Photo by Alexandria Living Magazine
A decorative Christmas wreath adorns a home in Colonial Williamsburg.
Santa Claus is coming to town
Meet Jolly Old St. Nick at Busch Gardens® Christmas Town™, which returns on most dates from November 10th - January 8th, 2024. The theme park will be transformed into a winter wonderland with more than 10 million twinkling lights — one of the largest light displays in North America — with extra spotlights this year in the form of three new seasonal shows. Whether it’s Sesame Street, Old World Christmas, Scrooge, or the Christmas Town Express holiday train ride, there are treats, shopping, and entertainment for all ages.
Happy olden days
On Dec. 16 Colonial Williamsburg's Grand Illumination will light up the night with pyrotechnics
Photo by Alexandria Living Magazine
Busch Gardens in Williamsburg puts on quite a show during the holidays.
Saturdays at Governor’s Palace and the Capitol building. Visitors can begin the special day by checking out the unique decorations throughout the Historic Area. Traditionally festivities include a Yule Log procession on Friday nights along Duke of Gloucester Street to kick off the weekend’s festivities. The cresset-lined streets come alive with cheer and music, performances, an appearance by Father Christmas, and special seasonal greenery adorning the historic area.
Historic hotels, estates, and inns throughout the region sparkle with traditional lights and décor throughout the Christmas season. A Williamsburg White House Inn, themed after the White House, is draped in holiday decorations.
Colonial Williamsburg Resorts is celebrating the holiday season with a festive array of events and experiences, including the Annual Lighting Ceremony at the iconic Williamsburg Inn and the highly-anticipated Annual Gingerbread Open House at the Williamsburg Lodge.
Photo by Alexandria Living Magazine
Decorated trees are part of the scenery during a holiday train ride around Busch Gardens.
There’s a special holiday gift this year with regular admission to Jamestown Settlement and the American Revolution Museum at Yorktown: Christmas Tide. Held Dec. 16 - 31, the festivities offer a glimpse of 17th and 18th-century holiday traditions with period musical entertainment at both sites. At Jamestown Settlement, performances are daily at 11:30 a.m. and 3 p.m., and costumed interpreters will present the story of how English Christmas customs – including those that differed from America’s earliest settlers.
At the American Revolution Museum at Yorktown, get a whiff of figgy pudding in the Revolution-era farm kitchen and learn about winter camp life in the Continental Army encampment – with the pop not of Christmas crackers, but of flintlock musket demonstrations throughout the day. Besides the open-hearth cooking of festive treats, period music will be served up at 11:30 a.m. and 2:30 p.m.
On December 9th, visitors can enjoy “At Christmas be Mery”: A Special Evening at Historic Jamestowne. Guests join an early Virginia Christmas celebration complete with costumed interpreters, madrigal singers, a seasonal bonfire, and caroling, along with a musical performance by William and Mary’s Christopher Wren Singers.
The holidays in and of themselves are magical, but Brandon and Hannah Wagster of Wagsters Magic Theatre take it to another level for the holidays. The husband and wife duo will present their illusions and sleight of hand with a seasonal spin most days running through the new year.
