Holiday Displays in Our Nation's Capital

During the holidays many places have special holiday decor that they put up. You really cannot help, but at least see some houses that are decorated with holiday lights. By going out of your normal routine you can also usually find at least some great holiday displays no matter what city you are in.

Here are just a few of the holiday displays that are in Our Nation's Capital during the December 2007 holiday season that I have personally visited. The number highlight in my opinion is the United States Botanical Gardens display of miniature buildings made out of all natural resources.

Quick Tips:

Everywhere in D.C. there is Christmas decor and even a Menorah at the White House. Check out zvents.com and eventguide.com for specific special holiday events not just in D.C., but also in pretty much any city you are spending the holidays.

Best Way To Get Around:

The Metro is convenient for getting to most places in D.C. With the colder weather it can be nice to drive to places, but rarely get to park much closer than if you get off at a Metro station. Besides some of the stuff is outside anyways, so dress warm and get the exercise walking from the Metro to the sites and be more eco-friendly than driving this holiday season.

The National Botanic Garden's holiday display becomes obvious as you approach the building. Outside they have the Starlight Express train display. It is a beautiful wooden mountainous display with bridges connecting the mountains and train tracks running through and around the mountains and bridges. There are many different trains on the tracks to watch. This display is made from different plants including waste wood. This is a hit with the kids and I saw several parents having a hard time getting the kids to go inside to see the other part of the holiday display here.

The inside part of the holiday display at the Botanic Gardens is the A Midnight Clear exhibit. This exhibit includes a tree with a train going around it. Under the tree are replica Capitol Hill Residences made out of all natural sources. The plants including in these buildings include walnut shells and lotus pods.

Inside there are also replicas of D.C. landmarks and buildings including the Washington Monument, the White House, the Lincoln Memorial, the Library of Congress, the Supreme Court, and Ford's Theater. The highlight of these replicas made from natural sources is the Capitol building.

The Capitol Building is the largest building and is made of many different plants. This includes acorns in the dome, corn husks in the Statue of Freedom, horse chestnut in the steps, willow branches in the columns, basket cane in the architectural details, and pear bods in the windows.

Also, do not forget to look up and enjoy the snowflakes. They have several large blue and white ones hanging from the ceiling and the sad thing is that I do not think very many people there when I was enjoying the display even noticed they were there.

The closest Metro is the Federal Triangle stop. This display is open until January 6, 2008, for the 2007 holiday season. There are special hours until 8pm at the Botanic gardens to enjoy the holiday display on December 4, 6, 11, 13, 18, 20, and 27. All of those evening except the 4th are also evening with live musical performances.

The holiday display at Union Station is called Norwegian Christmas. The main feature is the holiday train display. The display is pretty simplistic, but is interesting in the way the trolls are placed. The trolls are in fun places such as under a bridge and around a fire to keep warm. The train display also features the one landscape feature that most reminds me of my trip to Norway, which is the fjords. The train is fun for the kids and adults alike to see, but I have one issue with it. There is a plastic wall around the display, which is fine if it was just there for protecting it, but the way the light bounced off it created reflections and made it hard to really enjoy what was beyond it. This can be avoided if you able to dine in one of the upstairs restaurants and get an aerial view of the display.

The Norwegian Holiday at Union Station also features the tree in the main atrium. The tree has been a tradition of the Norwegian people giving to the city of D.C. for a little more than a decade. The tree is wonderfully decorated with Norway and U.S. flag garlands.

Lastly there is Norwegian food at the cafe in the middle of the main atrium and an information booth to learn more about the country of Norway especially tourism related info.

Norwegian Holiday at Union Station's website is http://www.norway.org/xmas/union+station+2007.htm

Every year since 1923 the National Christmas Tree has been lit by the President of the United States and sits on the Ellipse to the South of the White House. The 2007 tree has the theme of “Holidays in the National Park” and will be lit up every night until January 1, 2008, and is open for walking around from 11am to 11pm daily until then.

The National Tree is the centerpiece of a large display of over 50 little trees representing the 50 states and the U.S. territories such as Guam. Each of the little trees has ornaments made by specific organizations from that state or territory and in most cases are very representative of the state. These make visiting the National Tree much more interesting than just seeing one big tree because walking around seeing all these other trees makes it a much more festive and longer experience to enjoy.

Also, do not miss the yule log fire that they have on the lawn near the back of the closed off area that has the trees. Kids will probably also enjoy watching the different trains go around the National Christmas Tree and the train models and trolleys going through little towns around the tree.

On the Ellipse is also the National Menorah that is lit every night during Hanukah. It sits more in the middle of the ellipse farther from the White House. Very few people seemed to walk anywhere near it, but then again with its size it turned out to look better farther away than when you walked right up to it.

Starting in 1964 a Christmas tree has been annually lit on the lawn behind (side towards the National Mall) the Capitol Building. The first few years the trees came from nurseries or were cut down from Maryland. In 1970, the tradition of getting the tree from National Forests began and ever year since then the Capitol Christmas tree has been provided by a National Forest. The 2007 tree is a Balsam Fir from the Green Mountain National Forest in Vermont. It is 60 feet tall. The tree was lit on December 5 this year and will stay on display through the end of the year.

There is not much to see if you go to see the Capitol Christmas Tree, although it does make a festive photo opportunity with the Capitol. It is also right next to the United States Botanic Gardens, which has an amazing train and replica building holiday display worth seeing, so combining a visit to this tree with a visit there makes the most sense.