How do you get into the holiday spirit if your children are too young to stay up late for the night time lights displays, or to sit through a full-length performance of The Nutcracker? You get your Christmas party on during the day! Here are our family’s fav daytime activities during the holidays.
The Water-skiing Santa
Christmas Eve, Dec. 24, 2011, 1 p.m. FREE. This crazy fun event has a water-skiing Santa, flying elves, the Jet-skiing Grinch, and Frosty the Snowman performing on the Potomac River. Best view of Santa and crew is from National Harbor. No matter the weather, this event is on!
Visit Santa at the Mall
Our-Kids has a comprehensive list of all the shopping spots where Santa is chilling in a comfy chair awaiting kid visitors and photographs. My personal endorsements for Santa meetings (as someone who once took her kids to City Place Mall in Silver Spring on Christmas Eve where an 18-year-old boy was playing Santa??) are:
College Park Aviation Museum
One of the best miniature train displays is at the Aviation Museum, where the display is historically accurate and trains, villages, tunnels and depots spark the imagination while bringing history to life. The display is on until the 23nd, but the museum is open every day except Christmas and New Year’s Day. Also, on Thursday at 10:30am experience the Peter Pan Club for preschoolers and on Friday from 2-4pm kids age five and up can be a part of the hands-on fun for Afternoon Aviators.
Christmas at Mount Vernon
Mount Vernon is decking the halls for a special daytime program November 25 – January 6. Holiday visitors will enjoy themed decorations (including 12 Christmas trees), a gingerbread replica of the Mansion created by former White House pastry chef Roland Mesnier, chocolate making demonstrations, and a rare opportunity to tour the third floor of the Mansion. In 1787, George Washington paid 18 shillings to bring a camel to Mount Vernon for his guests’ enjoyment. During Christmas at Mount Vernon, visitors can meet Aladdin the camel. Christmas at Mount Vernon is included in general admission: $15 for adults, $7 for youth (6-11), and free for children five and younger. Mount Vernon is open every day of the year.
Seasons Greenings at the United States Botanic Garden
See the outdoor train garden, enter the Conservatory and enjoy a colorful display of poinsettias and other winter-blooming tropical plants, and the National Mall in miniature, a replica created with natural plant materials. 100 Maryland Avenue, SW, Washington, DC at the foot of the U.S. Capitol. Regular hours 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Open until 8 p.m. with live music on Tuesdays and Thursdays throughout December.
Bowling
One snowy Christmas break we started the family tradition of hitting the bowling alley when the kids were off school, and it stuck. Highly recommend bowling to the holiday tunes for daytime fun.
Head to the kid-tastic St. John the Evangelist Christmas Bazaar in Silver Spring this weekend!
Did I mention it’s totally free? And that Reptiles Alive will be there on Saturday at 11am? And the incredible local musician Sasha Bondarev will be performing with singers from his CD Sand Castle at 1pm on Saturday, as well as 11:30am on Sunday? And amongst these super shows, you and your kids can
- Shop for cool, artisan gifts featuring oodles of fabulous vendors
- Grab a yummy, reasonably-priced, kid-friendly lunch
- The kids can play games in the game room and make crafts
- Face painting!
- Peruse the on-site antique shop, The Treasure Trove
- Shop for books at rock bottom prices in the Book Shop
The Bazaar also has an Adult’s Only Night on Friday night November 12 from 6pm-9pm. There they’ll have delicious Italian food from Vicino Restaurante Italiano in Silver Spring available at discounted prices for dinner purchase, wine and beer and kid-free shopping.
The St. John’s Christmas 
Bazaar is where I get tons of my holiday shopping done for beautiful gifts that don’t cost me a bundle. It’s frugal-finds heaven! There are loads of vendors selling handmade handbags, hair bows, kids’ gifts, jewelry, candles, infused olive oils, stitchery, creative Christmas decorations priced waaaaay less than Smith and Hawken, and more. Other favorite areas of the bazaar are the Treasure Trove – antiques goods for thrift store prices – and the used book sale is chock full of finds for your family library.
And I always come hungry all days, because there’s breakfast, lunch, drinks, baked goods and treats! Hope to see you there!
St. John’s Christmas Bazaar
Friday November 11, Saturday November 12 and Sunday November 13
Adult Night Friday 6-9pm
Family Fun on Saturday 9am-4:30pm and Sunday 9am-2pm
10201 Woodland Avenue (in the School Auditorium)
Located right behind St. John the Evangelist Church
at 10103 Georgia Avenue at the intersection of August Avenue
Silver Spring, MD 20902 blocks from the Forest Glen Metro
Charlie having a blast at the Bazaar
Madeline and The Bad Hat at BlackRock Center for the Arts
Saturday, November 05, 2011 1:00 PM
Madeline and the Bad Hat is a charming and entertaining musical based upon the much-loved book by Ludwig Bemelman. This gently amusing tale of enemies becoming friends traces the adventures of a resourceful young Parisian girl who eventually learns that first impressions aren’t everything. Produced by ArtsPower, an acclaimed children’s theater group celebrating its 26th year entertaining young audiences. The show is appropriate for ages 4 and up and geared towards children in grades K-2.
Tickets are $12 and available online.
The
Hyman S. and Freda Bernstein Jewish Literary Festival is featuring the Sugarman Family Children’s Book Award-winning author Vicki Weber on Sunday October 30 at 10am at the Jewish Community Center in Washington, DC at 1529 16th Street NW. Admission has been discounted to just $8 and includes a copy of the book! The event is geared towards children ages 3-7 and their parents.
Vicki Weber
It’s Too Crowded in Here!
Sunday, October 30 | 10:00 am | $10/$8 Discounted per family, includes a copy of the book
Buy Tickets
Join us for a morning of crafts, folktales and fun! Sugarman Family Award winner It’s Too Crowded in Here! is a collection of Jewish folktales and midrashic stories, enlivened by colorful illustrations. Great to read aloud or act out, the stories also provide a rich yet light-hearted resource for exploring key values such as self respect, compassion, appreciation, tolerance, and thankfulness. Best for ages 3-7.
The Sugarman Family Children’s Book Award recognizes the best recent contribution to Jewish children’s literature. The award was established in 1994 by Joan Sugarman, of blessed memory, to help thank, encourage and inspire writers and illustrators of Jewish children’s books.
Full literary festival line-up
This week, October 16-22, is Make Your Mark Week and this Saturday October 22nd is Make a Difference Day. These celebrations are part of a national movement to inspire and mobilize youth to use their energy, ingenuity and compassion to “make their mark on the world” through hands-on service.
During the week, young people will focus on issues that matter most to them by doing small acts or service projects that add up to make a big difference. And the Points of Light Foundation has made it so easy for us to find a small community service project with our kids – they have developed Daytabank, this handy-dandy service project finder! Go here, enter your zip and find the project that works best for your family!
I entered my zip and found for this weekend a Habitat for Humanity family build, the 2011 DC Walk Now for Autism Speaks on Saturday, and a free family fun festival on Saturday — the Family Literacy Festival in DC where storybook characters read to kids, lead them in games and help them with crafts to encourage reading.
My children and I will enjoy one of these super events this weekend, and I am visiting Make Your Mark Week on Facebook to pledge our action and join the movement. We will also be using Daytabank to find future weekend service projects. I hope you will do the same and can use this great resource to find ways to help the community with your children.
The Make Your Mark campaign is founded by generationOn, the youth activation division of Points of Light Institute, the largest volunteer network in the nation which includes more than 70,000 corporate, faith and nonprofit organizations answering the call to serve and creating meaningful change in their communities. Annually, the network delivers approximately 30 million hours of volunteer service valued at about $600 million. generationOn and partner Hasbro believe in the role community service plays in helping young people enhance their education and contribute to society.
