Holiday Lights & Displays - Part 2

Today I'm continuing to talk about holiday lights and displays in the DC area -- and these are free and definitely worth your time! If you missed it, check out Holiday Lights & Displays - Part 1 for some ideas on how to find seasonal activities outside of the DC area.

Last year Michael and I went to the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) Museum Holiday Open House. You can find the event details for this year on their calendar. We took a tour of this nice museum to see the period rooms from 30 states and DC. For Christmas, the rooms are decorated according to the time and location that the room is exhibiting. They have carolers singing and offer hot beverages and great cookies. Santa was there talking to children. Admission is free! It's one night only (December 5th), so don't miss it.

One of my favorite Christmas activities is to go look at the National Christmas Tree on the Ellipse in front of the White House. Of course, it's free! This year it will be lit on December 6, and then it is open to the public from December 8 - January 1. While it is open 11 AM - 11 PM, I highly recommend that you go after dark so that you can enjoy the lights. It is probably more crowded then, but worth it. What I didn't realize until I went down there for the first time several years ago is that not only do they have the large National Christmas Tree, but they also have small trees for each state, territory, and DC. Those trees are decorated with ornaments made by people from the respective areas. They also have several model train displays at the foot of the National Tree. There is a blazing hot yule log, a nativity, and a giant menorah. Many evenings they also have organizations performing holiday music (schedule).

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