Swing by These Festive Holiday Events Around the Brandywine Valley

Photo by Kelly Giarrocco for Longwood Gardens

When it comes to celebrating the season, Delaware knows how to deck the halls, serve up fun and light up the nights. Here are some of the best and brightest events in (and a little beyond) the First State.

Through December 29

Noël at Nemours Estate

Nemours salutes the season with spectacular decorations throughout the 77-room mansion, chauffeur’s garage and gardens. Christmas decorations give the grand Nemours Estate a spectacular holiday flair. Live music provides an extra festive dimension to the holiday tours. $23. 1600 Rockland Road, Wilmington, (302) 651-6912.

Through December 31

Schellville Enchanted Winter Celebration

Now in its seventh year, the magical Christmas village called Schellville brings holiday cheer to coastal Delaware. Hop aboard the Schellville Express Train, visit 23 elaborately decorated miniature houses, stroll through a maze of lights, say hello to Mr. and Mrs. Claus and strap on your skates (or rent a pair) for a spin around the 12,000-square-foot roller rink and skate path. Gather around the Snowflake Stage for live entertainment. Let the local crafters and merchants on Candy Cane Artisan Lane inspire your holiday gift giving. Fuel up at Frosty’s Food Trucks and assorted snack shacks. Adults can take a break at a beer garden and the speakeasy-style Ho Ho Ho Hospitality tent. Admission and most activities are free. Rehoboth Beach.

Through January 1, 2025

Holidays at Hagley

Whatever the weather forecast, it’s guaranteed to be a white Christmas as Hagley Museum and Library highlights themed decorations and traditions inspired by multiple generations of the du Pont family at their 1803 ancestral home, Eleutherian Mills. Take a day or night Holiday House and Garden Tour, bring the kids to Santa Day and exercise your baking chops by constructing an architectural masterpiece for Hagley’s seventh annual gingerbread house contest. Tour tickets are $20. Wilmington, (302) 658-2400.

Through January 12, 2025

A Longwood Christmas

The holiday season will sparkle with the brilliance of more than half a million dazzling lights, ingenious botanical displays and fountain shows featuring 750 water jets dancing to holiday tunes throughout the day and evening. On select evenings, carolers will stroll the grounds singing seasonal classics. Making the celebration even more festive is the debut of the “Longwood Reimagined: A New Garden Experience” expansion, the culmination of a three-year project with new buildings, including a 32,000-square-foot West Conservatory, imaginative outdoor landscapes and breathtaking water features. $32. Kennett Square, Pennsylvania, (610) 388-1000.

Longwood Gardens is spectacularly decorated and illuminated by half a million lights during the holidays. Photo by Kelly Giarrocco for Longwood Gardens.

December 6 and 7

Rockwood Park & Museum Holiday Open House

Follow the glow of the colorful light displays through the park, take a nighttime tour of the 19th-century mansion museum, pose for free photos with Santa and enjoy performances by local choirs and dance companies. Both nights, New Castle County’s Santa Shop features students and organizations making and selling crafts, jewelry and other gift items. Admission is free, as is the shuttle and parking at 501 Carr Road. Wilmington, (302) 761-4340.

December 7

Christmas in Odessa

If a genuine small-town holiday is on your wish list, head for the charming town of Odessa for the 60th year of grand celebration. Take a self-guided walking tour of its elegantly decorated homes and public buildings, many dating from the 18th and 19th centuries; visit with Santa, Mrs. Claus and Santa’s elf; sing along to seasonal tunes with the St. Paul’s Church Choir, M.O.T. Male Choir and St. Paul’s Bell Ringers; savor tea and cookies courtesy of The Women’s Club of Odessa; and be sure to gather for the tree lighting. Tours are $25 in advance, $30 day of tour. Some events do not require tickets. Odessa, (302) 378-4900.

December 7

Holiday House Tour of Lewes and Holiday Village & Market

Revel in the nostalgia of an old-fashioned Christmas parade followed by the town’s tree lighting. Historic interpreters will guide you through nine period decorated 18th- and 19th-century properties at the Lewes Historical Society’s Shipcarpenter Street Campus. Then enjoy the hospitality of local residents who welcome you into their decorated homes. A dozen artists will inspire out-of-the-box gift ideas and fresh holiday greens will be for sale. Grab a sweet snack at the Women’s Club Holiday Raffle and Bake Sale and meet some sociable alpacas. (The LHS campus and marketplace are open December 1.) Admission is free. Lewes, (302) 645-7670.

December 11 and 12

A Christmas Carol Live!

There are many excellent reasons why this Charles Dickens classic tale of Christmas spirit and redemption is such an integral part of the holiday season. This version is particularly captivating because it is performed by Gerald Charles Dickens, the great-great-grandson of the author in a one-man show where he brings the tale’s 26 characters to life using only a table, wing chair and hat rack. $30. Add a Yuletide tour of the house and grounds of Winterthur for an extra $10. Winterthur, (800) 488-3883.

December 13 and 14

Holiday Celebration and Market at Glasgow Park

Holiday shopping has never been so much fun for the entire family. Live music will fill the air as you browse gift vendors fortified by an assortment of delectable specialty foods. Take a holiday train ride, make a craft and pose for photos with Santa and costumed characters. Free. Bear, (320) 395-5555.

December 31

Zoo Year’s Eve at Brandywine Zoo

Midnight might be too late for little revelers. But they can experience all the excitement of counting down to and toasting the dawning of 2025 with sparkling cider at two daytime disco ball drops—one at 11 a.m., the other at 1 p.m. There will also be craft stations throughout the zoo and docents offering information about your favorite animals. Reservations are required. $5; children under 3 get free admission. Wilmington, (302) 571-7788.

Related: 7 Winter Events Happening Throughout the Brandywine Valley