When you think of Denver at Christmas, you normally think about snowy and cold but beautiful mountains or ski trips. However, Denver has other nice Christmas events and one such event is the Denver Parade of Lights. This parade is sponsored by Denver news channel 9News and is held every December in downtown Denver.

You’ll see beautiful floats with sparkling lights and design props as well as themed balloons, marching bands, musicians and other fun characters. Attendance is free but if you’re not able to go to Denver during the holiday season, you can watch video clips of the Parade on You Tube and other Denver-based tourist websites. Another way to do this is to watch 9News’s live webcast of the parade on their website. This event attracts 350,000 visitors and one of the most anticipated floats is the Santa Claus float, in which he slides into street with toys and other goodies.

The Denver Parade of Lights is especially a good event for your children and here are some tips to make he event fun and safe for your children. First because younger children may sometimes get cranky or hungry at nighttime and since this parade is held at night, it’s always a good idea to make sure your children have a nap and their dinner a few hours before the parade starts.

Also have them use the bathroom before they leave so you won’t have to search for a decent public bathroom at places near the parade route. If you don’t feel like driving around downtown Denver for a good parking spot, you and your family can take the Denver Light Rail to the parade but if your younger children need a little nap before the parade starts, it’s best to go in the car. Also dress your children up in layers and bring some earmuffs, gloves, caps and rain gear in the event it rains during the parade because you’ll be outside for a few hours and you want to protect the little munchkins so they won’t get sick.

To avoid having to squeeze through the large crowd at the parade, you should leave at least one or two hours before the parade starts, especially if you live outside of the Denver area. Also tell your children to stay with you and not run off by themselves, and tell them that if they get lost they should alert the police so the police can find you. If your child has a cell phone he can call and tell you where he is so you can locate him.

One popular float in the Denver Parade of Lights is the Clock Tower. His float is covered in white and gold lights and it also includes neon colored-lights, black lights and chaser lights. The Clock Tower goes up to 20 feet high. The Ship of Lights is a float designed in the form of a ship with thousands of energy-saving LED lights while the Carousel float is a beautiful sight with evergreen and cuddly animals, green shrubs and flowers. The animals actually move up and down on the float.

The Christmas Story float features the story of Jesus Christ’s birth and the float is sponsored by local churches. The Nutcracker float includes people who are dressed like toy soldiers marching next to the float and the float looks like a big swan. The Mountain Magic float resembles Colorado’s beautiful snowy mountains in the winter and the Gingerbread House float has on it chocolate kisses, Lifesavers, and huge candy canes. The Toy Box Friends float has large building blocks, a rocking horse and bright yellow ducks.

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