Gaylord Rockies Christmas 2026: ICE! Featuring The Nightmare Before Christmas Near Denver

Friend, if your crew loves Jack Skellington as much as Santa, Gaylord Rockies in Aurora, Colorado — near Denver — is your Christmas. The 2026 theme is ICE! featuring Disney Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas.

Christmas at Gaylord Rockies runs November 20, 2026 – January 3, 2027.

Why Gaylord Rockies is a great Christmas hotel

Colorado weather can be wild in December. Gaylord Rockies doesn't care — the big stuff happens indoors. From the official page:

• ICE! — scenes from The Nightmare Before Christmas hand-carved from over 2 million pounds of ice.
• More than 3 million Christmas lights around the resort.
• Candy Cane Mountain Indoor Snow Tubing — "unlimited thrills, one icy adventure after another."
• Gingerbread Decorating Corner.
• Breakfast with Nutmeg — a life-sized gingerbread cookie — and The Merry Baker, with a themed breakfast and photo ops.

Indoor tubing, the Christmas Carousel and the Ice Puck Challenge run November 26 – December 28 only. The resort also lists a complimentary event December 28–31, 10 a.m.–4 p.m.

Who should book Gaylord Rockies for Christmas

• Families who want to stay warm and busy.
• Nightmare Before Christmas fans.
• Colorado and Mountain West travelers — and anyone flying into Denver.

Why you should book now

Tubing, carousel and Ice Puck have a set window, and the days right around Christmas are the busiest. Staying overnight lets you do ICE! at off-peak times.

How to plan your Gaylord Rockies Christmas

1. Book between November 26 and December 28 if indoor tubing and the carousel are must-dos.
2. Buy ICE! and tubing tickets with your stay.
3. Reserve the Nutmeg breakfast for the kids.
4. Pack layers for the ice.

Compare the other Gaylord Christmases: Gaylord Opryland and Gaylord Texan.

Quick answers

When is Christmas at Gaylord Rockies 2026? November 20, 2026 – January 3, 2027.

What is the 2026 ICE! theme at Gaylord Rockies? ICE! featuring Disney Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas.

When is indoor snow tubing available? November 26 – December 28, 2026.

Book Gaylord Rockies for Christmas

Here's my honest advice, friend: Christmas week is the most competitive hotel week of the year, and the best rooms always go to the people who book first.

• Check Gaylord Rockies dates and rates on Expedia — compare room types and book the stay in one checkout.
• See holiday hotel packages on Luxury Escapes — worth a quick look against Expedia before you commit.
• Holiday events, dining and tickets: reserve with the resort through its official Christmas page.

• Compare and book flights on Expedia — Enter your route and travel dates to check available airlines, fares and baggage terms before booking.

Book your Christmas stay now →

Affiliate links: we earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. See our Disclaimer and Affiliate Disclosure. Every event, date and price above comes from the hotel's own published 2026 information; an announced event does not guarantee room or ticket availability, and rates, taxes and fees should be confirmed at booking.

More of the best Christmas hotels in the USA

• Gaylord Opryland Christmas 2026
• Hotel del Coronado Christmas 2026
• The Plaza Christmas 2026
• The Broadmoor Christmas 2026
• Mohonk Mountain House Christmas 2026
• The Greenbrier Christmas 2026
• Gaylord Texan Christmas 2026
• Omni Grove Park Inn Christmas 2026
• Woodloch Resort Christmas Break 2026

Plan the whole trip in two minutes

Rich Off Travel AI is the trip planner behind Empire Experience. Type in where you're going and your dates, and it builds a day-by-day plan — where to stay, where to eat and what to do — that you can edit stop by stop. It's $19/month with a 7-day free trial. Plan your Christmas trip at empireexperience.org, or browse more guides in the Empire Journal.

Sources

• Christmas at Gaylord Rockies (official)