UPDATE: I updated the post to include photos and thoughts from our Sparkle and the Anatole weekend staycation! Thank you Hilton for the amazing experience.
I am one of THOSE people, you know the ones that want to celebrate Christmas for 3 months out of the year, GUILTY! If my husband would just get the trees down from the attic, I would have them up by now. I just love this time of year.
Each year, I start a master list of things I want to do with the family during the Christmas season. This lists everything from decorating cookies to caroling at the nursing home. This year, I am stoked to add Sparkle at the Hilton Anatole Dallas to this list.
What is Sparkle?
The Sparkle Christmas Event at The Hilton Anatole provides your family with an evening of ice skating on a rink that resembles a pond, millions of holiday lights both indoor and strewn through out their 7-acre garden.
Ice Skating in Dallas

In addition to ice skating, Sparkle offers live nightly entertainment. There will be SANTA, bounce houses, hot chocolate and many more activities that the Anatole’s children’s advisory panel (a panel of 15 kids, ages 3-9 helped plan!)
Did I mention the slide that is fashioned after A Christmas Story to go down after meeting Santa?? What about the food trucks, velcro jump wall, Gepetto’s Theatre and Workshop, crafts and a light show ever half-hour. It will be a great Christmas memory maker event for the whole family. AND Christmas photo ops galore!
Sparkle kicks off on Friday, November 28 with pricing $19.95 for adults (ages 13-64) $15.95 for seniors and children (4-12) and NO cost for children 3 and under.
Sparkle kicks off Friday, Nov. 28, and is priced at adults $19.95 and ages 4-64+; $15.95 buy tickets here.
Our Staycation at the Hilton Anatole
A few weeks ago we were invited to the Hilton Anatole for a staycation, all 6 of us – brave people.
We started the weekend by letting the kids wear themselves out.We gave them free reign to do whatever they wanted, which involved the bounce houses, face painting and ice skating. We then ate lunch and took a break before in the hotel room before dinner.
And by hotel room, let’s look at this suite. It was a massive 2-room suite with 2 bathroom, with a view of downtown Dallas.
As big of a family as we are, we aren’t typically spoiled like this! Our kids didn’t know what to do with themselves having a room alone.
We headed down to dinner where we ate with friends. The kids then watched Polar Express. With full bellies and happy hearts, we called it a night.
The next morning we were invited to breakfast with Santa. The buffet was crazy. From breakfast burritos to pancakes, the Anatole really goes all out. Santa goes from table to table to talk to each child.
Izaiah informed him, with a FULL mouth – that he wanted a rocket ship to go up in the sky. Sorry kid…
The rest of the day we spent watching attractions on the main stage (Dallas Zoo with animals was our favorite!). We visited Santa at the top of the mountain, which has 2 slides just like The Christmas Story!
We enjoyed the food trucks and the kids wanted their faces painted and ice skating, yet again.
From slides to velcro wall jumping to crafts, we ended up having another FULL day which led to the kids falling asleep in the car during our 45-minute ride home.
Thanks Sparkle for an amazing weekend. I encourage you to go and enjoy this great event for the family. It’s a HUGE indoor event space, providing plenty of room for all. With ice skating, bounce houses and more, your kids will LOVE it.
You can expect to pay for face painting, food and photos with Santa – other than that, ice skating, bounce houses, slides and shows are included in the price.
We hope you are able to enjoy this fun Dallas family Christmas event this holiday season! Enjoy!
Learn more about this Dallas Christmas Family Event!
- Read our Hilton Anatole Jade Waters Review
View More Christmas and Fun Things to Do with Kids in Dallas