Holiday lights and Christmas events in Alexandria 2026

Last checked Nov. 1, 2026. This page is updated each year at the same address. Listings come from the city’s events calendar, the city’s Celebrating the Holidays page, Visit Alexandria’s holiday page and each organizer’s own site.

Alexandria’s Christmas season runs from Thanksgiving weekend, when Mount Vernon by Candlelight opens, to the Christmas Illuminations fireworks over the Potomac on Dec. 19 and 20. In between, city recreation centers and museums put on Santa breakfasts, gingerbread and ornament workshops, a Civil War Christmas camp and handbell concerts. The tree lighting (Nov. 21), the Scottish Walk Holiday Parade and the Boat Parade of Lights (both Dec. 5) are on our separate Christmas parade and tree lighting page.

Updated Nov. 1: the Family Holiday Magic Show moved to Sunday, Nov. 29, and the Dec. 21 Santa train is sold out.

Before you go

• City events: register on the city calendar; Alex311, 311 or 703-746-4311
• Holiday text alerts: text HOLIDAYSALX to 855-925-2801
• Getting there: Old Town parking is limited during the City Hall renovation; see our getting around guide

Santa visits

The Santa train is Whistle Stop Hobbies’ 20th. The train leaves King Street Station at 1:30 p.m., spends about an hour and 15 minutes in Manassas for hot chocolate, cookies and story time, and returns about 4:30 p.m. Tickets are $29.99 for everyone, infants included, with a limit of 200 a ride, and are sold only in person at Whistle Stop Hobbies, 1719 Centre Plaza, off Quaker Lane. The Dec. 21 ride is sold out and the store lists Dec. 17 as selling fast (train page).

Candlelight and lights at Mount Vernon

George Washington’s Mount Vernon, about eight miles south of Old Town on the Mount Vernon Memorial Highway, has the area’s biggest Christmas evenings:

• Mount Vernon by Candlelight, from 5 p.m. on Nov. 27 and 28 and Dec. 11, 12, 18, 21 and 22. Candlelit guided tours with actors playing Washington’s family, friends and enslaved or hired staff, 18th-century music and dancing, and Aladdin the Christmas camel (tickets).
• Christmas Illuminations, from 5:30 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, Dec. 19 and 20. Holiday fireworks over the Potomac, a military encampment, the Mansion lit at night and a winter market (tickets).
• Sensory-Friendly Family Morning, 8 a.m. Saturday, Dec. 12, for neurodivergent visitors and their families.
• Winter Wreath Class, 10 a.m. Friday, Dec. 4, for ages 16 and up, with greens gathered on the estate.

Workshops, music and shows

• Family Holiday Magic Show, 7:30 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 29, at the Lyceum, 201 S. Washington St. Free; magicians from Ring 50, the D.C.-area chapter of the International Brotherhood of Magicians. Aimed at ages 5 to 12. Space is limited; reserve on the city listing and bring a new, unwrapped toy for the Fund for Alexandria’s Child Holiday Sharing Program.
• Ship Biscuit Ornaments, 2 to 5 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 5, at the Alexandria Archaeology Museum in the Torpedo Factory, 105 N. Union St. Make an ornament modeled on an 18th-century ship’s biscuit found at the Robinson Landing dig.
• Old Town Gingerbread Decorating, noon to 5 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 6, at Gadsby’s Tavern Museum, 134 N. Royal St. Decorate a flat gingerbread front based on Old Town buildings; one ticket buys one kit and museum admission (Historic Alexandria shop).
• Festival of Light, 7 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 12, at the George Washington Masonic National Memorial, 101 Callahan Drive. The Washington Metropolitan Philharmonic and Alexandria Choral Society play Copland and Vaughan Williams’s Fantasia on Christmas Carols. Tickets from $45 (concert page).
• Colonial Handbell Ringers, “Tidings of Comfort and Joy,” 2 and 4 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 13, at the Lyceum (city listing).
• Parents Night Out, 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Monday, Dec. 14, at Mount Vernon Recreation Center: the city says children get a fun-filled evening with recreation staff while parents take a night out.

Both Alexandria Nutcrackers (Dec. 2-5 and Dec. 12-13), the Little Theatre’s “A Christmas Carol” and the symphony’s Holiday Pops are on our Nutcracker and holiday shows page.

Holiday markets, including the Christmas Market and Holiday Craft Show at Carlyle on Dec. 12, are on our holiday shopping page.

Hanukkah

Hanukkah begins at sundown Friday, Dec. 4. No public menorah lighting in Alexandria had been posted on the city calendar or Visit Alexandria when we checked. We will add one when an organizer announces it.

Holiday safety and tree pickup

Safety advice from the city’s holiday safety page:

• Keep a live tree well watered and away from heat vents and fireplaces, and take it down when it dries.
• Link no more than three strings of lights, and never leave them on when no one is home.
• Never put candles on a tree or wrapping paper in a fireplace.

After the holidays, households on city trash service put natural trees out on their regular yard waste day; the city posts the January dates on its holiday waste page.

What this means for you

• Mount Vernon’s candlelight nights and the Santa train sell out; buy early, and remember Santa train tickets are sold only at the store.
• Saturday, Dec. 12, is the busiest family day: Grinchmas, Breakfast with Santa and Christmas in Camp all fall that morning.

Related guides: Christmas parade and tree lighting, New Year’s Eve and holiday shopping.

Frequently asked questions

Where can kids see Santa in Alexandria?

The city’s Family Winter Holiday Fun on Saturday, Dec. 5, at Leonard “Chick” Armstrong Recreation Center has photos with Santa, and Breakfast with Santa is 10 a.m. to noon Saturday, Dec. 12, at Mount Vernon Recreation Center. Santa also arrives by trolley at the Nov. 21 tree lighting.

When is Mount Vernon by Candlelight 2026?

Evenings from 5 p.m. on Nov. 27 and 28 and Dec. 11, 12, 18, 21 and 22 at George Washington’s Mount Vernon, about eight miles south of Old Town. Tickets are sold by the estate.

Is there a Santa train from Alexandria?

Yes. Whistle Stop Hobbies runs its 20th Santa Railway Express on Dec. 7, 14, 17 and 21, leaving King Street Station at 1:30 p.m. for Old Town Manassas and returning about 4:30 p.m. Tickets are $29.99, sold only in person at the store. The Dec. 21 ride is sold out.

When is the Alexandria tree lighting?

6 to 8 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 21, at Waterfront Park. The parades and tree lighting are covered on our Christmas parade and tree lighting page.