Attend the National Christmas Tree Lighting
The Christmas Tree in front of the White House on the Ellipse at President's Park has a special allure to all tourists visiting the nation's capital. The National Christmas Tree lighting will take place on Dec. 2, 2019, and will stay lit every night throughout the holiday season.
To get tickets to the tree lighting ceremony, you'll need to enter a lottery on the official National Christmas Tree website. There will also be live musical entertainment nightly for most of December featuring some of the country's biggest stars alongside local school groups and non-profit organizations.
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Celebrate Christmas in Old Town Alexandria
Every year around mid-November, Old Town Alexandria comes to life with holiday spirit as performers fill its historic streets, residents adorn their Victorian-style homes with bright Christmas decorations, and a lineup of festive events takes over the city all season long.
Events kick off on the Friday after Thanksgiving in the Historic Market Square in Old Town for the Annual Tree Lighting Ceremony. Musical performers will lead the crowd in a community sing-along before the Mayor and Santa Claus light up the City of Alexandria's official Christmas tree for the first time of the season.
Old Town Alexandria also celebrates the holiday season with two parades on Dec. 7, 2019: the Scottish Christmas Walk and the Parade of Lights. The Scottish Christmas Walk will take place in the morning and will feature hundreds of Scottish clansmen marching through Old Town while playing traditional holiday tunes on bagpipes. In the evening, the Holiday Boat Parade of Lights will light up the Potomac River as dozens of festively decorated pleasure boats cruise across the water.
You also won't want to miss the Water-Skiing Santa, an unusual annual event that features Christmas characters like The Grinch, Frosty the Snowman, and Santa jet and water skiing on the Potomac River on Dec. 24, 2019 at 1 p.m.