Best Christmas Lights in Plantation Trace (Thomasville, Albany, Valdosta)

Georgia's Plantation Trace region in the state's southwest corner celebrates the holidays with a mix of old-fashioned downtown festivals and a full theme-park light show, spread across Thomasville, Albany, and Valdosta.

Thomasville's Victorian Christmas

What it is: A two-night downtown festival with lights, carriage rides, and live entertainment

2026 dates: Thursday and Friday, December 10 and 11, 2026, 6 to 9 p.m. each night (the 40th annual).

Thomasville's Victorian Christmas fills downtown for two evenings each December with twinkling lights, live entertainment, carriage rides, ice sculpting, and a live nativity, built around a large lighted Christmas tree and oversized holiday decorations. The festival has run annually for more than 35 years. Nearby, Pebble Hill Plantation, one of Thomasville's grand historic estates, decorates for the holidays as well, giving the visit a quieter historic-home option alongside the downtown festival.

Albany's Celebration of Lights Christmas Parade

What it is: An annual Christmas parade and holiday village in downtown Albany

2026 dates: Saturday, December 5, 2026, at 6 p.m. The 36th annual parade’s theme is A Candy Cane Christmas.

Albany's Celebration of Lights Christmas Parade has run for more than three decades, typically held the first weekend of December with a Christmas Village featuring food trucks, arts and crafts vendors, character appearances, and the parade itself running through downtown.

Wild Adventures Christmas, Valdosta

What it is: A theme-park holiday light show with more than two million lights

2026 dates: Select nights, November 21 through December 31, 2026.

Wild Adventures Theme Park in Valdosta runs Wild Adventures Christmas on select nights from late November through New Year's Eve, with more than two million lights across displays including Twinkling Timbers and Glimmer Grove, a Carol of the Animals lake show, and visits with Santa and holiday characters. It is the region's largest ticketed light show and doubles as a full evening of theme-park entertainment. See the Wild Adventures website for this year's dates and tickets.

Thomasville's festival is only two nights: Victorian Christmas runs a short, specific window each December, so check the exact dates well ahead of a trip.

Wild Adventures runs select nights only: The park is not open nightly for its Christmas season, so confirm the calendar before driving to Valdosta.

For more on this region, see the Plantation Trace travel region page.

How long has Thomasville's Victorian Christmas been running?
The festival has run annually in downtown Thomasville for more than 35 years, making it one of the region's longest-running holiday traditions.

Is Wild Adventures Christmas open every night in December?
No, it runs on select nights from late November through New Year's Eve rather than nightly, so check the park's calendar before visiting.