With Winter break just around the corner and students looking for something to do over the two weeks to get into the holiday spirit, here are my personal top five favorite winter season spots that are perfect for everyone of all ages to appreciate!
The first place is Reston Town Center which is located in Reston, VA in Fairfax County. This adorable shopping center has over 30 restaurants to dine in, including some of my personal favorites like Makers Union, CraftHouse, and Cava. They also have plenty of popular stores to shop around at like Lululemon, J. Crew, and Sephora. Once you’ve hit up all the restaurants and stores you can make your way towards the beautiful almost 40 foot tall Christmas tree in the center of town and participate in ice skating or horse drawn carriage rides along the main street.
The second spot on my list is the DC Holiday Market, at Dupont Circle in Washington, DC. This holiday market is a featured hot spot only for 38 days from November 14, 2025 – December 23, 2025. This market has a booth style set up with hundreds of vendors selling a variety of different products like keepsakes, yummy treats, handcrafted art, and clothing items. This is the perfect place to get some holiday spirit, try out new foods, and maybe even find a new favorite original brand. The market even features the viral London chocolate drizzled strawberries with customizable toppings – yum.
The Nationals Park Winter Wonderfest is my third spot to visit and this one is one of the newer places on the list as 2025 is its first year being open. Years prior when I visited, the Nats Park field got covered and turned into a walkable themed lights show and they’ve also had little vendors selling hot chocolate and holiday treats as well as an ice skating rink. This year however, they’re upping their game. Now their newly rebranded “Winter Wonderfest” is including an 100 foot tubing slide, a winter train ride, polar lights show, a nine-hole mini golf course, snowball throwing challenge station, AND a “Snowflake Studio” which is essentially a mini concert venue that will be featuring local artists. With activities for people of all ages this is a great family friendly event that is perfect for the holiday season.
The next place to visit has to be the Massanutten Snow Tubing located in Shenandoah Valley, VA. The opening weekend for this activity is December 13-14 from 9am-5pm. This resort offers their snow tubing ramps as an outside recreation for people to go on with their families for the price of $34 per person on weekdays and $48 per person on weekends. I highly recommend trying this out during the winter months because it is such a fun experience and all the different ramps offer variety for people of all ages. Beyond the snow tubing, Massanutten also has snow sports that you can participate in on the ramp like skiing and snowboarding, as well as an indoor waterpark for those who don’t love the cold.
Last but definitely not least, is the Bull Run Festival of Lights. This spot is my personal favorite because it’s one of my family’s traditions that we go to every year. Located in Bull Run, VA for $30 per car from November 14, 2025 – January 4, 2026, this is one of the longer running and more relaxed activities on the list. This light festival features almost three miles of lights and at the end of the road there is a carnival that has a massive ferris wheel and plenty of arcade style games and food. This light show is always so beautiful to look at and truly gives you that nostalgic Christmas feel that we all know and love.
