Minneapolis events & things to do in December 2026
Expect -2°C/28°F days and about 11 rainy ones in December. Start with these:
- Stone Arch BridgeJames J.
- Minnehaha FallsA 53-foot waterfall inside a city park, minutes from the airport on the Blue Line — thundering in spring, a walk-behind ice cave some deep winters.
- Glenn Miller OrchestraDec 1Pantages Theatre - Minneapolis · Source: SeatGeek
Get a personalized Minneapolis itinerary you can trust — every place checked for opening hours, closures, and booking needs on your days.
- Free. No account.
- Ready in about 30 seconds.
30% off a Going membership after you build your plan.
By TripSapien Research · Updated June 3, 2026
Minneapolis in December 2026
Weather
TempTemperature
28°F / 15°F
-2.2°C / -9.4°C
RainPrecipitation
11d
1.5in · 37.4mm
LightDaylight
9h
Full winter and full holiday mode — Holidazzle downtown, lit-up lakes, and genuine cold between festive stops.
Events & festivals
Event calendar- Dec 1 – Dec 31
Minneapolis Holiday Lights Tour
Guided tours showcasing the best holiday light displays across Minneapolis neighborhoods and downtown areas.
Planning lead · verify independently · Source: festival research
- Dec 1
- Dec 2
Show all 39 events for December
- Dec 3 – Dec 30
Guthrie Theater: A Christmas Carol
Annual production of Charles Dickens' classic holiday story performed at the Guthrie Theater.
Planning lead · verify independently · Source: festival research
- Dec 3
- Dec 4 – Dec 24
Holidazzle Festival
A beloved Minneapolis winter festival featuring light displays, local vendors, live music, and holiday-themed activities along Nicollet Mall.
Planning lead · verify independently · Source: festival research
- Dec 4
- Dec 4
- Dec 4
- Dec 4
- Dec 5
- Dec 5 – Dec 13
Minneapolis Institute of Art: Holiday Art Market
Annual holiday market showcasing local artists and craftspeople, perfect for unique gift shopping within the museum setting.
Planning lead · verify independently · Source: festival research
- Dec 5
- Dec 5
- Dec 5
- Dec 5
- Dec 6
- Dec 6
- Dec 7
- Dec 7
- Dec 8
- Dec 8
- Dec 11
- Dec 11
- Dec 11
- Dec 11
- Dec 11
- Dec 12
- Dec 12
- Dec 15
- Dec 18 – Dec 27
The Nutcracker by Minnesota Ballet
Traditional ballet performance of The Nutcracker, a holiday classic held at the State Theatre in downtown Minneapolis.
Planning lead · verify independently · Source: festival research
- Dec 18
- Dec 20
- Dec 20
- Dec 23
- Dec 27
- Dec 29
- Dec 31
- Dec 31
Holidays, observances & long weekends
Holiday and observance schedules can affect services and venue hours; confirm each place directly.
- Dec 25Christmas DayPublic holiday
- Dec 25-Dec 27Long weekend
About Minneapolis
City overview
Minneapolis is the bigger, artsier half of the Twin Cities — a Mississippi mill town (the world's flour capital by 1880, powered by St. Anthony Falls) that turned its riverfront ruins into museums and its 22 lakes into the year-round Chain of Lakes park system. It punches far above its size culturally — the Guthrie Theater, the Walker, Prince's First Avenue — and handles its ferocious winters with a 9-mile skyway network that lets downtown live indoors at second-storey level.
Food & drink
Start with the Juicy Lucy — the cheese-stuffed burger invented (each insists) at Matt's Bar or the 5-8 Club, both still flipping them in south Minneapolis. Then the modern city: Owamni's decolonized Indigenous menu won the James Beard Best New Restaurant award in 2022, Northeast's breweries pour the state's best taplists, and Eat Street (Nicollet Avenue) runs seventeen blocks of Vietnamese, Thai, Malaysian, and Mexican kitchens — Quang's pho line moves fast. Winter defense: the skyways feed you without ever going outside.
Top sights
- 1
Chain of Lakes & Bde Maka Ska
outdoorFour linked in-city lakes ringed by parkway paths — swim beaches, kayak and sailboat rentals, and the Lake Harriet bandshell's free summer concerts. The 3.1-mile Bde Maka Ska loop is the people-watching lap.
- 2
Minneapolis Institute of Art (Mia)
indoorFree, encyclopedic, and huge — 5,000 years of art with especially deep Asian galleries, in a Beaux-Arts palace south of downtown. One of the best free museums in the country.
- 3
Walker Art Center & Minneapolis Sculpture Garden
mixedOne of America's leading contemporary-art museums, with the free 11-acre sculpture garden across the footbridge — Claes Oldenburg's Spoonbridge and Cherry is the city's signature image.
Show 3 more sights
- 4Mill City Museum
- 5Guthrie Theater
- 6First Avenue
Neighborhoods
1Downtown & the Mill District
The skyway-linked core — Nicollet Mall, the stadium trio, and the riverfront Mill District where the Guthrie, Mill City Museum, and Stone Arch Bridge cluster. Busy weekdays, quiet weekend mornings.
2North Loop
Warehouse district turned the city's hottest quarter — design shops, cocktail bars, James Beard-calibre restaurants in loading docks, all walkable to Target Field.
3Northeast (the Arts District)
Old immigrant parishes and grain-belt bars threaded with artist studios and more breweries than any other quarter — Art-A-Whirl in May opens every studio door at once.
Day trips
10 miles east — 45 min on the Green Line, 15 min by car
Saint Paul
The quieter twin — the Cathedral of Saint Paul's dome, F. Scott Fitzgerald's Summit Avenue (the longest run of intact Victorian mansions in the US), and the Science Museum on the river bluff.
26 miles northeast / ~35 min by car
Stillwater
The 1840s lumber town on the St. Croix river bluffs — antique rows, riverboat cruises, and the restored vertical-lift bridge, now a walking-and-biking loop over the water.
154 miles north / ~2h20 by car up I-35
Duluth & the North Shore
Lake Superior's port city — the Aerial Lift Bridge and Canal Park boardwalk, with the North Shore's cliffs and state parks beginning just beyond. A long full day; leave early.
Getting around
The METRO Blue and Green light-rail lines cover the visitor spine — airport and Mall of America to downtown on the Blue, downtown through the University to Saint Paul on the Green ($2, transfers included). Downtown itself works at two levels: the street grid and the climate-controlled skyway network (open roughly 6:30-22:00 weekdays, shorter weekends) — in January, learn the skyways. Nice Ride bikes and the lake parkways handle summer; winter visits mean real boots and layered everything.
Planning a Minneapolis trip?
Add your dates and we'll check every place for closures, limited hours, and booking needs in December.
Common questions about Minneapolis in December
- What to pack for Minneapolis in December
Pack for December's weather, not a generic Minneapolis checklist.
- A warm coat and insulating layers for average highs around -2°C / 28°F.
- A heavier evening layer because nights average -9°C / 15°F.
- Compact rain gear and shoes that handle wet pavement across about 11 rainy days.
- How many days do you need in Minneapolis
- 4 days covers the main Minneapolis highlights at a realistic pace. Add 3 extra days if you want the listed day trips.
- Is Minneapolis worth visiting in December
- Yes. December in Minneapolis averages -2°C / 28°F highs, -9°C / 15°F nights, and about 11 rainy days.
Ready to plan Minneapolis?
You've seen what's on — now get a day-by-day Minneapolis plan for December 2026, every place checked for your exact dates.