36 Best Places to Spend Christmas in USA With Friends and Family

Charleston may be a great destination spot any time of the year, but it’s especially magical (and still warm!) around the holidays, when the city goes all out on the Christmas festivities. This year, you can enjoy the Holiday Festival of Lights from your car before strolling down the streets to shop, eat and marvel at the city’s historic mansions decked out for the holidays.

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Around the holidays, there’s no more apropos destination spot than the Christmas Farm Inn & Spa. After enjoying skiing and plenty of other outdoor activities, be sure to hop aboard a sleigh ride for the festive Jingle Bell Chocolate Tour, where you can taste test handmade chocolate while enjoying the sights.

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Leavenworth likens itself to a “swirling snow globe,” and you’ll definitely see why when you browse through photos of the Leavenworth Village of Lights. The Bavarian-style town has an annual tradition of hanging up beautiful Christmas lights downtown, and you’ll be able to take it all in this year (though there won’t be a big reveal at an official lighting festival as usual).

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Head down south this December for Andalusia’s Candyland, the town’s ultra-festive holiday event held throughout the month. Admission is free of charge, but includes a small $4 fee for horse-drawn carriage rides. You can also enjoy the Snow Show, take photos with Santa, hop on the holiday train and more!

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With a name like Santa Claus, you know this town is ready to welcome you and your family at Christmas. Nicknamed “America’s Christmas Hometown,” this city offers plenty of festivities for its annual three-weekend holiday celebration, including a Christmas-themed fireworks display and a drive-through light adventure called Santa Claus Land of Lights.

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There might not be any snow, but trust that this California destination offers plenty of holiday spirit at the annual Christmas Boat Parade. Each year, you can stop by the bay to witness a series of boats decked out in holiday decor. Before you head out, fill your cup with cocoa and walk along Balboa Island, where you’ll see houses decorated immaculately for the holiday season.

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Jackson Hole is breathtaking year-round, but we’re partial to the city’s Christmas celebrations and decorations. Not only does the historic Town Square light up every year for the holidays, there are also plenty of festive activities like horse-drawn sleigh rides, a Santa Claus “drop in” and more.

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East Coasters, we highly recommend Koziar’s Christmas Village for all the holiday fun you’ll ever need. This countryside town boasts a Christmas Village unlike any other. You can also take a Winter Wonderland tour, which takes you to Santa’s Post Office, a toy shop and an old-fashioned bakery (to name a few).

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Get a taste of both American history and European Christmas celebrations in Alexandria, Virginia, a short drive south of Washington, D.C. You can enjoy the well-appointed row houses on King Street while Christmas shopping, then take a trip to nearby Mt. Vernon, George Washington’s historic home, for a candlelight tour and fireworks display. If you visit the weekend of December 3rd, you can take part in the town’s 50th Annual Scottish Christmas Walk Parade.

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Experience the beauty of coastal Maine at the annual Kennebunkport Christmas Prelude, an incredibly New England celebration that takes place from December 2-12 this year. The schedule includes everything from Christmas markets and historic home tours to a literal lobster trap Christmas tree lighting.

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Texas offers no shortage of sights to see at Christmas, but none are perhaps as stunning as the Austin Trail of Lights, an annual festival that features over 2 million lights and 100 Christmas trees.

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You can pair a warm-weather vacation with one of the best Christmas light displays in the world in St. Augustine, Florida. Every evening from November 20 to January 31, more than 3 million white lights glow through approximately 20 blocks in the coastal city’s Historic District.

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In addition to some of the very best skiing in the country, Park City offers wonderful holiday sights and events up and down its historic streets. Take a walk along the Snow Globe Stroll to see life-sized snow globes and creative light displays.

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Las Vegas might seem unusual for the holidays, but nearly every resort and casino puts on amazing Christmas events for the whole family, including an immersive display the Bellagio Conservatory, ice skating on the roof of The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas and even Santa scuba-diving at Mandalay Bay. The whole Strip glitters with lights and decorations, too.

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Folk, rock n’ roll and country music lovers will feel right at home during A Country Christmas at Gaylord Opryland, an extravagant Nashville holiday special that features live music performances, ice tubing and over 3 million lights.

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