fun. is far from the first movie to try and fail at becoming a new holiday classic, but the pedigree of Showalter and the cast make this dismal viewing experience extra disappointing. Ironically, overworked and underappreciated moms deserve a much better story than the one this movie delivers.

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Oh. What. Fun. is now streaming on Prime Video.

movies film

Happy Y'allidays

Downtown Austin Alliance’s ultimate guide to the holidays is here

Movie Review

Superficial Christmas movie Oh. What. Fun. takes the fun out of Texas

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