Christmas in the City of Brotherly Love is a magnificent experience that combines old traditions with new celebrations. Gingerbread trees, thousands of glittering lights, fascinating decorations, wonderful shows, parades and festivals, plus authentic Christmas shopping and lots more – Philly is so hot for the holidays… From annual traditions, like the Christmas light show at Macy’s Center City to high-definition delights, like Comcast holiday Spectacular, the Philadelphia region is brimming with the sights and glorious sounds of Christmas!
Christmas Village
Located just steps from Philadelphia’s City Hall, in Love Park, the festive Christmas Village, modeled after the traditional Christmas Markets in Germany, is the place to embrace the holiday season. It’s an outdoor Holiday market event, lasting from Thanksgiving through Christmas Eve that offers more than 50 wooden booths, in which vendors will sell European food, sweets and drinks, as well as international holiday ornaments, jewelry and high-quality arts and crafts.
Special attractions at Christmas Village include the City’s Christmas Tree, a stage with daily performances, traditional mulled wine, a big vendor tent with German Christmas ornaments, and a Santa’s house for kids. This year, the Christmas Village will also feature a unique, life-sized Advent calendar. Bring the kids for face painting, balloon artists and carousel rides on Family Sunday leading up to Christmas.
Longwood Gardens
No holiday is complete without a visit to Longwood Gardens – the world’s premier horticultural display garden with 11,000 varieties of plants and 1,050 acres of gardens, dancing fountains, meadows and woodlands. A jewel situated near the Philadelphia and Lancaster regions, Longwood is especially unique and beautiful during the holiday season, when it’s transformed into a sea of lights. The centerpiece of Longwood Garden’s Christams display is the Music Room, boasting an 18-foot Fraser fir decorated with over 1,500 ornaments, 2,800 lights and 1,000 real gingerbread cookies. The Christmas extravaganza at Longwood Gardens takes place from Nov 24, 2011 to January 8, 2012, offering fanciful and imaginative displays throughout the Gardens.
Longwood Christmas is both indoor and outdoor, so make sure to dress accordingly. And look out for special events all season long, including organ concerts, Christmas choirs and more. Upon entering Longwood Garden you will find yourself in a gingerbread fantasy sure to take your breath away.
Christmas Light Show at Macy’s Center City
The free Holiday Light Show at Macy’s in Center City is an indispensable element of celebrating Christmas in Philadelphia and has been since 1956. This treasured tradition dazzles thousands of visitors every year, who gather to strain their necks to watch snowflakes, ballerinas and reindeer float beyond the four-story-high velvet curtain of the Grand Court atrium. During the light show, over 100,000 bright, energy-efficient LED lights combine to create fantastic holiday images. The light show is accompanied by Christmas music from the famous Wanamaker organ, the oldest operating pipe organ in the world. The shows begin on the top of each hour, beginning at 10:00am.
You can also see the theatrical production of ‘A Christmas Carol’ at the Walnut Street Theatre or else enjoy a performance of ‘The Nutcracker’ by the Philadelphia Ballet.
