It’s the most wonderful time of the year! Time to go on quests to find the perfect gifts for loved ones, blast holiday music on repeat and watch Christmas classics. And the greater Philly area has no shortage of activities to do during this magical season, complete with an annual outdoor Christmas market, light shows, model train shows at the Morris Arboretum & Gardens and Winterfest.

And for more fun, look no further than Longwood Gardens. Located roughly an hour from Philly, Longwood Gardens – one of the world’s premier gardens – has a lavish, spectacular Christmas display each year. There is a theme each year, with this year being dubbed “A Very Retro Christmas.” Ornaments, childrens’ toys, tinsels and decor in the gardens are all reminiscent of the 1980s.

Running from November 17th to January 7, 2024 (How timely, this is also the date of Orthodox Christmas!), A Very Retro Christmas consists of over half a million lights. The Main Conservatory is the ultimate show stopper, with Christmas trees galore in this neo-classical building. But the fun doesn’t stop there- the fountain shows are synced to holiday music, trees and plants are decorated with bright, illuminating lights and ornaments and there’s an amazing outdoor train display. It’s no surprise that these gardens took the title “Best Botanical Garden Holiday Lights” title in 2022 in USA Today’s reader surveys (Longwood took this title for the fifth consecutive year in a row!)

You can cozy up in front of firepits and grab some hot chocolate and snacks. I’m so glad I’ve gotten to see Longwood Gardens over the Christmas season in recent years and this year I got to experience another special thing – dining in the gardens! 1906, named to commemorate the year Pierre S. du Pont bought the grounds that would later become Longwood Gardens, is located to the left once you step into the building that houses the cafe. There were beautiful flowers on our table and the restaurant’s atmosphere was lovely. I went for lunch and the menu created solely for the Christmas season was luxe – holiday-themed cocktails, plates ranging from lamb lion to filet mignon, and desserts like a chocolate flowerpot and vanilla cheesecake. The service was fantastic and we were first each given warm brioche with butter in a flowerpot. I ordered very berry tea and received a teapot to myself (hooray!) and chose black truffle potato gnocchi with truffle cream and pecorino. The best thing I ate since sliced bread! It felt very calm and peaceful to have a dining experience on garden grounds (While reservations to 1906 are strongly recommended, I would say they’re mandatory).

Admissions to this Christmas spectacle are via timed advanced admission tickets only, which can be purchased on the garden’s website. Definitely don’t wait until the last minute – tickets sell out way faster than one thinks!

And to finish, here are photos from the Main Conservatory. You’ll be put into a festive spirit in no time while strolling through the conservatory.

Have a very, Merry Christmas and a joyous New Year!

Note: Longwood Gardens is part of the greater Brandywine Valley. For more information about this region in PA, you can read my blog post here.

For more places to explore in the charming Brandywine Valley, check out a weekend itinerary I published here.

Curious to see past Christmas celebrations at Longwood Gardens? Here’s my post about how the gardens looked in December 2019 and another post about the 2020-21 holiday season.

Winterthur, another gem in the Brandywine Valley, also gets into the Christmas spirit as the estate is decorated for what they call Yuletide. For my blog post about Yuletide, click here.

And I want to close off by saying that Longwood Gardens is magical all year round! For an in-depth look into the Chrysanthemum Festival, the jewel of the autumn season for the gardens, click here. And this post describes how Longwood Gardens looked like in summer 2020.