Holiday Performances for the Whole Family in Columbus, Ohio

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Now that Halloween is over, many of us have turned to planning family activities for the holiday season. Below is a list of family-friendly holiday performances you should consider adding to your holiday bucket list. This is a gift your kids will always remember and could become a really unique tradition to look forward to as well! Get your tickets early and plan ahead. There are so many to choose from!

Holiday Performances and Shows

Jazz up the Holidays

When: November 12, 2023 (7:00 p.m.)

Where: McConnell Center

Tickets: $35

Details: Celebrating its 20th season!
Lisa Ferraro brings her acclaimed Jazz up the Holidays tradition to Ohio! Silent action prior!

Website: Jazz up for the Holidays


A Christmas Carol

When: November 24-November 26, 2023

Where: Ohio Theater

Tickets: Starting at $26

Details: This brand-new production of the holiday classic will be made from the ground-up right here in Columbus and will feel at once both traditional and contemporary. The creative team and cast will feature local and national talent. A great way to kick off your holiday season, shows will be held Thanksgiving weekend!

Website: Christmas Carol


A Praire Home Holiday

When: November 28, 2023

Where: Southern Theater

Tickets: Prices start at $44

Details: Featuring Heather Masse, Richard Dworksky, and Garrison Keillor

Website: A Praire Home Holiday


Home for the Holidays

When: November 29, 2023 through December 3, 2023

Where: Southern Theatre

Tickets: Starting at $14

Details: This holiday performance is always festive, heart-warming and totally swingin! Featuring Columbus’s own Stacie Boord!

Website: Home for the Holidays


Capital University Christmas Festival 2023

When: November 30, 2023- December 3, 2023 (Thursday- Saturday at 7:30 p.m. and 3:30 p.m. on Sunday)

Where: Mees Hall, Capital University

Tickets: $35 for adults and $20 for students

Details: Featuring the Chapel Choir, Choral Union, Women’s Chorus, The Chordsmen, Philomel and a variety of instrumentalists.

Website: Christmas Festival 2023


Kinky Boots

When: November 24, 2023- December 31, 2023

Where: Short North Stage

Tickets: Starting at $30

Details:Kinky Boots is a Tony-winning hit that will lift your spirits to high-heeled heights! Not exactly a holiday show, but showing during the holiday season!

Website: Kinky Boots


Columbus Symphony Orchestra: Holiday Pops Concert

When: December 1, 2023- December 3, 2023

Where: Ohio Theatre (39  E. State Street)

Tickets: Starting at $20

Details: Holiday magic transforms the historic Ohio Theatre, filling it with beautiful decorations, wonderful music, and seasonal cheer! This holiday performance is one of the season’s most-loved because the holiday songs and carols are all classics you can enjoy too.

Website: Columbus Symphony


Mr. Scrooge: The Musical

When: December 1- 23, 2023

Where: Columbus Children’s Theater

Tickets: Starting at $19

Details: The tradition returns to Columbus Children’s Theatre this holiday season! An 60-minute, 1-act adaptation of Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol, this is the story you know and love presented in a family-friendly, hour-long performance.

Website: Mr. Scrooge: The Musical


The New Albany Ballet Company: The Nutcracker

When: December 1-10, 2023 (Friday, Saturday, Sundays)

Where: The McCoy Center

Tickets: Starting at $18

Details: Each year, over 3,000 people from New Albany and the surrounding communities gather at the Jeanne B. McCoy Community Center for the Arts to experience the delightful orchestral sounds, colorful costuming and graceful dancing.

Website: New Albany Nutcracker


Worthington Chorus: Holiday Traditions

When: December 2, 2023 (1:00 p.m. and 4:00 p.m.)

Where: McConnell Center

Tickets: $15 for adults and $5 for children

Details: The Worthington Chorus is so excited for this season’s Christmas show: Holiday Traditions. For many of us, the holiday season isn’t complete until we watch our favorite movie or holiday special. It’s magical how we’re instantly transported back to that holiday feeling when we hear its soundtrack play. Join us and come along on our Christmas movie and music journey!

Website: Worthington Chorus


Dublin Dance: Elf Musical Jr.

When: December 9-17, 2023 (11:00 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. )

Where: Abby Theater in Dublin

Tickets: $12

Details: The City of Dublin proudly presents the Dublin Dance Centre and Gymnastic Elf Jr. The Musical. This production is recommended for ages 6 and up! Please note all performances are approximately 90 minutes in length.

Website: Dublin Dance: Elf The Musical 


Columbus Dance Theatre: Hip Hop Nutcracker 

When: December 7, 2023 (7:00 p.m.)

Where: Palace Theater (34 West Broad Street)

Tickets: Tickets start at $62

Details: A new take on the Nutcracker!

Website: Hip Hop Nutcracker


BalletMet Columbus: The Nutcracker

When: December 7-23, 2023 (mainly Friday-Sunday with afternoon and evening shows)

Where: Ohio Theatre (39 E. State Street)

Tickets: Starting at $52

Details: This spellbinding production invites you inside the earnest and imaginative dreams of young Clara as she journeys with her Nutcracker Prince to meet the Sugar Plum Fairy!

Website: BalletMet


The Ebony Nutcracker

Date: December 9 and 10, 2023

Where: Lincoln Theater

Tickets: $27

Details: Featuring Dance ELITE Academy

Website: Ebony Nutcracker


ELF The Musical

When: December 13-18, 2022

Where: Palace Theater

Tickets: Starting at $31

Details: Come see this classic show!

Website: Elf The Musical


Ring in the Season: Mad Men Swinging Holiday Show

When: December 15-17 2023 (7:30 p.m. on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday)

Where: Bronwynn Theatre at The McConnell Center, Worthington

Tickets: $30

Details: Playing Christmas hits from the great American songbook and 1960’s!

Website: Mad Men Swinging Holiday Show


Dublin Dance- The Nutcracker at the Abbey Theater

When: December 1-2, 2023 (1:00 p.m., 4:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m.)

Where: Abbey Theater

Tickets: $12

Details: A whimsical reinvention of Dickens’ most beloved Christmas story in wacky rhymed couplets. This tale of glorious holiday cheer is similar to something Dr. Seuss might have come up with if he ever had his way with the story!

Website: Abbey Theater


Cirque Dreams HOLIDAZE

When: December 22 & 23, 2023

Where: Palace Theatre

Tickets: Starting at $33

Details: This annual tradition wraps a whimsical, Broadway-style musical infused with contemporary circus artistry into the ultimate holiday gift for the entire family!

Website: Cirque Dreams HOLIDAZE


Trans-Siberian Orchestra

When: December 30, 2023 (3:00 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.)

Where: Nationwide Arena (200 W. Nationwide Blvd.)

Tickets: $49-$79

Details: One of the classic holiday performances you can’t miss this holiday season.

Website: Trans-Siberian Orchestra


Good Medicine Productions: Uptown Scrooge

When: Will be back in 2024! A Year off!

Where: Uptown Westerville (tour begins at 30 E. College Ave.)

Tickets: $15 for children and students; $30 for adult (Suitable for ages 4 and up!)

Details: Interactive Walking Tour: Tours at 12:30, 1:00, 1:45, 2:30 and 3:00 p.m.

Website: Good Medicine Productions


Does your family have any favorite holiday performances? We hope you found a show to make an annual holiday tradition! Be sure to read about some of our contributors’ other favorite holiday traditions too!