events

Weather not cold enough for you? Then head to the Gaylord Texan for your arctic blast. As of today, the Grapevine resort is decked with a lot more than holly — and you’re going to need an extra layer.

It’s full-on holiday all over the Gaylord: a 50-foot rotating Christmas tree, miniature trains, Santa’s workshop and a ridiculous number of wreaths and ornaments. And at sunset on Friday, 11/14 it’ll be all aglow when the Gaylord’s 1.2 million twinkly lights are turned on. (It’s free to see all of this, by the way, and the lighting ceremony is open to the public.)

But the big attraction, of course, is the annual Ice! exhibit.

And we’re not talking about some swan carved out of ice at the reception table. This is a vast, overwhelming wonderland of icy celebration that covers 14,000 square feet. Forty artists from China used 2 million pounds of ice to create a series of sculptures and beautiful frozen holiday scenes. If you’ve been to Ice! before, you probably have some favorites: the 25-foot angel, the Nativity scene, the ice slides. Those will be back. What’s new this year? Old Man Winter blowing snow, a sweet candy land, Santa’s lap — designed for sitting — and a forest with a frozen pond.

So that Ice! can stay open through the new year, the exhibit is kept at a frigid 9 degrees to prevent melting. Don’t show up in your shorts, you Texans. Or, at the very least, remember your gloves. (You do own gloves, right?)

Photo: Star-Telegram/Kelley Chinn

Cost: $10-$23
Contact info: 817-778-2000; www.gaylordtexan.com