Philly’s holiday season starts on a Friday the 13th this year. Dilworth Park flips to winter mode on Nov. 13, the Franklin Square lights come on Nov. 19, and by the weekend before Thanksgiving there’s a German Christmas market wrapped around City Hall.
That’s a lot of glühwein in a few square blocks.
Below is everything worth knowing about Christmas in Philadelphia for 2026, with the dates, sorted into markets, light shows, rinks, the big events and a few day trips. Hours and details can shift, so give each one a quick look before you head out.
We also tell you which ones we’d spend a Saturday on and which ones are better on a Tuesday. Because Philly in December on a Saturday night is a contact sport.
Holiday Markets
Two markets, one block apart, and they’re better than you’d guess at different things.
Christmas Village at LOVE Park and City Hall
📍 LOVE Park (16th St and JFK Blvd) and around City Hall
This is the big one: a German-style market with wooden huts, bratwurst, mulled wine, ornaments and a carousel, spread across LOVE Park and around City Hall. It runs Nov. 21 to Dec. 27, 2026. Admission is free.
Hours are noon to 8 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and noon to 9 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays. Two catches. It’s closed Monday through Wednesday of Thanksgiving week (Nov. 23 to 25) and on Christmas Day. And it opens early on Thanksgiving, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., which makes it a very good place to thaw out after the parade.
Our take: go on a weeknight, right after work. Saturday after dark is shoulder to shoulder, the food lines get long, and you’ll spend more time holding your mug than drinking out of it. Speaking of the mug, there’s a new design every year and yes, people collect them. You will see grown adults comparing years.
A heads-up if you saw Nov. 26 listed somewhere as opening day: the organizer’s own site says Nov. 21. We’re going with theirs.
Made in Philadelphia Holiday Market at Dilworth Park
📍 Dilworth Park, 1 S 15th St (west side of City Hall)
Across the street from Christmas Village and open a week earlier, Nov. 13 to Jan. 1. It’s local makers: jewelry, home goods, skincare, art and food gifts. Same hours as Christmas Village (noon to 8, until 9 on Fridays and Saturdays). It closes at 5 p.m. on Thanksgiving and Christmas Eve and is closed Christmas Day.
If you’re actually shopping for gifts, start here. Christmas Village is for eating, drinking and the mug. This is where you find something for your sister that didn’t come off a container ship.
Light Shows
One thing first: the Wanamaker Light Show is off for 2026 and 2027 while the building is renovated, and it’s due back in 2028. So don’t go looking for it this year (here’s where to go instead). These are the lights that are on.
Holidays in Franklin Square
📍 200 N 6th St (6th and Race), Old City
The best free thing on this whole list. Franklin Square wraps itself in LED lights and runs the Electrical Spectacle light show every 30 minutes from 5 p.m. to close, set to Mariah Carey, the Philly POPS and Tchaikovsky.
It runs Nov. 19, 2026 to Jan. 3, 2027, 5 to 9 p.m. nightly. It closes at 8 p.m. on Dec. 24 and Dec. 31, and it’s closed on Thanksgiving, Christmas Day and New Year’s Day. Opening night (Nov. 19) has free hot chocolate and cider and the season’s first show at 6:30 p.m.
The show is free. Mini golf, street curling and the drinks at Frosty’s Fireside Lodge cost extra, so check the site for prices. Time your walk so you land a few minutes before the hour or the half hour. If you miss one, Frosty’s opens at 5 and the next show is never more than 30 minutes away.
LumiNature at the Philadelphia Zoo
📍 3400 W Girard Ave, West Fairmount Park
The zoo turns into a walk-through light trail on select nights, Nov. 19, 2026 to Jan. 9, 2027, from 5 to 9 p.m. You need to reserve online in advance. It’s closed Dec. 24, Dec. 25 and Jan. 1, but open on New Year’s Eve.
General admission runs $27 to $31 depending on the night, plus $22 for parking (check before you go). That’s real money for a family of four, so here’s our honest read: if you have kids under 10, this is the one. They get a little book of clues to fill in along the way, and there’s the 110-foot Pherris Wheel. If you don’t have kids, Franklin Square gets you most of the glow for free.
Miracle on South 13th Street
📍 1600 block of S 13th St (between Tasker and Morris), South Philly
A single rowhouse block in South Philly where the neighbors have been going all out for more than 30 years. Lights strung across the street, every house decorated, music going. It’s the most Philly thing on this list, and it costs nothing.
The lights usually go up the weekend after Thanksgiving and stay on through New Year’s, but it’s a block of neighbors, not a venue, so check before you go. People live there. Don’t block driveways, keep your voice at a reasonable South Philly volume, and then go eat on Passyunk Avenue.
One more you might be wondering about: the Comcast Holiday Spectacular in the Comcast Center lobby hasn’t posted its 2026 dates yet. They usually come out in November, so check before you go.
Ice Rinks
Downtown or the waterfront. Pick the one that matches your plan: the photo or the laps.
Rothman Orthopaedics Ice Rink at Dilworth Park
📍 Dilworth Park, 1 S 15th St (west side of City Hall)
Skating in the shadow of City Hall tower is the postcard version of a Philly winter, and the rink is open daily from Nov. 13, 2026 to Feb. 21, 2027. Sessions are 90 minutes and timed, so book ahead. Admission is $10 for adults and $8 for kids 10 and under, and skate rental is $11 (check before you go).
Through Jan. 3, hours are noon to 9 p.m. Monday through Thursday, noon to 11 p.m. on Fridays, 11:30 a.m. to 11 p.m. on Saturdays and 11:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Sundays. Holidays have their own hours, and it’s even open on Christmas Day, 1:30 to 11 p.m.
Late Friday is the move. After about 9, the families thin out and you can actually skate instead of shuffling. College students get in for $3 on Thursday nights with a student ID (skates not included). And don’t skip the Wintergarden on the lawn next door. It’s free, it’s full of lights, and there’s a mulled wine kiosk for the 21-and-overs. The Wintergarden stays up until March 28.
Blue Cross RiverRink Winterfest
📍 101 S Columbus Blvd, Penn’s Landing
The waterfront option, open seven days a week from Nov. 27, 2026 to Feb. 28, 2027. Getting into Winterfest is free. Skating takes a ticket, and you can rent a cabin or a fire pit if you’re bringing a group.
The rink here is NHL-sized, so it’s the better pick if you actually want room to skate laps. Dilworth wins on the view of City Hall. RiverRink wins on the fire pits and the Ben Franklin Bridge lit up over the river. It’s been going for more than 33 seasons, which in Philly terms makes it a tradition you’re allowed to get defensive about.
Big Events
One parade and one very old street.
6abc Dunkin’ Thanksgiving Day Parade
📍 Starts at 20th St and JFK Blvd, ends at the Art Museum
The longest-running Thanksgiving parade in the country, now in its 107th year, steps off on Thursday, Nov. 26 at 8:30 a.m. The first half hour is the TV pre-show, and the whole thing runs until about noon. The route goes east on JFK Blvd to 16th St, up 16th to the Parkway and then out the Parkway to the Art Museum, where Santa shows up at the end.
The Art Museum end is where the TV cameras and performances are, so it fills up first. For a curb spot without a 6 a.m. alarm, try JFK or 16th near the start. Bring a thermos. Then walk to Christmas Village, which opens at 9 that morning, or go skate at Dilworth from 1:30.
Deck the Alley on Elfreth’s Alley
📍 126 Elfreth’s Alley (off 2nd St between Arch and Race), Old City
One afternoon only: Saturday, Dec. 5, 2026, 1 to 5 p.m. Residents of the country’s oldest continuously lived-in residential street open their front doors, and you get to walk through 18th- and 19th-century houses that people actually live in today. There are carolers, cookies and hot cider, plus a cash bar with Elfreth’s Alley wine mugs.
It’s ticketed, with entry times on the hour from 1 to 4. It happens rain, snow or shine. And there’s no bathroom on the alley, so plan accordingly. Of everything here, this is the one we’d book first, because it’s one day a year and you will never otherwise see the inside of these houses.
Day Trips
Worth the gas, as long as you pick the right night.
A Longwood Christmas
📍 1001 Longwood Rd, Kennett Square, PA
If you only leave the city for one holiday thing, make it Longwood. It runs Nov. 20, 2026 to Jan. 10, 2027, with the gardens open 10 a.m. to 11 p.m. daily, and this year’s theme is a “Cosmic Christmas.” Timed tickets are required every day, so you can’t just show up.
Go after dark, when the outdoor lights are on, and go on a weeknight if you can. December weekend evenings are the first slots people grab. Start in the conservatory to warm up, then work your way out.
Christkindlmarkt in Bethlehem
📍 PNC Plaza at SteelStacks, Bethlehem, PA
Bethlehem calls itself the Christmas City, and its market sets up next to the old steel mill blast furnaces, which is a pretty great backdrop for a German market. It’s open weekends only, Nov. 13 to Dec. 20, 2026: Friday through Sunday in November (Nov. 13 to 15, 20 to 22, and 27 to 29) and Thursday through Sunday in December (Dec. 3 to 6, 10 to 13, and 17 to 20).
Hours are 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Thursdays and Sundays, and 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays. Admission is ticketed, and it’s cashless, so leave the twenties at home. A December Thursday is your best bet for elbow room.
Peddler’s Village
📍 Route 202 and Street Rd, Lahaska, PA
The Grand Illumination is Friday, Nov. 20. Santa and Mrs. Claus flip the switch at 6:15 p.m. sharp, and admission and parking are free. Peddler’s Village says to arrive by 5:30 because parking fills up. We’d go a step further and say go on literally any other night. The lights stay up every evening through Jan. 18, 2027.
The other reason to go is the Gingerbread Competition and Display, now in its 42nd year. More than 100 entries made by regular people are on view, free, from Nov. 20 to Jan. 10. Some are very good. Some are held together by hope and royal icing. Both kinds are worth the trip.
If you can only do one night in the city, do this: Franklin Square for the 6:30 show, a short ride to City Hall, a lap of Christmas Village, then the Dilworth rink until they kick you off. On a Wednesday.
Got family coming in for the holidays? Our guide to where to stay in Philadelphia will sort out the hotel question, and our list of the best things to do in Philadelphia covers the daytime hours before the lights come on. After a night of standing around in the cold, you’ll want a real cheesesteak, or something off our list of Philly foods to try. And if your guests want history with their holidays, Elfreth’s Alley pairs nicely with the stops in our historic sites guide and the neighborhoods locals love.
So what’s your one non-negotiable Philly holiday tradition? Tell us in the comments.
Photos: Philadelphia City Hall Christmas tree by Syed07 / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
Dilworth Park ice rink by Ii2nmd / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
Thanksgiving Day Parade route by Mobilus In Mobili / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.0
Longwood Gardens conservatory at Christmas by Dough4872 / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
SteelStacks, Bethlehem by Jack from Leesport Pa., USA / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.0