13 Must-See Holiday Attractions in Greater Philadelphia for 2025

​​With more than 60 specialty shops that are perfect for holiday shopping, picturesque Peddler’s Village rings in the holiday season with festive events and plenty of decorations.

The celebration starts with Holiday Kickoff Weekend (November 14 to 16, 2025) featuring live performances, pay-as-you-go food and drink, and a Grand Illumination Celebration (November 14, 2025), where the village is set aglow with 1 million twinkling lights.

Plus, don’t miss the Gingerbread Competition & Display (November 14, 2025 to January 17, 2026), featuring dozens of handcrafted gingerbread creations on display for free, and Holly Jolly Weekend (December 6 to 7, 2025), with two days of free Santa-themed festivities and parades. The season comes to a close with ice sculptures, fire artistry performances, games and more during Fire & Frost Fun (January 10 to 18, 2025, select dates).

November 14, 2025 – February 22, 2026 (dates vary by attraction)

Located mere steps away from Christmas Village in Philadelphia (below), Winter at Dilworth Park adds to the seasonal fun around City Hall, arguably one of the most festive square miles in the city, with these wintertime attractions:

• Made in Philadelphia Holiday Market: Shop local at this holiday market exclusively featuring the talents of homegrown Philadelphia artisans, designers, crafters and jewelers (November 14, 2025 to January 1, 2026).
• Rothman Orthopaedics Ice Rink: Strap on your skates and hit the ice at Dilworth Park’s popular outdoor skating rink. Note that tickets are required (November 14, 2025 to February 22, 2026).
• Rothman Orthopaedics Cabin: Swing by the reimagined Rothman Orthopaedics Cabin for a bite and drink indoors or by the toasty fire pit (November 14, 2025 to February 22, 2026).
• Wintergarden on the Greenfield Lawn: Step into a whimsical winter wonderland and explore this outdoor topiary garden decked in woodland seasonal foliage, illuminated overhead sculptures and shimmering lights (November 14, 2025 to March 15, 2026).

November 15, 2025 – January 4, 2026 (dates vary by event)

There are only two Sesame Street theme parks in the world — and one of them is right in Bucks County. With its sister park far away in unseasonal San Diego, Langhorne’s Sesame Place is the only true wintry locale for enjoying some holiday fun with Elmo and friends.

• A Very Furry Christmas: See the park transformed with millions of lights, holiday-themed rides and festive decorations during A Very Furry Christmas. Enjoy a special Christmas Parade, gifts and a visit with Santa in the Furry Workshop, plus the spectacular 1-2-3 Christmas Tree music and lights show (November 15, 2025 to January 4, 2026).

• Hanukkah Celebration: Celebrate the Festival of Lights with the Sesame Street crew. Light the Menorah and learn about the holiday with Baby Bear, play a game of dreidel, make a Hanukkah-inspired craft, and dance along to all your favorite holiday songs at the Furry Friends Dance Party (December 26, 2025 to January 1, 2026).

• Kwanzaa Celebration: The seven principles of Kwanzaa come to life on Sesame Street. Light the Kinara, learn about the holiday during a special storytime, and enjoy a special performance by the Universal African Dance and Drum ensemble during (December 26, 2025 to January 1, 2026).

• New Year’s Eve Fireworks: Ring in the new year with a dazzling display of red, green and blue during this festive fireworks display (Wednesday, December 31, 2025).

November 20, 2025 – January 3, 2026 (select dates)

The immersive LumiNature display transforms the Philadelphia Zoo into a multimedia spectacular illuminated with a million twinkling lights.

While the animals sleep, humans can ride the SEPTA PZ Express Kiddie Train under an illuminated canopy or dance along with a 40-foot-tall penguin shimmering with 40,000 lights. This year, the attraction debuts a brand-new 110-foot-tall observation Pherris Wheel, offering unbeatable views of all the lights from the sky.

Get the perfect selfie in front of the pink flamingo tree, and take the littles to make their holiday gift requests during a visit with the big man himself in Santa’s Lodge. Top it off with seasonal fare, live performers, hot chocolate and adult beverages.

Historic Franklin Square welcomes the season with a bevy of family winter attractions, festive activities and holiday celebrations, including:

• Electrical Spectacle Light Show presented by PECO: The centerpiece of the park’s holiday festivities, Franklin Square’s free nightly light show — inspired by Benjamin Franklin’s kite-and-key electricity experiment — illuminates the square every half hour with hundreds of thousands of twinkling lights choreographed to a soundtrack of seasonal tunes.
• Chilly Philly Mini Golf: Grab a club and don a coat: Center City’s only outdoor mini-golf course showcases 18 holes of festive lights, holiday music, winter characters and iconic Philly landmarks.
• Street Curling: Gather a team, channel your inner Olympian and push your stones to glory with Street Curling! Curling rinks must be rented in advance and tickets are required.

Plus, don’t miss cocktails and seasonal treats at Frosty’s Fireside Winter Pop-Up Bar.

November 21 – December 30, 2025 (select dates)

Festive holiday vibes come to the furry, fuzzy and feathered residents of the Elmwood Park Zoo. The Montco zoo shines bright during the holiday season, with millions of LED lights illuminating the attraction’s 16 acres during Wild Lights.

The walk-through experience features brilliant light displays, live entertainment, animal meet and greets, and photo ops with characters and Mr. Claus himself during the evening hours. Also look out for seasonal snacks and brews at the beer garden, plus a playground, train rides and carousel rides for the kids.

Hundreds of thousands of twinkling lights and spectacular fountain shows combine to create an incredible winter wonderland at A Longwood Christmas, named No. 1 for Best Botanical Garden Holiday Lights five years in a row by USA Today’s 10 Best Readers’ Choice Awards.

Illuminated with jewel-toned lights and accented with hanging crystals, lush fabrics and gilded metals, the nationally acclaimed gardens transform into an opulent jewelry box for this year’s over-the-top holiday display.

Marvel at miles of lights glowing in the trees, seasonal plants decorated with ornaments and radiant mineral specimens, a festive outdoor mini railway, and colorful fountains dancing to holiday music.

LOVE Park transforms into a magical, open-air Bavarian holiday marketplace for the annual Christmas Village in Philadelphia.

Over 120 vendors showcase gifts, ornaments, accessories and wintry apparel, plus tasty treats like raclette sandwiches and spiced wine. New for 2025: a 30-foot-tall German Christmas pyramid — an illuminated windmill-like structure — towers above the vendors’ charming wooden stalls. Also on deck: the indoor Festival of Trees display, festive events, and appearances from Christkind and Santa Claus.

Across the street at City Hall, enjoy a family-friendly carousel, a Ferris wheel and the Kids Express train.

The market is free to attend, with pay-as-you-go food and shopping. You can get your first look at the village during preview weekend (November 22 and 23, 2025) before it officially opens on Thanksgiving Day.

November 22 – December 30, 2025 (select dates)

One of the country’s largest outdoor model train displays gets its annual winter makeover to become the Holiday Garden Railway.

Located inside the 100-acre Morris Arboretum & Gardens, G-scale mini locomotives wind through loops, tunnels, bridges and replicas of beloved Philly landmarks (including the spiffy new Morris Train Station) beneath a canopy of thousands of twinkling lights.

The daytime light experience is free with general admission, but come sunset, the display transforms into The Nighttime Express (beginning Saturday, November 29, 2025) with sparkling lights along the railway and laser lights in the trees (separate timed tickets required).

Millions of twinkling lights illuminate the night at this rolling Bucks County farm. Take in the show from the comfort of your car or in the open air while snuggled up in a wagon with loved ones (weather permitting).

After taking in the whimsical light displays, be sure to stop by Santa’s Village for some face time with the big man and to warm up with festive drinks and snacks by the firepits.

There’s no holiday tradition in the world like the Comcast Holiday Spectacular, located in the Comcast Center’s seven-story lobby. Now in its 17th year, the free 15-minute, super-hi-res show depicts a photo-realistic virtual sleigh ride over the city, interspersed with a performance by the Philadelphia Ballet, holiday sing-alongs and more. Shows run at the top of the hour every hour from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.

Across the street, the Comcast Technology Center offers an immersive short film called DreamWorks Shrek’s Festive Flight — starring everyone’s favorite ogre and his friends Donkey and Gingy — in The Universal Sphere.

Also on deck: visits with Santa, holiday crafting workshops with local nonprofit MANNA and a holiday fair.

Since 1956, thousands of dancing snowflake-, candy cane- and snowman-shaped lights have illuminated Wanamaker’s Grand Court, accompanied by the world-renowned Wanamaker Organ.

Despite the closure of the historic Wanamaker Building’s most recent tenant — Macy’s — the (holiday) show must go on, thanks to support from the Independence Visitor Center and fans.

As always, the Wanamaker Light Show is free to attend (with no tickets required), and runs every hour on the half-hour during operating hours.

Upstairs in Dickens Village, guests step into a vintage, animatronic retelling of Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol and get their photos taken with Santa. Free timed-entry tickets must be reserved in advance.

The beloved traditions are joined by new additions, including a holiday market curated by the Christmas Village in Philadelphia and a festive pop-up restaurant called Holly & Humbug.

November 28, 2025 – Winter 2026

Experience a Delaware River waterfront winter wonderland (say that three times fast!) as the free Independence Blue Cross RiverRink Winterfest sets up on the Delaware River waterfront for its 32nd season.

Glide around the free NHL-sized ice skating rink (tickets required). Enjoy pay-as-you-go games and amusement rides on the boardwalk. Or indulge in seasonal treats and hot drinks around firepits at the rinkside lounge or from inside a cozy warming cabin or heated igloo.

Fantastic light displays viewable here include the thousands of sparkling string lights wrapping the festival’s signature holiday tree, which springs to life for the first time during the Holiday Tree Lighting ceremony on December 5, 2025.

Philly lights up for the holidays every year with a number of dazzling displays and attractions, from traditional to cutting-edge, professional to DIY and everything in between.

Peruse our guide to plan how to bask in the season’s glow at these free and ticketed holiday light displays and BYOB trolley tours throughout the Philadelphia region for 2025.

Dates vary by event

Lights up on another spectacular season of wintry and seasonal concerts, musicals, comedy shows, and more in Philadelphia.

• A Christmas Story: The Musical at the Walnut Street Theatre: Ralphie wants a Red Ryder BB gun for Christmas despite his mom’s warnings that he’ll shoot his eye out. A Christmas Story: The Musical sets everyone’s favorite holiday movie to music, complete with pink bunny pajamas, triple-dog-dares and a scintillating leg lamp (November 18, 2025 to January 4, 2026).

• Ana Gasteyer’s Sugar & Booze Holiday Spectacular at the Kimmel Theater: You may know her as Margaret Jo McCullen on Saturday Night Live or Cady’s mom in Mean Girls, but did you know SNL alum Ana Gasteyer is also a celebrated Broadway star and jazz vocalist? Featuring music from her album Sugar & Booze, this holiday tour showcases the showwoman’s signature wit and festive vocal stylings (Saturday, November 22, 2025).

• The Jinkx & DeLa Holiday Show at the Miller Theater: RuPaul’s Drag Race royalty Jinkx Monsoon and BenDeLaCreme are coming for Mariah’s Queen of Christmas crown with a cheeky, new holiday extravaganza. Join the dynamic drag duo for dance numbers, glamorous costumes, hilarious jokes and a heartfelt story (Friday, November 28, 2025).

• George Balanchine’s The Nutcracker at the Academy of Music: It’s just not the holidays in Philadelphia without The Nutcracker. The Sugar Plum Fairy, the Mouse King and all the magical inhabitants of The Land of Sweets twirl across the stage at the Academy of Music. Join the world-class dancers of the Philadelphia Ballet as they inhabit these curious characters during this traditional performance of the George Balanchine classic (December 5 to 31, 2025).

• One-Man Nutcracker at The Drake: Meet Chris Davis, the 40-year-old ballerina who wrote and choreographed this original one-man retelling of the classic holiday Nutcracker story. Davis plays the roles of daughter Marie, little boy Fritz, creepy uncle Drosselmeyer, the mice, the Sugar Plum fairy and more — all by himself. Weird, irreverent and very, very Philly (December 8, 2025 to January 4, 2026).

• The Philadelphia Orchestra Presents Handel’s Messiah at the Kimmel Center for Performing Arts: The Philadelphia Orchestra’s beloved holiday performance of Handel’s Messiah returns under music and artistic director Yannick Nézet-Séguin’s jubilant direction. The soaring arias and Hallelujah chorus will no doubt get you in the holiday spirit (December 12 to 14, 2025).

• A Philly Holiday Spectacular (Philly Pops) at the Kimmel Center for Performing Arts: The holiday spirit arrives in full force with the Philly Pops’ A Philly Holiday Spectacular. Under the direction of the Pops’ new music director, Chris Dragon, the popular music orchestra delivers all of your favorite holiday tunes. Special guests include fan-favorite vocalists Nikki Renée Daniels & Jeff Kready, the St. Thomas Gospel Choir, the Philadelphia Boys’ Choir and maybe even a surprise visit from Santa (December 13 to 14, 2025).

• The Philadelphia Orchestra Presents Children’s Holiday Spectacular at the Kimmel Center for Performing Arts: Families join the famed orchestra for a joyful celebration of the season with sing-alongs and special guests — maybe one from the North Pole? — during this heartwarming performance for audiences of all ages (Saturday, December 20, 2025).

• Cirque Dreams Holidaze at the Miller Theater: Acrobats, jugglers and aerial performers dazzle audiences during this 90-minute Broadway-style production. The fantastical show features plenty of holiday elements — like reindeer, sugarplums and toy soldiers — plus an original score with fresh takes on classic seasonal tunes (December 23 to 28, 2025).