Top 3 Christmas Festivals in Washington State

Have you ever experienced a Christmas Wonderland like the ones hosted in Washington State? If not, it is absolutely worthy of being on the bucket list of making the trip up to the beautiful state so you and your family can become a part of Washington’s boldly gorgeous Christmas festivals and traditions. You can guarantee that your camera roll will be completely full by the end of your trip. The best part about that is you would then have plenty of family Christmas pictures to decorate the walls in your home with for all of your friends and family to see when they come to visit.

Leavenworth, Washington, USA, February 1, 2020, Decorated with lights for the winter holidays. Photo by Mark Lee via iStock

Leavenworth, Washington has a small Bavarian-inspired town (of Germany, Bavaria) that hosts a Christmas Lighting Festival that will have you feeling like you’re starring in Hallmark’s new Christmas movie. It’s beautiful and full of life all year round. This festival consists of three different themes in the span of one week. The first fun-filled theme is letting the children hand-make their own Santa hat with various fabrics, arts, and crafts in its own theme inspired by Christmas Trees. Don’t limit this event to just the children. Let your inner child have some Christmas fun too by making your own handmade Christmas Tree themed Santa hat. That way you have your own Santa hat to wear with your elf costume for the second fun-filled theme of the day. If cosplaying (dressing up) as an elf is something you know you’ll be thrilled to be a part of, then go all out and make your own elf shoes and ears to complete the elf costume. Dressing up doesn’t have to be considered childish. Even if it is, don’t let other people’s opinions stop you from dressing up for the theme of the day and fully enjoy it. It’s completely okay if dressing up as an elf is too far out of your comfort zone because you still have the option to wear your favorite ugly Christmas sweater for the third fun-filled theme of the day and strut your outfit around town for all to see and enjoy.Whether you already have one that you can’t wait to wear or you get creatively inventive and make your own, let your Christmas spirit shine through at the Christmas Lighting Festival in Leavenworth.

Leavenworth,Washington,usa.-02/14/16: beautiful leavenworth with lighting decoration in winter. Photo by Joecho-16 via iStock

A second great festival that’s worth exploring is the Lights of Christmas festival in Stanwood, Washington. It’s located on 15 acres of land at Warm Beach Camp. There are three amazing family-filled events that will have the kids wanting to come back again and again. It’s a must to take a ride on the Polar Express Train through snow-covered forests to give you that magical feeling the characters felt in the Polar Express movie. If trains aren’t something that you’re comfortable riding on, don’t you worry because the next event that’s worth attending is taking the little ones to see Santa Clause. Spend a day letting the kids meet Santa, sit on his lap, take some pictures, and tell him what they want for Christmas. Santa will be sure to remind each child that he keeps an eye on them year-round to see who’s worthy of being on the nice list. After their visit, the children can enjoy going on a pony ride and have their pictures taken then, as well. There’s no doubt that visiting the Lights of Christmas in Stanwood will be a time to remember with the family. In Puyallup, Washington, the town transforms the Washington State Fairgrounds Event Center into an 1800’s Victorian Village so everyone can enjoy a Victorian Country Christmas Festival that’s packed full of Christmas traditions and other specialties. You and the family can go on an extravagant adventure by experiencing the North Pole with Santa or at least experience the North Pole as he gets to every day with snow-filled land with reindeers all over the place, even reindeers with red noses. Everyone loves Rudolph, the red-nosed reindeer! There will also be a winter-wine garden that the adults can explore. What’s Christmas without singing the native Christmas carol songs. Whether you’re able to join in and sing along or you’re only able to watch others sing the caroling songs, it’s still a tradition you won’t want to miss out on. Speaking of traditions, if family-filled festivals are not what you want to spend your Christmas holiday doing, you can always visit the National Christmas Tree that sits on the Ellipse, south of the White House. 56 smaller trees, each representing a separate place, sit around the big tree for your eyes to enjoy. Each smaller tree is filled with decorations made by artists from each individual place. This tradition started in 1923 and is free for all to see! In 1964, a new tradition started where another giant Christmas tree, known as the “People’s Christmas Tree” sits in front of the Capitol. This location is free to visit as well and has much more of a peaceful atmosphere since the National Christmas Tree is a more popular tree that everyone likes to visit. Either way, each location is worth the adventure. No matter what you do or where you decide to go for Christmas this year, you should add Washington to your travel list of places to visit for Christmas! It’s worth it!