The 2026 season
This list only includes dates the organizers have posted for 2026, or that a dated 2026 news report has confirmed, as of Oct. 15, 2026. Several regular events haven't announced dates yet. We list those at the end and will add them when the dates go up.
DowntownDC Holiday Market, Penn Quarter
The big one. The DowntownDC Holiday Market runs Nov. 13 to Dec. 23, 2026 on F Street NW between 7th and 9th Streets, in front of the Smithsonian American Art Museum and National Portrait Gallery. Hours are noon to 8pm Monday to Thursday, 11am to 9pm Friday and Saturday, and 11am to 8pm Sunday. It is closed on Thanksgiving Day. Admission is free.
The Makers Show runs the market, and its FAQ lists 121 vendors for 2026. The main stage has live entertainment Thursday to Sunday starting Nov. 19, and there is a children's play area, Rudolph Reindeer Games, next to the stage. Most vendors take cards, but the market suggests bringing some cash; there are ATMs at 601 F St NW and 610 F St NW. Dogs are welcome. Restrooms are on 8th Street NW behind the Winter Chalet.
Year-round shops sit right around it. The SAAM & National Portrait Gallery Museum Store (8th and G Sts NW), open 11:30am to 7pm daily, sells exhibition catalogues, artist-designed jewelry and scarves, and kids' art kits. Teaism Tea Shop (400 8th St NW) sells loose-leaf tea and handmade ceramics, and Barnes & Noble F Street (1025 F St NW) is open until 8pm every day. Fresh Baguette (575 7th St NW) opens at 7am for croissants.
Note: Destination DC's holiday page lists a Nov. 21 start. The organizer's own page and FAQ both say Nov. 13, which is the date we use.
Heurich House Christmas Markt, Dupont Circle
The Heurich House Museum's Christmas Markt runs Thursday, Dec. 3 to Sunday, Dec. 6, 2026 in the museum's Castle Garden at 1307 New Hampshire Ave NW. Every vendor is a local maker chosen by a jury; last year's market had 40 local artists and craftspeople. Tickets are required and sold through Humanitix, with Early Bird tickets on sale through Oct. 31. Daily hours aren't posted yet. Destination DC lists it as the 14th annual market.
Make an afternoon of Dupont Circle: Second Story Books (2000 P St NW) is open until 10pm daily, Kramers (1517 Connecticut Ave NW) pairs books with a restaurant and bar, and Secondi (1702 Connecticut Ave NW, 2nd Floor) sells consigned designer handbags and jewelry.
Enchant Christmas, Nationals Park
Northern Virginia Magazine reported on July 6, 2026 that Enchant Christmas returns to Nationals Park from Nov. 20 to Dec. 27, with a marketplace for holiday gifts and seasonal food and drink. It is a ticketed event; at the time, ticket details were still to come. The ballpark's Nationals Team Store (Center Field Plaza, N St SE) is open year-round for jerseys, caps and kids' gear.
Holiday events with shopping nearby
Holiday Boat Parade & Party, The Wharf
The Wharf's Holiday Boat Parade & Party is on Saturday, Dec. 5, 2026, along the Washington Channel and across the piers and Wharf Street, with fireworks from a barge at about 8pm. A 45-foot nautical-style tree stands on District Pier. The Wharf Ice Rink on Transit Pier (970 Wharf St SW) says it will reopen in December 2026 but hasn't posted dates.
For gifts, Shop Made in DC (10 District Square SW) sells only goods made by DC artisans and is open 10am to 8pm daily, and Politics and Prose at The Wharf (610 Water St SW) sells books, stationery and gifts.
Old Town Alexandria's holiday weekend
Visit Alexandria calls Dec. 4 to 6, 2026 its biggest holiday weekend. On Saturday, Dec. 5, the 55th Alexandria Scottish Christmas Walk Parade runs through the streets of Old Town (a start time isn't posted yet), and the 26th Alexandria Holiday Boat Parade of Lights starts at 5:30pm along a mile of Potomac shoreline, with dockside festivities in Waterfront Park.
A week later, on Saturday, Dec. 12, 2026, the Old Town Alexandria Christmas Market and Holiday Craft Show fills John Carlyle Square (300 John Carlyle St) from 11am to 5pm, with artisan vendors, photos with Santa, carolers and mulled wine. Admission is free, dogs are welcome, and it goes ahead rain or shine.
Between events, walk King Street. The Old Town Shop (104 S Union St) sells Alexandria gifts and work by Virginia artists, The World Crafted on King (915 King St, formerly Ten Thousand Villages) sells fair-trade crafts, and Red Barn Mercantile (1117 King St) mixes antiques with home goods and local gifts. Shop Made in VA (1121 King St) stocks only Virginia makers, and Penny Post (1201 King St) is the stop for cards and pens.
Dates still to come
As of Oct. 15, 2026, these regulars had not posted 2026 dates on any page we could load. We won't guess.
DC Holiday Market, Dupont Circle. The Dupont Circle BID and Diverse Markets Management ran it last season. Destination DC's listing still shows last year's dates.
Georgetown GLOW and holiday shopping nights. The most recent Georgetown holiday program we could load was from an earlier year.
Union Market District. Its events calendar runs only through Oct. 31, 2026, and lists no holiday market yet.
Frosted at Franklin Park. Only an older year's page loaded.
Metro, parking and water taxis
DowntownDC Holiday Market: Gallery Place-Chinatown (Red, Green and Yellow lines) is the nearest Metro, with exits at 7th and F and at 9th and G. Teaism notes a parking garage on 8th Street, and the American Art Museum notes limited metered street parking and several paid garages nearby.
Heurich House: Dupont Circle station on the Red Line serves the neighborhood. The pages we loaded don't mention parking.
Nationals Park: Navy Yard-Ballpark station on the Green Line has entrances at 55 M St SE and on New Jersey Ave SE. Public garages include 55 M, 80 M and Nationals Garage H (20 M St SE).
The Wharf: Waterfront station on the Green Line is a two-minute walk. Wharf Garages 1, 2 and 3 are open 24/7, and buying anything at the Municipal Fish Market cuts Garage 1 to $2 for the first hour.
Old Town Alexandria: King St–Old Town station (Blue and Yellow lines) is at the top of King Street, and Visit Alexandria runs a free King Street Trolley down to the water. Water taxis also link the Wharf's Transit Pier with the Old Town waterfront.
The DC Circulator stopped running after Dec. 31, 2024, so older holiday guides that point to it are out of date.