The Arboretum's 12 Days of Christmas Gazebos Were Built for Five Holidays. This Is Their Last.
On November 11, the Dallas Arboretum opens its holiday season at White Rock Lake for the twelfth and final year of the 12 Days of Christmas gazebos. The twelve glass-sided structures have stood on the garden's 66 acres since 2014, and the Arboretum says hundreds of thousands of Dallas families have visited them. They close for good on January 3, 2027.
They were never meant to last this long. Dallas theater professionals built the gazebos as stage sets with a five-year run in mind, and moving parts like theirs wear out. That explains why they're being retired now, why the Arboretum is spreading the change over two holiday seasons, and why this year's visit deserves a little more planning than usual.
The idea came from outside the Arboretum's staff. In 2012, supporters Phyllis and Tom McCasland brought the Arboretum a concept for a new holiday attraction. The garden commissioned Tommy Bourgeois, a production designer for The Dallas Opera, to design it. Greg Blackburn's team at Dallas Stage Scenery built it, and the project took almost two years to complete. A five-year retrospective the Arboretum published in 2018 credits the McCaslands' concept and support, then-president Mary Brinegar's leadership, and Bourgeois's creative vision. It says the project took more than 20,000 combined labor hours.
That background explains how the gazebos look. Each scene from the English carol sits inside a framed, lit box with moving figures, the way a set sits inside a proscenium. The Arboretum's 2014 fact sheet gives the scale:
The figure varies by source. In 2014, CultureMap Dallas called it a $1.6 million exhibit, and neither account explains the difference. When the gazebos debuted, Amegy Bank of Texas was the presenting sponsor and the Dallas Tourism Public Improvement District was the supporting sponsor. This year Reliant presents the season, with Pegasus Bank and Cigna also listed as sponsors.
Stage sets are built for a run, and that's how these were planned. Arboretum President and CEO Sabina Carr made it public in a letter to the Arboretum community, which WFAA reported:
"When the Gazebos first appeared in 2014, they were designed for a five-year run. What happened next is a testament to this community. Dallas embraced them, returned to them season after season, and made them part of its Holidays."
In the same letter, Carr said the gazebos "more than doubled their intended lifespan." She said the Arboretum decided to retire them before their wear began to affect the visitor experience.
Marshall Detwiler, the Arboretum's Vice President of Marketing and Guest Experience, named the specific problem when he spoke with The Dallas Morning News. After 12 years, he said, the animatronics are aging and showing wear. "Rather than allow the guest experience to diminish, the Arboretum made the deliberate decision to retire the gazebos with the dignity they deserve," Detwiler told the paper.
That matches how the gazebos were made. The aluminum and glass can stand up to a dozen North Texas winters. The motors and mechanisms that make the drummers drum and the pipers pipe are the part a stage shop expects to rebuild or retire. The Arboretum chose to retire them.
The gazebos are not being swapped for one replacement. According to WFAA's account of Carr's letter, the Arboretum plans to debut HYBYCOZO, a new installation of light and geometric sculpture, in the 2027 holiday season. In 2028, Carr says, an all-new holiday experience will follow that "will reimagine Christmas at the Dallas Arboretum for years to come." The Arboretum has not described the 2028 concept in detail.
Some parts of the season will continue. Carr confirmed that the Christmas Village and the other light displays will go on. Detwiler told The Dallas Morning News that the millions of Christmas lights, the Christmas Village and "all of the beloved traditions that make Holiday at the Arboretum a Dallas Christmas staple will remain."
So December 2027 will feel familiar in places, with a new centerpiece among the lights. December 2028 is planned as a broader rethink. This season is the last one with the full 2014 lineup in place.
The pumpkins come down first. Autumn at the Arboretum, this year themed "Harvest Hues," runs through November 1. That leaves a short gap before Holiday at the Arboretum opens on November 11. Arboretum members get an early look at the DeGolyer House on November 10 from 6 to 9 p.m.
For the farewell season, Carr's letter promises exclusive promotions, special programming and a nightly sing-along in the Christmas Village at 8 p.m. That timing affects which ticket to buy. Here are the admission tiers the Arboretum lists for the season:
Prices for Daytime and Holiday at Night vary by date, and the exact cost appears when you choose a date. Night Owl entry starts at 8:30, half an hour after the sing-along begins. If the 8 p.m. singing is part of your plan, you'll need a Holiday at Night ticket, or a Holiday Cheer ticket on one of its five dates. Holiday Cheer is the least expensive evening ticket, and those dates include Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, New Year's Eve and New Year's Day, which work well for families with guests in town.
Leave time for the DeGolyer House as well. Its 2026 décor, which the Arboretum calls "Holiday Canvas," carries this year's art theme indoors, with rooms inspired by Vincent van Gogh and Andy Warhol. Visual designer Michael Hamilton is back for his 26th year decorating the house. In its guide to the final season, WFAA says visitors can also see Night Glow, powered by AURORA, an after-dark experience of artist-curated light installations. When it debuted in 2025, NBC DFW described it as projection mapping across four garden areas.
The Arboretum's Fall 2026 issue of Bloom has a feature on the gazebos' twelve years, and the holiday page links straight to it on Issuu. It's worth a look before you go. The gazebos have been an East Dallas holiday fixture since 2014. They stay up until January 3, 2027, and after that the Four Calling Birds and Eight Maids a-Milking become part of the Arboretum's history.
If your family is planning a last visit to the gazebos and hosting relatives over the holidays, The Blackman Group is happy to share the Lakewood and White Rock spots we like before or after an evening at the Arboretum. Just request a complimentary neighborhood consultation, and we'll help you plan the night around the gazebos' final season.
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