What To Do In Fairfax

I found more stuff to do! I sent this as an email to friends, then they replied back with even more cool things. They are all included below: Hey Friends! Because I'm a Christmas junkie, I put together a list of fun things to do in the Fairfax area and thought you might want to know about them too. At the bottom are several other things through the year that my family enjoys. My calendar is full of post-it notes telling me to check on this or that as they come around. Hope you find something great for your family here! Merry Christmas! Angie Bethlehem Walk http://www.parkwood.org/ 8726 Braddock Road, Annandale, VA Highlight of our Christmas season each year. Free. Usually second Sat & Sun in Dec. 2009 Dec 13 and 14, 4-8pm this year. Sunday is always more crowded than Saturday. Take your children on a walk through Bethlehem where the character towns people are in full costume and sitting at kid level to engage them in talking about the new baby and the star in the sky, walls are decorated floor to ceiling, children collect trinkets as they journey to find the baby Jesus outside in a stable with real sheep, goat and donkey. Fairfax Station Railroad Museum www.fairfax-station.org 11200 Fairfax Station Road Fairfax Station, VA 22039 Dec 5 & 6, 2009, Sat 10-5 and Sun 12-4 Outside free, inside about $3/person Usually first weekend in December hosts a big train event on their property. Four or five small train towns are setup inside for viewing with all the intricate details (people, houses, trees, etc). Free outside are the larger trains (shoebox sized?). The railroaders set up track surrounding the entire building and drive their remote control trains all over the track they build. Kids can run around and follow the trains, talk to the owners, watch them hook and unhook their engines from loads. It's great fun. Also available - a caboose to climb in, santa makes an appearance each year at random times and sits in a sleigh handing out candy. Tiny Tots Holiday Concerts At most high schools in Dec, get ticket info in Nov. About $5/ticket High school bands put on concerts geared toward young children. Santa Train www.vre.org Burke VRE station and several others 2009 buy Nov 30, ride Dec 12 - sold out this year. $5/ticket, buy in person two weeks before train date. Take a 50 minute train ride and meet Santa from several VRE stations. Festival of Lights - Washington DC Temple Visitors Center www.dctemplelights.lds.org 9900 Stoneybrook Drive, Kensington, MD 20895 Dec 4 - Jan 1 Free Nightly holiday musical programs, typically at 7 and 8pm. Trees decorated with 500,000 lights, live nativity, international nativities collection from all over world on display inside, live nativity outside with Bible story over speaker system. Wreath Laying in Arlington Cemetery www.wreaths-across-america.org Arlington Cemetery - Metro access suggested. Usually second Saturday in December. Dec 12, 2009 Free Help honor our fallen soldiers by helping lay donated wreaths at Arlington or other cemeteries nationwide. See website for where and when to go to help. Lighting of the National Christmas Tree - Pageant of Peace Between White House and Washington Monument. You can't miss it. Free tickets distributed via online lottery at beginning of November. www.recreation.gov If you don't get tickets, just go after the ceremony or on any other night to see other groups perform for free, see trains driving around National Tree and a tree from each state and territory decorated. http://www.nps.gov/whho/national_christmas_tree_program.htm Chantilly Bible Model Train Display - Dec 12, 2009 10am-3pm, Free. 4390 Pleasant Valley Road • Chantilly, Virginia 20151 http://www.chantillybible.org/LifeatCBC/Events/ModelTrainDisplay.lsphttp://www.chantillybible.org Multiple indoor electric train displays to watch and enjoy. Have even had a kid table of wooden train tracks for the kids to play with and build. Water-Skiing Santahttp://www.waterskiingsanta.com/National Harbor in Maryland, Free. Dec 24 1pm sharp Lighted Boat Parades (several)http://www.fairfaxchristmaslights.com/boats.php LDS Church First Presidency DevotionalFirst Sunday night of December. Broadcast via satellite feed to 3900 Howard St, Annandale, VA. OR view online at www.lds.org Mix of stories of birth of Jesus Christ, orchestra, choir and soloists performances. http://www.fairfaxchristmaslights.com/ --- top Xmas light displays. We have gone to the one on Shadow Lane in Fairfax Station before --- it is really neat. http://www.nvrpa.org/parks/brfestoflights/ -- Bull Run Festival of Lights --- drive through light display. Kids loved this. We drove it at about 1 mph so we undid seatbelts and they were in heaven with freedom to move and explore and be excited in the car about all they saw. About $12/car? OTHER STUFF (for the rest of the year) White House Easter Egg Roll My understanding is that tickets for this will be online lottery system from now on. www.recreation.gov Check about four weeks before Easter for the lottery date to make sure you don't miss your chance. Circus Elephant Parade Barnum and Bailey Circus comes to the Patriot Center once a year, usually in April for two weeks. On the night of the last show, always a Sunday evening, they march the elephants right down Ox Road to the train station to load up and leave town. Park yourself on Ox Road between Braddock and Fairfax Station Road an hour and a half after the last show begins and you are in for a big treat (about 8pm they pass by)! Elephants, mini horses and other fun animals walk right past you! Western Roundup www.chantillybible.org/westernroundup Mid to end of October. Lots of local churches have fun free fall time festivals. This is one of our favorite. Cox Farms www.coxfarms.com End of September through first few days in November. Mega slides, fun games and hay ride for the kids. Cost is about $8/person weekdays and $15/person weekends.