ATL: Around Town Living (Holiday 2022)

Atlanta Botanical Garden

It’s 4:58pm on a Friday afternoon and you’re all out of date night ideas. No need to fret, just ask Alexa to tell your Tesla to navigate towards Piedmont Park, where you’ll find the Atlanta Botanical Garden adjacent.

Designed to evoke “oohs,” “ahs,” and hugely ‘grammable moments, this bastion of ATL extracurricular overtures features seasonal events, like its annual Christmas lights display, guaranteed to have your significant other writing you a coupon for a free backrub. Tickets run $20 - $35.

Cap it off with a stroll through Piedmont Park, a veritable Rodeo Drive for canine fashion, and see if you can complete a scavenger hunt of every official American Kennel Club breed.

Putt Shack

Putt Shack is a hole-in-one for any ATLien hoping for a fun night out. Brainchild of Adam Breeden (All Star Lanes, AceBounce, Flight Club) and brothers Steven and Dave Jolliffe (Topgolf), Puttshack is designed to elevate the minigolf experience – all the accessible fun and trash talking combined with the glory of seamless, modern technology.

What you get is a one-of-a-kind putting experience, something out of a Gary Player fever dream, powered by patented Trackaball technology, and just steps away from Puttshack’s “globally inspired, mixologist-obsessed signature bar and restaurant.”

Don’t miss your chance to visit the “Google of party golf.”

Atlantic Station Christmas

For those who can’t get enough of Kris Kringle, Atlantic Station offers an entire slew of Xmas-related events, guaranteed to keep your in-laws quiet for a weekend. Events include a drive-in lights display (ATL Holiday Lights), an ice skating rink (Skate the Station) and a pop-up Holiday bar. Be sure to check out Atlantic Station’s website for updates on event times.

IllumiNights at the Zoo

For an all-ages event that still offers adult beverages, try Zoo Atlanta’s IllumiNights, which features 80+ life-sized Chinese lantern creatures strategically located amidst the real critters. Imbibe the scent of flamingos while your eyes absorb the radiance of a 7-foot paper chameleon and then wash it down with a curated cocktail. Each lantern is painstakingly crafted and hand-painted by Chinese artisans, the result of thousands of hours of work, and lit with environmentally friendly LEDs, so you can gaze at the bright lights in peace. Event runs from mid-November to January.

Miracle Atlanta

Witness something miraculous on Monroe Drive from November 26 to December 26: a Christmas-themed pop-up cocktail bar serving holiday cocktails in a cozy, kitschy setting. Professionally developed cocktails and requisite Christmas sweater attire faithfully recreate the Dionysian atmosphere of the best office parties. The most Scrooge-like of souls will tremble before this locus of merriment.