12 Spectacular Reasons to Visit Enchant Christmas DC
If you are big on places to see Christmas lights and decorations, then you definitely want to check out Enchant Christmas DC. I had never heard of them till a few weeks to Christmas and had to visit with our kids. We have a family tradition where we go to see various Christmas decorations and lights near us and so when we heard about Enchant Christmas, we had to make the trip down.
Enchant DC is the World’s Largest Christmas Light Maze and also provides experiences with a Christmas Market where you can explore amazing vendors, take great pictures with Santa, enjoy some kids play time and ice skating.
When I purchased the tickets, I did not quite know what the experience was going to be like. I expected some lights but was blown away by the variety of lights here.
Here are a few reasons we loved the Enchant Christmas DC
1. Friendly Elves
We walked into Enchant DC after getting our tickets and bags checked and were met by “elves”. Of course we did not miss a great opportunity to take pictures with them. She even gave the kids some candy to start the fun.
2. Ice skating
This looked so magical, we did not get to do it but watched others skating around surrounded by lots of twinkling lights to make it magical. It is included in your admission fee. Skates are available for rent at a fee, but you can also bring yours and skate for free. Make sure your kids know how to ice-skate as they do not have the skate guards.
3. Live music
Enjoy some great live music at Enchant Christmas with bands playing throughout the evening. It made it a more enjoyable atmosphere while viewing the lights and walking round.
4. Christmas market
They have a ton of amazing DC vendors here at Enchant Christmas so be sure to stop by. Vendors such as Rickey’s Jerky for some gourmet beef and jerky. You can also stop by Manis Creative entertainment for some creative face paintings. There are also vendors for arts and crafts, ornaments, Christmas decorations. Maribeth’s bakery is also here if you need some juicy baked goods!
5. Food and drinks
There are lots of yummy things to eat at Enchant Christmas. There were waffles, some desserts to calm your sweet tooth, and so many other great options.
6. Santa pictures
Visit and take some photos with Santa for Christmas. This session is free if you take your own pictures, they also have professional packages available for purchase through a link they will send to your email afterwards. You can reserve time slots online to save some time, but the lines moved pretty fast for us. There was also a nice gentleman making balloons in whatever forms you requested. I think my daughter requested a heart, it was such a nice gesture to keep kids entertained while waiting.
The other nice part is that Santa sits on a nice moon decoration rather than an actual chair and has little icebergs around. My daughter loved the chance to take these pictures.
7. The Great search
Upon entering the maze at Enchant Christmas DC, you will receive a scratch off card where you have to help the little Elf find eight toys as you go through the maze. If you are successful, you turn it in at the end and get a chocolate gold coin. My kids are younger so we eventually gave up as my daughter was also not so interested in it.
8. Maze
The maze at Enchant Christmas is an experience on its own. There are so many creative decorations of Christmas lights. My kids loved running around the lights. There were lights in the form of reindeers, dinosaurs, gift boxes, teddy bears etc.
We walked around here for like an hour to ensure we saw everything. The lights were so magical to behold. My favorites were those you could go under and just experience the magic of Christmas. My twins loved the gift box christmas lights and kept staring at it and touching the lights.
9. Kids colorful section
Not sure what to call this area, but there was a fun space set apart where the floor changes colors as you step on it. There were so many people here just having fun jumping around and dancing. I obviously joined in the fun as well lol.
We spent a good amount of time here as the kids refused to leave. The lights change to various colors all around the board and it was never the same color back to back. There was also a colorful cube next to this part that fascinated my 5 year old daughter. She thought it will light up some more or flicker when she touched it but it appeared to just be a colorful cube.
10. Kids zone
There is a little kids play section for little kids to have a blast especially if you have an older kid waiting in line for Santa pictures like in our case. My husband had the twins playing here while myself and my then 5 year old were waiting in line for her Santa photos.
11. Storytime with Mrs Claus
We did not get to do this as the kids were tired, but this is available every evening, Mrs Claus reads a Christmas tale to the little kids.
12. Instagram worthy pictures
Enchant Christmas is an Instagram worthy event. There are so many amazing opportunities to take great pictures. From ice skating, photos with santa, Christmas maze, the list goes on. When you look down at the maze from the top of the stadium, the view is spectacular.
Things to know before visiting Enchant Christmas DC
- Purchase your tickets on time as the time slots fill up fast especially if going with people. The prices vary depending on time and day you visit so plan ahead.
- Strollers are allowed into the space but not in the maze. The good thing is there is a free stroller valet area for your strollers. If you have babies, a baby carrier would be your best bet here.
- Purchase the earliest time for your tickets if you are able to. It only refers to the time you can get in, but everyone can stay as long as they like. It gets more crowded the later it becomes. We went around 4:30pm and were able to see the lights without waiting in line but as we were making our way out and to other areas, the lines were building up.
- Kids ages 3 and under are free which was perfect for us since our twins were 2 years old at the time.
- It takes about an hour to thoroughly make it through the maze if you really want to enjoy it especially with kids. If it’s all adults, you can make it in and out faster. Our kids kept stoping and running around the lights or trying to touch them. All together at Enchanted Christmas DC, expect to spend about 2-3 hours here, this also varies if you choose to eat dinner or ice skate.
- Pay for parking while purchasing tickets. This will help save you some time. Street parking can be a pain especially with kids and a stroller. There is paid parking at the GEICO Garage and also I think Garage C right next to the event space. You also get to save a few dollars by purchasing ahead of time, about $3 savings.
- Dress appropriately cause it gets cold since its all outdoors. Grab some jackets, hats, scarves and gloves so you are warm and not rushing out of the maze due to the cold.
- Purchase tickets for add-ons like ice skating.
- If you would love to bring your dogs, they have Paws and Claus nights.
- If you have ice skates, bring them with you to avoid paying a rental fee here.
- Above all, get ready to have a blast and take tons of pictures!
