2022 Holiday Event Roundup: Joyous Things to Do This Holiday Season
By • November 9, 2022 0 2019
Don your holiday best, put on that Santa hat and head out to 20 of the best events of the season!
Georgetown
Washington Harbour Ice Skating – Opening November 11, the rink at the Georgetown waterfront has been a holiday treasure year after year. https://thewashingtonharbour.com/ice-skating/
Georgetown GLOW – From Nov. 26 through Jan. 22, enjoy the area’s only free outdoor public light art experience. In its 8th year, the show will feature 5 national and international artists. https://www.georgetownglowdc.com/glow
The Georgetown Cookie Tour – On Dec. 10, experience the sweetest holiday tour of Georgetown — scavenging for cookies of course! https://www.eventbrite.com/e/georgetown-cookie-tour-tickets-428577636247
A Candlelight Tour at Tudor Place – Discover presents, games and food earlier Tudor Place residents enjoyed. Recommended for adults and children ages 10-plus. https://tudorplace.org/event/candlelight-tour/
Santa’s Suite at the Fairmont in Georgetown – Visit Santa at the Fairmont Georgetown weekends December 3 – 18. The Fairmont has fixed up Old Saint Nick’s suite with decorated trees and places for his guests like Snoopy, Winnie the Pooh and Elsa from “Frozen.” https://www.eventbrite.com/e/santas-suite-at-fairmont-washington-dc-georgetown-tickets-431806895047
Metro D.C.
Downtown DC Holiday Market – The 18th annual holiday event will be centered at 8th and F Streets NW. It runs Nov. 18 through Dec. 23 (except Thanksgiving and Monday Dec. 5) from noon to 8 daily. This year’s market will feature over 70 exhibitors. http://downtownholidaymarket.com/.
The District’s Holiday Boat Parade – Celebrating 30 years this year, the boat parade will feature over 60 decorated vessels parading along the Washington Channel. Ornamentasl decorating and face painting, fire pits and a 40-foot Christmas tree are sure to be perfect for your holiday Instagram post. Santa is also rumored to be making an appearance! https://www.wharfdc.com/upcoming-events/2022-12-03-the-districts-holiday-boat-parade/
Enchant Christmas – The world’s biggest Christmas light maze and village is coming to Nationals Park yet again. There will also be ice skating, live entertainment, Mr. and Mrs. Claus themselves and best of all, the whole place has the nostalgic aroma the season — cinnamon and vanilla. https://enchantchristmas.com/
100th National Christmas Tree Lighting – The National Christmas Tree is celebrating its centennial this year. It’s free to visit and will be open to the public beginning Dec. 2. https://thenationaltree.org/visit-the-tree/
Mount Vernon by Candlelight – Throughout the holiday season, visit George Washington’s Mount Vernon for a candlelit guided tour and hear about holiday traditions circa 18th-century Virginia. https://www.mountvernon.org/plan-your-visit/calendar/events/mount-vernon-by-candlelight/
Step Afrika’s Magical Musical Holiday Step Show – Running Dec. 9 through Dec. 19 at Atlas Performing Arts Center, the show will have the whole family clapping and stomping their feet along to the rhythms of Step Afrika! https://www.stepafrika.org/events/step-afrikas-magical-musical-holiday-step-show-2/
The National Menorah Lighting – This year’s lighting ceremony will take place Dec. 18. The event will feature musical performances, special guests and of course, the lighting of the menorah. https://nationalmenorah.org/
CityCenterDC’s Holiday Tree – Home Alone’s Kevin McCallister would be a fan of this must-see tree in the area. Measuring 75 feet, it’s one of the biggest in the city. It’s decorated with over 150,000 lights and 4,500 ornaments. https://www.citycenterdc.com/
The National Cathedral’s Christmas Concerts – Enjoy Handel’s “Messiah” Dec. 2-4 and “Joy of Christmas” heralding the season with trumpets, drums and choir voices. https://cathedral.org/event/joy-of-christmas-2/2022-12-10/
Smithsonian National Zoo’s “Zoo Lights” – Zoo Lights is back post-pandemic. The annual holiday tradition will be welcoming the public again, with more information coming soon. https://nationalzoo.si.edu/events/zoolights
Season’s Greetings at the Botanic Gardens – The garden-wide holiday event will include the perennial favorite model trains, poinsettias and plenty of holiday displays. It runs from Nov. 24 through Jan. 2, 2023. https://www.usbg.gov/exhibits
Ice skating at the Sculpture Garden – Opening Nov. 26, there’ll be skating lessons and special events around the season. Skaters will be able to gaze at large-scale sculptures from artists in The National Gallery of Art’s outdoor collection like Alexander Calder, Louis Bourgeois and Roy Lichtenstein. https://www.nga.gov/visit/ice-rink.html
Heurich Christmas Market at the Heurich House Museum – In its 10th year, the market has a renewed mission and updated name. Their goal is to “create a more equitable future for local small-scale entrepreneurs, who are historically women, people of color and immigrants. https://heurichhouse.org/christmas
The Washington Ballet’s Nutcracker – The holiday tradition returns to the area for special performances at THEARC November 12 and 13 and The Warner Theatre November 25 through December 30. https://www.washingtonballet.org/events/the-nutcracker-2022
ICE! Featuring A Christmas Story – With “A Christmas Story” prequel coming to HBO Max Nov. 17, everyone’s talking about the original movie again. Gaylord National’s annual ICE! event will feature “A Christmas Story” with sculptures of scenes from the movie hand-carved by 40 artisans from Harbin, China. https://christmasatgaylordnational.marriott.com/ice
