When I say Christmastime in our nation’s capital is truly magical, I mean it. And those who are lucky enough to experience Washington, DC during the holidays have an array of options to choose from when it comes to festive things to do, outings, and events for getting into the spirit of the season.
Between Christmas markets, light festivals, half-a-dozen larger-than-life Christmas trees, holiday-themed art installations, and even a yacht parade, the city lights up between Thanksgiving and the New Year – and so many of these fun events double as festive holiday date ideas. We’ve rounded up some of our favorite festive things to do in DC (and the DMV) here in hopes to help you plan the perfect holiday date night.
Season’s Greenings at the U.S. Botanic Garden
Each Christmas, the National Botanic Garden displays miniature DC landmarks made entirely of plant-based materials in it’s indoor conservatory and G-gauge model trains surrounded by plant-based scenes in their gated outdoor gardens as a part of their “Season’s Greenings” holiday exhibit. The color scheme in the conservatory and model train scenes are different each year, so even if you’ve visited during the holidays before, it is 100% worth checking out again. This year’s theme is pollinators!
There is no admission fee and tickets are not required to visit any area of the U.S. Botanic Garden, including the holiday train display. The exhibit will be open November 23, 2023 – January 1, 2024 from 10AM – 5PM daily. On three Thursdays in December (12/14/23, 12/21/23, and 12/28/23) the Conservatory and outdoor train display will have extended hours, staying open until 8:00PM.
While you’re there, grab a will coffee or hot chocolate from Zeke’s Coffee and check out the botanically-themed gifts at the pop-up shop put on by the Friends of the U.S. Botanic Garden and local DC small business, Rewild.
This sculpture has been installed to celebrate the National Garden’s 200th anniversary. It is made of locally-harvested willow branches as well as invasives removed from around the city. This exhibit is interactive and visitors can explore the sculpture from literally any angle. If you love the intersection of art and nature, this piece isn’t to be missed!
Downtown Holiday Market
The Downtown Holiday Market features over 70 exhibitors, many of which are Black-owned and minority-owned businesses, and provides visitors with the perfect opportunity to shop for unique and locally-made items. Located on F St. NW between 7th and 9th Streets, this market is free to attend and runs November 17 through December 23, 2023 from 12:00PM to 8:00PM daily*. In addition to unique items for sale, visitors can expect live music and delicious food options – don’t sleep on the mini-donuts. You can thank me later.
Check out how we turned our visit into the ultimate date night downtown (in our opinion, anyway).
Union Station
While you’re there, satisfy your sweet tooth and sample some of the treats at Neuhaus Chocolate. Their Christmas assortments are beautiful, delicious, and perfect for the chocolate lover on your list!
The Wharf
There is no shortage of seasonal things to do in this DC neighborhood, but our favorite has to be the Holiday Boat Parade. We stumbled into this event by accident a few years ago, and it has been a staple tradition of ours ever since. On December 2, 2023, the 31st Annual District Holiday Boat Parade will take place and showcase 60+ intricately and seasonally decorated yachts that will parade majestically around the Washington Channel.
After you have your fill of exploring the waterfront, cuddle up by the fire at Camp Wharf and enjoy a s’more and some hot cider. A portion of the proceeds benefit charities in Southwest DC.
For the 2023 season, Camp Wharf is open Thursdays & Fridays: 6:00 pm-11:00 pm, Saturdays: 4:00PM – 11:00PM, and Sundays: 4:00PM – 10:00PM.
The Wharf’s overwater ice skating rink is also a must-visit. It opens on November 22 for the 2023 season and runs Wednesdays – Sundays through February.
Downtown Christmas Trees
Every Year on Christmas Eve, Seth and I pack a thermos of spiked hot chocolate and walk around to all of the Christmas Trees downtown. My personal favorite is known as the People’s Tree and is located in front of the Capitol Building. This tree is extra special because it is chosen from a different National Forest each year and decorated with ornaments handmade by residents from its state of origin. The National Tree, located in front of the White House is a less popular stop for us but we still make it a point to stop by. If you want to check out all of downtown’s iconic, twinkling trees, we created a little walking tour with a map detailing our route to hit them all in one night.
Ice Skating at the National Gallery of Art’s Sculpture Garden
Ice skating at the National Gallery’s iconic rink surrounded by over a dozen sculptures makes for the quintessential DC date night. Afterwards, head to the Pavilion Cafe to warm up with an affordable and delicious meal. We’re obsessed with their California flatbread!
The rink is located right on the National Mall and open Nov. 20th 2023 – March 3rd 2024. Tickets cost $12 for patrons ages 13+ and $10 for children ages 12 and under, 60+, military service members with ID, and students with school ID. Skate rentals cost $6, and free lockers are available first come, first served. NOTE: The ice rink closes for rain and extreme temperatures, so it’s a good idea to call ahead to check if they’re open (202.216.9397).
* This one is best paired with a trip to the Downtown Holiday Market or the Botanic Gardens as they’re all within walking distance of one another. Check out our date night itinerary here.
Check out the Lights at CityCenterDC
CityCenter is one of my favorite places to window shop within the District and is beautifully decorated with each new season. On Saturday, November 25 2023, CityCenterDC will host their 10th Annual Holiday Tree Lighting Celebration complete with live music, face painting and other seasonal treats.
Georgetown GLOW
Now in its ninth year, Georgetown GLOW will light up DC’s oldest neighborhood this summer. Plan your stroll using this map to make sure you don’t miss any of this year’s installations. They will be lit nightly, December 1 through January 7, 2023 from 5-10PM. Check out our experience at this year’s GLOW!
Note: There are not any interactive installations this year, and walking around to/reading about all of them will probably only take you ±30min, so if you want to make this into a solid date night, we recommend heading down to the Washington Harbour Ice Rink and then grabbing dinner at the iconic DC institution that is Filomena Ristorante. It’s decked out for the season and somehow even more charming than usual.
🍸 Additionally there will be a Georgetown GLOW Shopping Night & Cocktail Crawl on Wednesday (12/6/23) where more than 40 Georgetown restaurants and retailers are staying open late and offering promotions, events, a holiday night market, and/or holiday cocktails.
Union Market
What could be more romantic than choosing the perfect botanical to serve as the staple of your holiday décor with your love AND celebrating your purchase with a culinary delight from a spot that you don’t have to agree upon?! Nothing? That’s what I thought. And that is what’s waiting for you at Union Market.
Christmas Pop-Up Bars
Sipping on holiday-themed drinks in a decked-out bar sounds like the perfect evening to us. Our favorite pop-up bars in DC are Miracle at Death Punch in Adams Morgan, Sippin’ Santa at BLACK WHISKEY on 14th St. NW, and Dirty Habit in Penn Quarter. People also love Urban Roast on G St., NW.
Zoo Lights
Grab your beau or your besties and some mulled wine and head over to the National Zoo to admire the environmentally-friendly light displays.
Tickets: This year the event is ticketed and costs $6. Proceeds from the event (including tickets, concessions, and parking sales) will directly benefit animal care and conservation science at the Smithsonian’s National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute.
Enchant Christmas
Christmas in DC doesn’t get more festive (and instagrammable) than this! Every year, Enchant Christmas takes over the National’s Stadium and boasts the world’s largest Christmas light maze as well as an ice skating rink and holiday market. Grab your love and some hot cocoa and find all of Santa’s reindeer in the maze of lights. Seth and I made it a race to see who could find all of the reindeer first. Spoiler alert: wasn’t me.
Light Yards
Grab dinner at one of Navy Yard’s many restaurants before checking out this interactive light installation at Yardʻs Park. Visit Light Yards from 6pm-10pm nightly December 1 through January 2. This is a great one to pair with a trip to Enchant Christmas and/or a wine tasting at District Winery!
If you’re willing to venture a bit outside of the District, our neighbors in Maryland and Virginia also have some cool and unique experiences that are worth checking out.
ICE! at Gaylord National
While this one isn’t technically in DC proper, we think it’s definitely worth taking a trip across the river to Maryland’s National Harbor to check out. When you get there, you’ll don a blue parka to keep you warm in the chilly 9°F space as you explore 14 larger-than-life scenes from ICE! featuring Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer. You’ll have the opportunity to twirl through ice tunnels, race each other down frozen slides, and literally marvel at characters from this beloved tale that have been carved into 1,000 tons of colorful ice.
ICE! runs through December 31st 2023. On-site dining, outdoor ice-skating and indoor ice-tubing are also available as fun ad-ons.
LuminoCity Winter Lantern Festival
We’ve all seen these fun lantern installations all over the internet, so when we were invited to come check out the new LuminoCity Winter Lantern Festival, in Gaithersburg, it was an immediate yes. This outdoor experience is located within Maryland’s Montgomery County Fairgrounds, and it took us about an hour to get there from DC. LuminoCity boasts six acres of outdoor lanterns and lights that are set up between three themed, immersive spaces. This experience is also kid-friendly wheelchair accessible.
Parking is free, and tickets start at $26pp. Group bundles are also available and cost $22.50pp with a four person minimum. Double date anyone?
Treats like hot coco, coffee, and cotton candy available for purchase. We ate dinner before we went, but headed over to Saint’s Row Brewing for a beer and some bar games afterwards. This local brewery is just a few minutes down the road, and there was music bingo going on when we were there!
We hope that these ideas help make your holiday season a little more merry and bright and inspire you to plan your own festive holiday night out.
