The International Youth Ballet's one-hour Nutcracker Highlights opens Friday evening at Southridge Recreation Center. Tickets cost $15, seating is first-come, first-served, and every child in the audience goes home with a small Nutcracker gift. The HRCA listing shows all four performances, from Nov. 20 through Nov. 22, as sold out.
That sets the pattern for the rest of the season. Highlands Ranch's holiday calendar comes from three organizers: the Highlands Ranch Community Association, the Highlands Ranch Metro District and the Highlands Ranch Mansion. For the ticketed events, the thing to plan is getting a seat early. For the free Holiday Celebration at the Mansion on Dec. 5, the thing to plan is getting there.
The small rooms are where the season sells out
Nutcracker Highlights isn't the first event to sell out this fall. The Mansion's Landmark Lecture on the Lost Department Stores of Denver, set for Nov. 16, sold out and had a waitlist.
HRCA has three more ticketed concerts on its Holidays in Highlands Ranch page. The HRCA credits the Highlands Ranch Cultural Affairs Association with making its cultural programming possible. Here is where each concert stood on Eventbrite this month:
| Event | Date and time | Venue | Price shown | Eventbrite status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nutcracker Highlights, International Youth Ballet | Nov. 20–22, four one-hour shows | Southridge Rec Center, 4800 McArthur Ranch Rd. | $15 face value | Sold out per HRCA |
| Swingin' the Holidays | Wed., Dec. 2, 6:30–8 p.m., doors 6 p.m. | Southridge Rec Center | $25 listed, $28.06 at checkout | Tickets available |
| Classical Concert at the Mansion, members of the Colorado Symphony | Tue., Dec. 15, 6:30–8 p.m. | Highlands Ranch Mansion, 9950 E. Gateway Dr. | $33.37 | Marked "Going fast" |
| Sounds of the Season, members of The Denver Brass | Mon., Dec. 21 and Tue., Dec. 22, 6:30–8 p.m. | Southridge Rec Center | $28.06 | Tickets on sale |
The jazz price shows up two ways. HRCA lists $25, and the Eventbrite checkout comes to $28.06 once the $3.06 fee is added. The jazz show features vocalist Tatiana LadyMay Mayfield, a University of Denver faculty member, with the Colorado Jazz Repertory Orchestra Trio on saxophone, guitar and drums. HRCA describes it as a family-friendly mix of holiday favorites and classic jazz.
The Dec. 15 concert is the one to book first. It's the only ticketed show this season in the decorated Mansion itself, where members of the Colorado Symphony will play holiday favorites arranged for solo voice and string quartet, with bassoon, horn and clarinet. It's already marked "Going fast," and none of the Southridge dates are. The Denver Brass shows run two nights, Dec. 21 and Dec. 22, so they have the most open seats of anything on the calendar, and they fall just a few days before Christmas.
Dec. 5 at the Mansion is free, and the shuttle is the plan
The Metro District's Holiday Celebration at the Mansion runs Saturday, Dec. 5, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Admission and activities are free. The Metro District's event page lists horse-drawn hayrides, visits with Santa Claus, face painting, school choir performances, holiday story times, reindeer games on the lawn and booth vendors. Volunteer docents will be on hand for self-guided tours of the Mansion, and food trucks will sell food and drinks.
The program also includes selections from the Nutcracker presented by local dancers. If you missed out on Nutcracker Highlights tickets, that's a free way to see some of the ballet two weeks later.
You won't be able to drive to the Mansion. There's no parking there that day except for vehicles with handicapped placards or license plates. Here's how everyone else gets in:
- Drive to the west lot, which is the student parking lot, at Mountain Vista High School.
- Board a shuttle bus there. Buses start running at 9:30 a.m., half an hour before the festivities open.
- Ride the shuttle to the Mansion at 9950 E. Gateway Dr.
Mountain Vista's west lot is the same one the district used for last year's celebration, when Mansion parking had the same placard-only rule. All vendor spots are taken. Vendors who want to join the waiting list can email Anne Rice at the Metro District, and general questions go to 303-791-0430.
Dec. 12 at Town Center has free parking, and the timing works differently
HRCA's Hometown Holiday is at Highlands Ranch Town Center, 9315 Dorchester St., on Saturday, Dec. 12, from noon to 5 p.m. It's free, food and vendor items are for sale, and there's a cash bar. Unlike the Mansion day, free parking is available nearby. According to the HRCA listing, the only thing that would cancel it is severe weather.
One new business at Town Center has hours to plan around. The Highlands Ranch Herald reported that Joy Batch Cookies & Coffee opened there on Oct. 8, with hours of Tuesday through Sunday, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Hometown Holiday starts at noon, so under those posted hours the shop would close two hours before the event ends. Plan on getting your cookie and coffee early in the afternoon.
Free Mansion visits on weekdays
If you'd like to see the Mansion without a ticket or a shuttle ride, it keeps public open hours with free historic tours through the season. The Mansion's December calendar lists open hours on these dates:
- November: Tuesday the 24th and Wednesday the 25th
- December: the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 8th, 9th, 10th, 16th, 22nd, 23rd and 29th
On any given date, the hours are either 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. or 3 to 6 p.m., so check the date you have in mind before you go. Guided and self-guided tours are both free. The Mansion's listings for the December open-hours dates say reservations are recommended for all tours and required for groups of 10 or more. Every date on the list falls on a Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday. If you're hosting guests over the holidays, the Dec. 22 and Dec. 23 open hours land in the same week as the Denver Brass concerts.
The land around the Mansion is part of a bigger park now
This is the first holiday season since the Mansion's surroundings expanded. On April 30, 2026, Shea Homes conveyed about 197 acres of ranchland around the Mansion to the Metro District. That grew Historic Park to almost 250 acres, including pastureland, 13 existing outbuildings and the windmill on the hill south of the Mansion.
The Metro District's Historic Park page describes three phases: planning with community input, then final design, then construction. Construction timing will be decided once designs are complete, and public meetings were held in June, July and August. For now, the open land you'll see on the Dec. 5 shuttle ride and around the hayrides belongs to the community, and its future amenities are still in the planning stage.
If you're hosting family in Highlands Ranch this December, or settling in before your first holiday season here, our team at Corken + Company can share what we know about Highlands Ranch, from the Mansion grounds to Town Center. Schedule Your Concierge Consultation.
