Boston’s Mayor’s Holiday discount ticket bonanza just went from special to spectacular. To mark the tenth anniversary of the year-end, half-price ticket marketing campaign and to honor outgoing Mayor Menino and wife Angela, ArtsBoston renamed the program “The Mayor’s Holiday Spectacular.”

At mayorsholiday.com, bargain-hunters can find more than 25,000 half-price tickets to over 135 of the region’s most beloved holiday performances as well as exclusive dining deals, a $10 dining voucher, and gift ideas.

Last year ArtsBoston surveyed some 2,200 Bay Staters and found that giving performing arts tickets tops the list for holiday gift giving. The survey results, depicted in a festive holiday infographic, also show that 78 percent of people have purchased tickets as gifts in the past, and that eight out of ten would prefer tickets to an event rather than accumulating “stuff,” indicating that creating shared experiences outlasts gifts.

Mayor Thomas M. Menino gave a shout-out to Dorchester’s Strand Theatre and its new resident company in his official statement. “Our cultural organizations make our neighborhoods sparkle, encourage communities to come together, and put smiling faces on millions of our residents and visitors. I welcome you to experience the original Broadway cast of Tony Award-nominated “A Christmas Story, The Musical,” presented by Citi Performing Arts Center, the 160th annual performance of Handel’s Messiah by the Handel and Haydn Society or the Boston premiere of “A Little Princess” presented by Strand resident company Fiddlehead Theatre.”

Created in partnership with the non-profit organization ArtsBoston and the Greater Boston Convention & Visitors Bureau (GBCVB), the website is the go-to resource for the complete Greater Boston holiday experience. The program runs through January 1.

Since its inception, the Holiday Spectacular has welcomed more than 100,000 people to holiday shows – enough to fill Symphony Hall 40 times – saving ticket buyers more than $5 million and reinvesting the same amount back into the arts community.

This year’s half-price shows include “The Nutcracker,” presented as part of the 50th season of the Boston Ballet; “It’s a Wonderful Life”; “A Live Radio Play” at Wheelock Family Theatre; Anthony William’s “Urban Nutcracker,” and over 100 more performances.

The site is also the place to get your First Night button, which is only $10 this year! The half-price ticket quantities are limited, and allotments change daily, so the public is encouraged to
visit early and often. And since there’s no place better than Boston for the holidays, share your holiday spirit by including #BostonHoliday on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. ArtsBoston will be giving away holiday tickets all season long to those who use the hash tag often.