December downtown is not one big weekend. It is three weeks of steady evening traffic. Ballet Austin runs The Nutcracker at the Long Center from the 4th through the 23rd. The Armadillo Christmas Bazaar takes over Palmer for ten days. There are shows most nights, shopping most afternoons, and then the week before Christmas when the whole thing empties out.
There are no Longhorns home football games in December. The last one was November 21. The only home Longhorns event downtown is men's basketball against Memphis at Moody Center on the 16th.
The days worth planning around
| Date | Event | Venue |
|---|---|---|
| Fri Dec 4 to Wed Dec 23 | Ballet Austin's The Nutcracker | Dell Hall, Long Center |
| Sat Dec 12 | Billy Strings | Moody Center |
| Sat Dec 12 to Mon Dec 21 | Armadillo Christmas Bazaar | Palmer Events Center |
| Wed Dec 16 | Texas Longhorns men's basketball vs. Memphis | Moody Center |
| Thu Dec 31 | New Year's Eve downtown | Across downtown and West 6th |
Confirmed and likely dates for December 2026. A few December events have not published 2026 details yet and are deliberately left off this list.
Evening shows and a lot that stays open
The thing that matters in December is the back end of the night. A Nutcracker matinee lets out into afternoon traffic, an evening show lets out at ten, and a Saturday at the Bazaar turns into dinner on West 6th. Our gate does not close, so the car is not on a clock that runs out before you are done.
New Year's Eve
We are one block from West 6th, which is where most of downtown actually spends New Year's Eve. The gate is open all night and in and out is unlimited, so you are not moving the car at midnight and you are not paying for a second night if you leave it and come back for it in the morning. That is the safest plan on the table and we would rather you take it.
The City has not announced its own New Year's Eve programming for 2026 yet. When it does, we will update this page.
January is the natural start date
Most people reassess what commuting costs them over the holidays. If you have been paying the all-day rate two or three times a week downtown, run the math against a monthly plan before January. The weekday plan covers Monday through Friday, 7 AM to 7 PM. The all-access plan covers everything, including the nights and weekends that make a December like this one work.
Posted rates are starting prices and are subject to change. During citywide events (SXSW, ACL, F1, UT football, and Capitol session weekends) rates may increase. We post current pricing at the lot entrance and on this page.
Published 2026-08-10.