Colonial Williamsburg’s Christmas wreaths are famous, evoking the spirit of simpler times, colonial American can-do spirit, and a nostalgic and idealized view of Christmas that focuses less on plastic Santa Claus light-up figures and more on family traditions. Many visitors come to Williamsburg in December specifically to enjoy the Christmas decorations and wreaths. I recall […]
holiday season
Newport News’ Celebration of Lights
Celebration in Lights is a two mile drive through holiday light displays in Newport News Park, featuring some creative and well done lights arrangements. Celebration in Lights, Virginia’s first drive-through holiday light event, opens for its 26th season. Newport News Park is transformed by over a million individual lights, creating animated holiday and fanciful scenes. […]
12 Days of Daytrips for Winter Break
The kids are home for winter break and are starting to get bored! What do you do? Here are some fun, inexpensive ideas for great memory-making daytrip destinations in the mid-Atlantic region. Inspire your kids over the winter break! Have you ever wondered how the food you eat — a potato chip, for example — goes […]
Christmas Magic in York, PA!
Christmas Magic celebrates its 35th year this holiday season in York County’s Rocky Ridge Park. The event is a walking trail (ADA approved) that meanders along a wooded hilltop through nearly 600,000 twinkling LED lights and animated scenes. It’s a kid’s delight! The half-mile trail sits among a mature oak forest nestled on a quiet […]
William C Goodridge Freedom Center’s Festival of Trees
The William C. Goodridge Freedom Center and Museum explore the dichotomy of a man whose public success built a five-story commercial building right in the center of York, but whose most important legacy was built in the shadows. The Freedom Center is worth visiting to learn Goodridge’s story: born into enslavement in Baltimore in 1806, […]
Meadowlark’s Winter Walk of Lights
During the day, at Meadowlark Botanical Gardens, in Vienna, VA, you can explore 95 acres of ornamental display gardens and unique native plant collections. As you meander along the walking trails, you can discover local flora and fauna among lakes, meadows, and forests. Take in majestic views of the Piedmont hills, explore the Korean Bell Garden […]
Color on Carroll Creek on Frederick’s Frosty Friday
Every year, a wintery flotilla sails through the solstice on Frederick’s Carroll Creek. This year, nine boats, ranging from a viking boat to other brightly lit ketches, yawls, and even a three mast schooner silent sail along the creek, raising money for five charities through your votes! Whether by daylight or at night, the boats […]
Snow a Bonus at Winter Lights!
There are few things as magical as the first snowfall of the year, especially when that happens in December, and the enthusiasm for winter and snowflakes is running at its highest. The sparkle of the snow just accentuates the excitement of the holiday season: the anticipation, the plans to get together with good friends and […]
Animals, Animals Everywhere at ZooLights!
There are few holiday light displays with elephants, cuddlefish, naked molerats, and orangutans, but ZooLights at the Smithsonian National Zoo in Washington DC is one of them! And unlike many (most?) other holiday lights displays, this one is completely free. I love holiday lights displays — that’s how I get into the holiday spirit, and […]
Kemerer Museum of Decorative Arts
n late November, I started a series of posts about Lehigh Valley, PA. This is the second installment of this series. To see others in this series, click on the label “Lehigh Valley” below this post. In Bethlehem, PA, there’s a unique museum, inspired by a unique woman who was born just as the Civil War […]
Where to See Holiday Lights in and near Maryland
Going to holiday lights displays has become an annual tradition for me and my family. Check out the places to go to enjoy the magic of the holiday season! Brookside Gardens “Garden of Lights” But the fascination with the lights made me wonder — how did the extravagant lights displays come about? As our holidays […]
Christkindlemarkt in Bethlehem PA
Beginning with this post, I’m starting a series about Lehigh Valley, PA. This is the first installment of this series. To see others in this series (once they’re published), click on the label “Lehigh Valley” below this post. Celebrating 25 years this year, Christkindlmarkt in Bethlehem is a great way to spend a fun afternoon as […]
Lights on the Bay Brings Holiday Cheer
This year we also returned to Lights on the Bay, in Sandy Point State Park, to see what new lights have sprung up. It’s been several years since we’ve driven through the light display. The Lights on the Bay display is a 2-mile scenic drive along the shore of the Chesapeake Bay with approximately 70 […]
A Symphony of Lights Celebrates the Holiday Season
Going to Christmas lights displays, such as Howard County’s Symphony of Lights, has become a holiday tradition for my family. Symphony of Lights is a dazzling display of more than 100 larger-than-life animated and stationary holiday light creations, made up of more than 250,000 bulbs. During the past 21 years, nearly 2 million individuals have […]
Garden of Lights Celebrates the Holiday Season
This year, the Garden of Lights, Brookside Gardens’ holiday outdoor light exhibit, celebrates its 19th season as a Baltimore/Washington, DC area family holiday tradition. During just one month a year, Brookside Gardens is illuminated with more than one million dazzling colorful lights shaped into hand-crafted, original art forms of flowers, animals and other natural elements. Stroll […]