There’s no place like home for the holidays, but for great memories there’s nothing like mixing in a getaway. So from city sidewalks to a stunning drive through light display in the Ozarks, Arkansas offers exciting and quirky destinations for day trips and overnighters.

1. Jacksonville

It might be stretching things to call Jacksonville a road trip, but even a 20-minute drive can get your gang out of a funk. The 59th annual Jacksonville Christmas Parade is at 6:30 p.m. Dec. 6, with this year’s theme being the sights and sounds of Christmas. The town is also awash in light from decorated homes, and a big winner will be named at 6 p.m. Dec. 20, when the Fantasy in Lights Decorating Contest is judged. Chauffeur the family through residential neighborhoods to take it all in.

2. Fairfield Bay 

This lovely bay town is about an hour and a half away and off the beaten path, tucked on the north side of Greers Ferry Lake. But once you get there, make sure to see the Festival of Trees at the Bay through Dec. 9 at the Conference, Art and Visitor Center, where you’ll be the judge in a forest of decorated trees. Vote for your favorites, and gather round the best for a family portrait. The festival is open 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., and tickets are available by calling 884-4202.

3. Eureka Springs

This enchanted town, known for its history and Passion Play, is about as far away as you can travel and still be in Arkansas. The drive up to the far northwest takes about three and a half hours, but the reward is an array of great events for families. Several, like the Great Passion Play Drive-Through Light Display, the Snow Village and Train Exhibit, are open all season long. Downtown Living Windows is Dec. 10, along with Santa in the Park, Light the Hills and the Illuminated Stroll the Springs tour. In the Living Windows event, live actors animate shop windows by enacting Christmas cards.

4. Hot Springs

An hourlong drive southwest brings the historic Spa City into view. Known for Bathhouse Row, the downtown is a national park that adds lights and decorations to its natural beauty at year’s end. On Dec. 12, a luminary display will bathe the Quapaw-Prospect Historic District in candlelight. And Garvan Woodland Gardens, a botanical wonderland south of town, will boast more than 4 million holiday lights. The exhibit is open nightly from 5 to 9 p.m., and admission is $15, $5 for kids 6-12. Children under 6 get in free.

5. Pine Bluff 

The piney woods southeast of Little Rock are a testament to Arkansas as the Natural State. About an hour’s drive away from Little Rock, Jefferson County Regional Park beckons with its 20th annual Enchanted Land of Lights & Legends through the end of the year. From 6 to 9 p.m., you can drive your family through the lighted park for free, although donations are encouraged. More than 240 displays line the 1.3-mile drive, and many are animated.

6. Searcy 

This town less than an hour from Little Rock hosts one of the most popular Christmas events in the state: The Living Nativity. Put on by the First Assembly of God Church, it has drawn more than 100,000 visitors over 12 years, and it features more than 100 costumed volunteers recreating Bethlehem storefronts, Herod’s palace, the wise men’s tents, and a manger scene at the center of it all. The drive-through production often has long lines, with hourlong waits on Saturday nights. The church keeps the queue entertained with videos on two large screens and audio via FM signal to car radios.