The holidays welcome a lot of visitors to Mexico City each year. Some escaping the cold, some escaping the family, and some just looking for a different kind of Christmas.
The Christmas season, often referred to as the Guadalupe-Reyes marathon (a nod to the constant parties and events from the 12th of December, the day of the Virgin of Guadalupe, to Three Kings Day on January 6th) is packed with events, shows, and Christmas displays making the city a great place to fill up on the Christmas spirit.
If you are coming to Mexico City Christmas, here are a few of the great events and traditions on the schedule.
Cafe Y Chocolate Fest
Come taste the delights at the Christmas edition of the Coffee and Chocolate Fest. The festival will be a cornucopia of desserts, Christmas cookies, chocolate, coffee, workshops, and tastings on the 2nd and 3rd of December. The big man himself, Santa Claus, will be there along with 60 different vendors offering coffee and chocolate products from across Mexico.
Find it: Historic center of Mexico City, Centro, Cuauhtémoc, 06020 Mexico City, Mexico
Cost: Entrance is free
Santa Run
In preparation for all the eating and drinking this Christmas, why not come for the Santa Run on December 17? Over 2,000 runners dress up like Santa Claus to run the 1k, 5k, and 10k routes around Parque la Mexicana in the city’s Santa Fe neighborhood. Runners get a Santa suit when they sign up and the price of registration goes to purchase Christmas gifts for kids with cancer.
Find it: Parque la Mexicana — Av. Luis Barragan 505, Santa Fe, Contadero, Cuajimalpa de Morelos, 05348 Ciudad de México, CDMX, Mexico
Cost: $35-40
Visit the Zocalo
Each year Mexico City goes all out with massive Christmas displays on the buildings that surround the city’s main plaza, the Zocalo, as well as activities in the plaza itself. One year there was an ice-skating rink, in 2022 it was the Verbena Navideña festival with a ferris wheel and other fair rides for kids.
This year a free, open-air concert will be held December 9 where the city’s Philharmonic orchestra will fill the square with Christmas carols. And as always, the streets surrounding the zocalo will be bustling with shoppers and musicians busking to the crowds.
TYT Newsroom