While many of us have standing plans with our friends and family for Thanksgiving Day, we’re guessing you don’t want to spend the rest of the weekend only watching football and eating leftovers. Can’t figure out what to do? We’ve got you covered!
Season‘s Greenings at the United States Botanical Garden
The United States Botanic Garden, located just south of the Capitol Building, curates a fantastic Season’s Greetings holiday show that opens Thanksgiving weekend and runs into the first week of January.
The exhibit features an elaborate train display in the train room, a collection of DC landmarks made from plant materials in the Garden Court, and a decorated tree with its own model train in the West Gallery. Admission is free, but this is a beloved DC tradition so the lines can be long. If Thanksgiving weekend is your only chance to visit, we recommend arriving as early as possible (the building opens at 10 am).
Be aware that if you want to see the model trains, you have to use the Model Train Entrance – you won’t be able to access the trains from elsewhere in the building. If you are local and can go during the week, the best times to visit Season’s Greenings are weekdays early in December.
Pro tip: Parking is tough to find around the mall unless you arrive before 9:45 am. If you decide to take the Metro instead, we recommend getting off at Union Station where you can grab a hot coffee at Starbucks or a seasonal holiday shake at Shake Shack for the 0.9-mile walk to the Botanic Garden. Other Metro stops include Archives-Navy Memorial-Penn Quarter Metro Station and Judiciary Square.
The Smithsonian Museums
All of the Smithsonian’s eleven museums and galleries on the National Mall plus six other museums and the National Zoo in the greater National Capital Area, are open every day of the year except Christmas. So take advantage of free world-class museums and go!
Find a complete list of Smithsonian museums here for info on hours and locations. The National Museum of the American Indian, located on the south side of the mall at 4th Street and Independence Avenue is a particularly fitting place to visit over Thanksgiving weekend.
If you’re visiting with kids, be sure to check out the interactive imagiNATIONS Activity Center (but double check that they’ll be open while you’re there – Thursday and Friday hours are 1-4, Saturday is 10-4, and Sunday is 11-3). You might also want to make a stop at the museum’s Mitsitam Native Foods Cafe which features indigenous food from the Western Hemisphere and is hands-down the best museum cafe on the mall.
If you’re visiting a Smithsonian museum with kids, we can’t recommend Family Trip Guides enough – they provide great insider tips and give you all the info you need for a successful and stress-free museum trip with kiddos.
Garden of Lights at Brookside Gardens
There are many good reasons to visit the Garden of Lights at Brookside Gardens in Wheaton, MD, over Thanksgiving weekend. This fantastic outdoor light display located north of DC can only be toured on foot. The earlier you go, the better your chance of avoiding frigid temperatures.
The display features over one million dazzling colorful lights shaped into hand-crafted, original art forms of flowers, animals, and other natural elements. Each night also features a musical performance in the Visitor Center.
The Garden of Lights has been a Baltimore/Washington DC family holiday tradition since 1997, so be prepared to sit in your car and wait in line if you come on a popular night. Since Thanksgiving weekend is the first weekend the display is open every year (closed on Thanksgiving Day, but open Friday-Sunday), traffic is usually a bit lighter.
Admission is $25 per Car/Van (non-peak: Sunday-Thursday) and $30 per Car/Van (peak: Friday-Saturday), but check discount sites like DealNews for savings.
ZooLights
ZooLights at the National Zoo has been a tradition for many families for over 15 years. The zoo transforms into a winter wonderland full of immersive lantern displays portraying various animals, biomes, and more. You can spend hours exploring the dazzling display but come prepared to weather the cold DC winter because this is a walk-through event.
ZooLights is open from Thanksgiving weekend to the end of December. They are open from 5 to 9 pm Thursday through Saturday and 5 to 8 pm on Sundays; note that the last entry is half an hour before closing and that they are closed on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.
There is a $30 parking pass per vehicle and a $6 general admission entry ticket per person. ZooLights does not include entry to see the zoo’s animals, indoor or outdoor.
Bowl a perfect game
Bowling is such a fun-filled family activity and is a great way to get everyone out of the Thanksgiving meal-induced food coma you’re sure to be in.
Pinstripes gives bowling a whole new meaning; forget the sticky seats and smelly bowling shoes and spend your holiday weekend in an exquisite entertainment space complete with handcrafted cocktails and Italian cuisine made from scratch.
Head over to White Oak Bowling Lanes over in Silver Spring for some duckpin bowling that is kid-friendly. They also have arcade games, video games, a full snack bar, and more.
Other bowling alleys in the area include Bowlero, Potomac Lanes, and Suitland Bowl.
Ice Skating Under the Stars
Several ice skating rinks in Washington DC are open to all during Thanksgiving weekend.
The National Gallery of Art Sculpture Garden Ice Rink is a quintessential winter in DC experience complete with the beautiful scenic surroundings of the National Mall. The cozy rink and glowing lights give it a very romantic vibe, so it’s perfect for couples. They’re usually open from Thanksgiving weekend to early March and tickets are sold in 45-minute sessions which include ice skate rentals.
For a magical ice skating experience, head on over to the Washington Harbor Ice Rink. The rink is surrounded by snowflake-shaped twinkling lights and many stores and restaurants. It’s open from mid-November to February and is perfect for a post-Thanksgiving gathering with friends and family.
Other ice skating rinks in the area include The Wharf Ice Rink and Canal Park Ice Rink.
Go for a Walk or a Hike
Work off the calories from your delicious meal with a hike on Thanksgiving weekend. There are several places to walk it out including Rock Creek Park, Morven Park, National Mall, West Potomac Park, National Arboretum, Theodore Roosevelt Island, Anacostia Park, and Glover Parkway.
Get Some Christmas Shopping Out of the Way
It’s never too early to start Christmas shopping – in fact, Thanksgiving weekend might be too late already.
You can hit up the many shopping centers in the nation’s capital such as CityCenterDC, Gallery Place, DC USA, Chevy Chase Pavilion, and the Pentagon City Mall.
But for a more fun twist, head to the Downtown Holiday Market, which has been a cherished DC tradition for nearly 20 years. The market opens right before Thanksgiving up until Christmas Eve (closed on the day of) and is a beautiful open-air space that sparks holiday magic.
They have a rotating array of performers and vendors there each year and you’ll find everything there from popular brands to emerging artisans. While you’re there, try out some of their specialty cocktails near the outdoor fire pits while listening to live music as well as your favorite holiday songs.
Other things to do on Thanksgiving weekend include:
- Attend a Thanksgiving/ Holiday parade (Silver Spring Thanksgiving Day parade)
- Run a Turkey Trot
- Take a drive through surrounding neighborhoods that are sure to have spectacular light displays
- Attend pop-up events like Candlelight Concerts or the Harry Potter Forbidden Forest Experience (Leesburg, VA)
