Top 20 Things to Do in Williamsburg over Christmas Break 2024
Top Things to Do in Williamsburg Area over Christmas Break 2024
From our friends at Localourist.com – Live Like a Local. Play Like a Tourist!(TM)
- Visit the Museums of Colonial Williamsburg (yes, bring the kids!) They have a tour that includes making an ornament. This week they have special concerts and performances that kids and adults will love. **Good Neighbor Pass gets you admission FREE. It is a world class museum right in our back yard! Here is their daily calendar with hourly events! Or check out the Art Museums Holiday Guide. Or better yet – their Holiday Planner!
- Christmastide at Jamestown Settlement and at the American Revolution Museum at Yorktown. This event is at two different museums so this can be a two day event! There are different parts at each museum so make sure to visit both! Tis the season for centuries-old holiday merriment. Grab your friends and family and plan on attending Christmastide in Virginia. Come have a glimpse of 17th- and 18th-century holiday traditions through festive interpretive programs, fancy cooking, caroling and musical entertainment. If you are a Williamsburg, James City County or Yorktown Resident you get free admission. Christmastide goes on daily from Dec 20 – Dec 31 (except on Dec 25th when they are closed). More info.
- Visit the Williamsburg Christmas Market! – A European-Style Christmas Market with 40 chalets with vendors local, regional and national vendors. Everyone will enjoy live entertainment, a train ride, adults can indulge in gluhwein (warm spiced wine) and craft beers. Enjoy Christmas music, firepit, & delicious market food from local restaurants. Admission is free! Last market is Dec. 21-22
- Drive the Shimmer & Shine Holiday Lights Map in Williamsburg Yorktown and Beyond! – The Spectacular Lights Tour in Williamsburg is WilliamsburgFamilies.com annual list of the Best Christmas Lights in the area! Live Like a Local and visit all your favorite local neighborhoods in “the Burg” as locals call it! Readers also can submit their favorites to the list and map! The GOOGLE Map has all the home listed (there are over 100) so you can drive along – the list gives you photos and links to maps. Here is the list and map.
- School Crossing Toy Store – Why a toy store? Because they are the only independent toy store from Richmond to NC boarder. That’s right folks. What we had as kids is a unicorn now….and Williamsburg has one: a real live toy store. It is stocked with toys, figets, stuffies, musical instruments, games, puzzles, activities for car/plane rides, crafts, spy tools, outdoor toys, ropes and climbing, dolls, science toys and equipment, paints, infant toys, toddler and kid toys as well as items teens love and adults will enjoy too! Stop by – your kids will go nuts (but in a good way).
- American Revolution Museum at Yorktown – learn the story of the nation’s founding, from the twilight of the colonial period to the dawn of the Constitution and beyond. Explore period artifacts, immersive environments and films, with a 180-degree surround screen and dramatic special effects. In the outdoor living-history areas, visitors can learn about the rank and file of a soldier’s life at a re-created Continental Army encampment and explore a Revolution-era farm based on a real-life 18th-century family. Plus local residents always get free admission! More Info!
- Jamestown Museum & Ruth E. Carter Costume Exhibit – The Jamestown Settlement Museum is an amazing place with a Powhatan Village, the Jamestown Fort and ships that you can board – kids and adults love this museum. It is free for local residents. This holiday season coincides with the last weeks of the Ruth E. Carter : Afrofuturism in Costume Design Exhibition. This exhibit of Carter’s creations includes powerful pieces from acclaimed films and television such as “Roots,” “Amistad,” “Malcolm X,” “Selma,” “Do the Right Thing” and “Black Panther.” Visitors can view more than 60 of Carter’s original garments. They can also glimpse her immersive process and historical research.
- Paint on Pottery Too! It’s a great time to let the kids create, join in as a family or meet a friend and get creative. Paint on Pottery lets you pick out your item, paint it as you wish – then come back to pick it up once it is fired and ready to enjoy! They also have ongoing classes, workshops and Parent Night Out events!
- Tap N Roll – Here you’ll find a wide variety of board games, card games, and role-playing games for all types of players. What makes it special is its community vibe, with plenty of space to play and a welcoming atmosphere. The staff is always ready to help you learn the rules or find the perfect game. With regular events, game nights, and a knack for finding rare treasures, it’s a must-visit for gamers! Many events like board game night and Pokemon Thursdays are family friendly!
- Ice Skating in Merchants Square – if you haven’t – it is really fun. And if you don’t want to skate you can always grab a hot chocolate in the snack shack and watch your friends and family skate from the benches that surround the rink. Live Like a Local: If you have a Good Neighbor Pass you get a discount on Monday – Friday! Call it DoG St. if you want to Live like a local or Duke of Gloucester if you want to Play Like a Tourist. And if you think you will be skating into the New Year – the rink stays open until February 28, 2025 so it might be a better deal to get a Seasons Pass.
- Evening Programming at Colonial Williamsburg – Are they for tourists, yes…but are they also for locals…a hard “Yes!” And if you are a local with a Good Neighbor Pass – evening programs are 25% off! Try Haunted Williamsburg, (the only official ghost tours of Colonial Williamsburg), To Hang a Pirate (a really good one), Cry Witch, and Revolutionary Points of View, Lighting of the Cressets, Christmastide and more! Here is a list of evening programs at Colonial Williamsburg.
- Celebration in Lights at Newport News Park – We ride through every year and always enjoy the magic of the lights. There are over a million lights in the two mile drive. It is open until January 1, 2025
- Christmas Town at Busch Gardens – Christmas Town is back and it is beautiful! We have our review updated for all the new shows and info you will need to make your time in the park awesome! If you need tickets make sure to visit our Busch Gardens Discount page. Fireworks – Busch Gardens will celebrate New Years Eve. Cap off your night and celebrate the New Year with a spectacular fireworks show at 9 p.m. on December 31. If you don’t have a membership check discounts here.
- Catch a holiday movie at the Kimball Theater – The Kimball was originally opened as The Williamsburg Theatre in 1933 by John D. Rockefeller Jr.’s RKO film distribution and production company, The Kimball Theatre has been Williamsburg’s cinema for 90 years. The following will be shown: It’s a Wonderful Life and Don’t Look Back.
- Christmas in Yorktown! Don’t forget to grab your camera to get a pic of your favorite family members with the holiday decorated LOVE Letters. You cannot miss them – they are on the waterfront. If it is a sunny day – stroll on the sandy beach grab lunch or dinner at their many restuarants and a cone at Ben & Jerry’s. Make sure to visit the York Hall Gallery where local artists have wonderful items for sale, visit their great restaurants and boutique shops! Yorktown Battlefield is right near the downtown so stop there too. Other great museums include the American Revolution Museum at Yorktown and the Watermen’s Museum right on the waterfront.
- Parks & Playgrounds – Rent boats, go fishing, hike, mountain bike, look for sharks teeth…if the weather cooperates head to one of our amazing playgrounds or parks in the area. Need to refresh you memory on all this area has to offer? Check out our Best Playgounds and Parks in Williamsburg area post.
- Take the Ferry! It is free and kids love it. When you get to the other side you can visit Chippokes State Park, Smithfield’s main street or just pull into the Surry Seafood House and have lunch or dinner on the patio on the water! Here is a link to the Ferry Schedule.
- Area Museums – These are several regional museums that if you have the chance to go to…definitely go! Chrysler Museum is FREE and the Mariner’s Museum is only $1 admission. Nauticus has an amazing light display, Virginia War Museum, Hermitage Museum, and Portsmouth Children’s Museum all are excellent museums!
- Don’t forget our State Parks! York River State Park is a great place to walk, bike, fish, walk the dog and so much more. Chippokes State Park is a short ferry ride away and it is definitely worth the drive . You can find sharks teeth there too! Both Parks have a great way to welcome the New Year – 1st Day Hikes. Learn about York River and Chippokes!
- Eat outside in Merchants Square under umbrellas and heated lamps. You are supporting local businesses, and celebrating the season with outdoor seating and heat lamps on DoG Street! Plus while you are there stop and shop! Favorite stores…Fat Face, The Shoe Attic, Scotland House, Ltd., Blink, Monkee’s of Williamsburg, Walkabout Outfitters, William & Harry, McLaughlin’s, Danforth Pewter, J. Fenton, Penny and a Sixpence, Three Cabanas, Carousel Children’s Boutique, Chico’s, Lululemon, The Precious Gem, Brick & Vine…and so many more – see full list of shops & restaurants here.
Visit our Best things to Do in Williamsburg page that has a guide of things to do for every month!
Make sure to visit our Daily Calendar of Events in Williamsburg. It will give you an hour-by-hour guide to what’s going on!
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