Top 7 Christmas Places in the USA for Families to Visit

There are so many places in the USA that celebrate Christmas big time!!!  We have chosen our Top 7 places to visit during the Christmas Holiday Season and show you what we did when we visited.

Family Christmas fun in the USA

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New York City

Just like in the movies New York City is an amazing place to be during the Christmas Holiday Season. The decoration can be seen everywhere and the city is abuzz with the holiday festivities. With so many things to see and do the following should be on the top of your list:

• Seeing the Rockettes perform at Radio City – make sure you buy your tickets well in advance. This experience is very popular with the New Yorkers as well as tourists. Book your tickets here
• Visiting Santa Claus at Macy’s – believe it or not we waited 2 hours to see Santa! The kids were happy to wait and the Christmas grotto leading up to Santa is beautiful. There are many ways to beat this line and there is also the option of skipping the queue and the grotto and just having a visit with Santa. This involves signing up for an express pass and look at the official Macy’s site here
• Christmas Windows – the department store window dressings are an experience in themselves. Macy’s is amazing so are the high end stores on 5^th Ave.
• The Rockefeller Centre Christmas Tree is a New York City Tradition. Late November the tree is official lit ready for the Christmas season. This is also the place to ice-skate under the tree.
• Christmas Markets in NYC are a treat for the senses. With the lights, the carols and the mulled wine and hot chocolate it is a must to visit. Try the Union Square Markets and Columbus Circle Markets.
  

  See the Rockettes at Radio City

   

  

  See Santa at Macy’s

   

Read more about our NYC experiences here.

Washington DC

The official tree for the USA is found outside the White House in DC. The National Tree even has its own Facebook so you can follow its journey from the forest to the first lighting of the Christmas lights in DC. The National Tree is enormous and beautifully lit up. Surrounding the tree is a miniature train that circles the tree that you can throw coins on as part of a donation to a chosen charity. Each of the States has its own tree that surrounds the tree and decorated by each State.

Can you spot the White House behind the National Tree in DC

There are also Christmas markets to visit in DC and explore. We loved the decorations in Union Station the tree there was huge as were the decorations around the building.

The Washington DC Zoo also puts on a great Christmas experience with the Zoo Lights happening during December.

Zoo Lights at the Zoo in DC

Zoo Lights at the DC zoo

The huge decorations at Union Station DC

You can read more about Washington DC here.

Leavenworth

This Bavarian Village in Washington State is a Christmas dream. We stayed in a log cabin just out of the main town and spent the Christmas break here. The little village town of Leavenworth is simply spectacular. The town looks like a German Bavarian town and it gets into the full Christmas spirit. In the town there are carollers strolling up and down the main street, roasted chestnuts, sledding on the main street, the shops are loaded with Christmas decorations and you may even spot Santa and Mrs Claus. Are you having a White Christmas soon?

Christmas fun in Leavenworth

Read about our White Christmas experiences here.

Disneyland

The happiest place on Earth is a Holiday Season Heaven. The Christmas spirit rolls out in November with special events and decorations that can be read about here.

Disneyland is decorated from the top to the bottom with Christmas decorations everywhere. Mickey and all his friends are dressed in Christmas character clothing as are all the Main Street shops. Disneyland knows how to create an amazing atmosphere with their themed seasons. During the fireworks we even had snow fall that smelt like cinnamon.

Christmas at Disneyland

We love Disneyland at any season and you can find tips on our Disneyland Checklist here.

Las Vegas

The decorations that big hotels put out for the Holiday Season is amazing. We loved the displays at the Bellagio in their foyer. Purely magical how they make the decorations and displays with so many flowers. We also had an interesting experience at the Bass Pro Shop and had a free framed photo with Santa.

Christmas botanical gardens inside the Bellagio

Read about our visit to the Bass Pro Shop here and all our other Las Vegas adventures.

St Augustine

St Augustine is the oldest city in the USA and home to the Night of Lights each Christmas. With over 3 million lights adorning each and every corner of the historical district, St Augustine’s should be high on your MUST SEES for Christmas experiences. We hopped on a Light Tour Trolley which took us on a Night of Lights Tour. We didn’t need to book ahead but we did make sure we arrived at the ticket office before the first tour began.  We waited about 30mins before our trolley tour started. It was so much fun singing along to the carols that were played and having our hot cider.

The Christmas Night of Lights – I wish I took a better photo

You can read more about our St Augustine’s visit here.

Los Angeles

LA has a lot of Christmas events on during the holiday season. The large Christmas tree can be found outside the Staples Centre where there is also ice skating.

We loved the Boat Parade at Marina Del Ray. All the boats are decorated with Christmas decorations and lights and the crowd watches from the harbour. Bring something warm to wear as it can get chilly.

The LA Zoo puts on a spectacular with the LA Zoo Lights and a wonderful Christmas atmosphere.

Christmas at the Staples Center LA

Read more about why we love Los Angeles here.