Whether you're traveling to another city, or enjoying a "staycation", you can find many Holiday Season events for families. Below find ideas by region, starting in the Northeast US.
See also: Great Places to See Santa | Christmas Train Rides, Tree Lighting, Festivals | Holiday Lights | Kwanzaa Celebrations | First Nights
Holiday Season Events: Northeast US and Mid-Atlantic
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.
North Pole, NY: Twelve miles from Lake Placid in the Adirondacks is North Pole, NY, where Santa-related fun goes on year-round, but goes into overdrive at Christmas time.
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.
Bethlehem CT: "The Christmas Town" people flock to this town-- about 100 miles from NYC-- to mark their Christmas mail with the Bethlehem postmark, and with special rubber-stamps known as "cachets". Christmas Festival is in early Dec.
Santa's Village, White Mountains, New Hampshire: amusement park for little kids.
Boston Holiday Season Festivities: tree-lighting ceremonies, best shopping, skating on Frog Pond, Christmas Revels, and lots more.
Holiday Season at Hershey PA: HersheyPark opens up as Christmas Candylane; Hershey Sweet Lights is a two-mile drive through woods filled with a million lights on 600 animated displays; "Chocolate Town, a holiday season "Dinner Musical" is presented at Hershey Lodge; Dutch Winter Wonderland a 30-minute drive away.
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 season 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.
See Orlando Christmas: ICE! at Gaylord Palms Resort; Grinchmas and daily Macy's Parade at Universal Orlando; holiday concerts, and more.
Disney Christmas: Over 1500 Christmas trees, snow on Main Street... Decorations and celebrations at Disney World start in November. 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 - 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. (Check for updates.)
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 special festivities 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.
Holiday Season Events - More Locations
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.
Theme Parks- Multiple Locations:
About.com's Guide for Theme Parks covers holiday season festivities at theme parks in many states. These days, many summer-only theme parks re-open for a mini- holiday season.
Multiple Cities in the US:
GoCityKids.covers family events in many cities, with calendars for holiday season events.
London Christmas Events
From carolers under lamplights to figgy pudding: much of the way we picture Christmas comes from Victorian England. So visit in person, and enjoy outdoor skating, legendary toy stores, Medieval Christmas at the Tower of London, New Year's Day parade, and more.
More Christmas in Europe
Christmas markets in Germany, Christmas events in Paris, local customs and torchlight parades in Italy, and more..
* photo courtesy of Universal Orlando
