Whether you're traveling to another city, or enjoying a "staycation", you can find many Holiday Season events for families.
Great Places to See Santa: the jolly guy in red gets around, from North Pole NY, to Bethlehem CT, to Santa Fe, to Hersheypark...
Christmas Events: Christmas Train Rides (including the Polar Express), Christmas Tree Lighting, Christmas windows, Christmas Festivals, Christmas in Europe, and more.
Holiday Season Packages- 10 ideas, around the US.
Holiday Lights: Places that light up with a million sparkles.
Kwanzaa Celebrations: LA, Philadelphia, New York...
First Nights: some cities have family-friendly New Years Eve festivities.
Holiday Season Events: Northeast US
New York, New York: as you'd expect, this city knows how to celebrate the holiday season. Find lots of fun for the Holiday Season in New York City: special shows, decorated windows at famous department stores, The Nutcracker, ice-skating at Rockefeller Center, and lots more.
No Place like New England for the Holiday Season: About.com's guide for New England finds fun -- including one million lights in Hartford, Connecticut.
Boston Holiday Festivities: tree-lighting ceremonies, best shopping, skating on Frog Pond, Christmas Revels, and lots more.
Washington DC: The Spirit of Kwanzaa : at the Kennedy Center for Performing Arts, this annual "shake the rafters" celebration of dance, poetry, and song is over 40 years old.
Find more holiday events by checking CityKids and entering the city of your choice.
Holiday Season: Orlando Celebrations
Orlando Florida -- the world's most popular family vacation spot -- turns up the dazzle during the holiday season.
Orlando Holiday Season Lights: tree-lighting, candlelight parades, Christmas light extravaganzas at Disney World, Sea World, Cypress Gardens, and more.
Disney Christmas: Over 1500 Christmas trees, snow on Main Street... Holiday decorations at Disney World start in November, and so do the celebrations. In the Magic Kingdom, Mickey has a Very Merry Christmas Party on many nights, and Mickey's Very Merry Parade features a March of the Wooden Soldiers and dancing gingerbread men.
Epcot has Holidays Around The World --story-telling and traditions from different countries-- and the Candlelight Processional: a celebrity narrator presents the Christmas story, with a choir and 50-piece orchestra. At Disney's Hollywood Studios, the Osborne Family Spectacle of Lights has 5 million lights twinkling in nightly "snow". And that's not all-- click above for more.
Universal Orlando: Expect decorations and festivities at these popular theme parks. Special Macy's Parade takes place nightly; and the reclusive Grinch makes an appearance at Seuss Landing.
Holiday Season Events - More Locations
California: San Francisco- December Events: Plenty of Holiday Season events going on, from Reindeer Romp and ice-skating at the Zoo, to a dance/theater production of the Velveteen Rabbit, a Dickens Christmas Fair - lots more.
For the Los Angeles area -- that other hotspot for theme parks-- check out many December events including Disneyland Christmas Fantasy and several festivals. Also, Universal Studios Hollywood has Grinchmas and a special Holiday Parade on many days.
LEGOLAND California: this family theme park tree-lighting's a bit unusual: the tree's made out of 245,000 green DUPLO® bricks. Look for a Holiday Block Party during Christmas week, and fireworks.*
More Holiday season events in California:: "Five Cool Ways to Celebrate Christmas, California-Style" includes Harbor Parades, carols in a cave, and an LA Santa who arrives by surfboard.
Virginia-including Colonial Williamsburg: 100 Miles of Lights, Kwanzaa in Richmond... Colonial Williamsburg shines at Christmas, celebrating in the style of the revolutionary period. Read more about Colonial Williamsburg; then check Williamsburg Christmas eventsonline.
Branson Missouri: Ozark Mountain Christmas : Christmas shows, tree-lighting, Adoration Parade, Festival of Lights: Branson is a big-time destination at Christmas, and a family destination with theme parks, Scenic Railway, dinner shows and Family Fun Centers.
Cleveland Holiday Season Events: "Winterfest" lighting displays, WinterShow at the Cleveland Botanical Garden, Black Nativity, and more.
Jingle Bell Parks:
About.com's Guide for Theme Parks covers holiday festivities at theme parks in many states. These days, many summer-only theme parks re-open for a holiday mini-season.
Multiple Cities:
GoCityKids.com keeps adding cities, with calendars that include holiday events.
* photo courtesy of Universal Orlando
