Are you looking for fun holiday parties, ballets, concerts, or family-friendly events? We know of all the events to keep you feeling the holiday spirit this Christmas season!

We have all the Virginia Beach holiday events, as well as other awesome events in neighboring cities that we don’t think anyone should miss out on!

Holiday Lights at the Beach

Thursday, November 22 – Sunday, December 30 

First up on the Holiday Events list in Virginia Beach is the BayPort Credit Union Holiday Lights Merry Mile. This is a very popular event that is sure to please everyone. To enjoy this event, you will cruise along the Virginia Beach Boardwalk in your car (yep, you’ll drive your car on the boardwalk!) for streets on the streets of nautical-themed light displays. There will be a large tree beautifully lit. This tree is so big, it even gives the King Neptune Statue’s size a run for its money! 

Hours of Operation

Sunday – Thursday: 5:30 pm – 10:00 pm

Friday and Saturday: 5:30 pm – 11:00 pm

Holiday Parade at the Beach

Saturday, December 1 @ 5:30 pm – 9:00 pm

There will be even more fun on the Virginia Beach Boardwalk than just the BayPort Credit Union Holiday Lights! Don’t forget to check out the Holiday Parade at the Beach! This parade will feature tons of dancing and of course floats. No parade is complete without floats! This parade at the Oceanfront will begin at 15th Street and end at 25th Street. Set up some seats and bring the blankets! There’s plenty of room to set up at this fun holiday event. What’s even better is that this parade is FREE and open to the public.

Craft Sale & Family Festival at MOCA

Sunday, December 2 @ 9:00 am – 5:00 pm

Knock out your Christmas shopping at the Craft Sale at MOCA (Museum of Contemporary Art). Here, you’ll find unique gifts for just about anyone on your list! If you’ve been to an art/craft show before, you’ve probably noticed many of the pieces have a hefty price sticker.  You won’t have that worry at this Virginia Beach event! This Craft Sale & Family Festival will have beautiful art at affordable prices. The craft sale portion of this holiday event will take place on Sunday, December, 2nd between 9 am – 5 pm. The Family Festival portion will take place between 2:00 pm – 4:00 pm (on the same day).

Click here for more information on this event.

Holiday Hangar Concert at Military Aviation Musuem

Saturday, December 8 @ 7:00 pm – 9:00 pm

This concert is free and open to the public. This event will include live music by the Symphonic Artistry. Of course, they’ll be playing the classic songs of the holidays.  Reserve your spot for free here!

Doors to this event open at 5:00 pm.

Location of the Miitary Aviation Musuem:

1341 Princess Anne Road, Virginia Beach, VA 23457

Surf-n-Santa 5 Miler and Rudolph’s 1 Mile

Saturday, December 15 @ 4:30 pm

Run down the festive boardwalk with your friends for the annual Surf-N-Santa 5 Miler! This Virginia Beach event includes more than just a run.

By signing up for this race, you’ll also be signing up for:

  • the Sport and Fitness Expo
  • Post-Race Party with Live Entertainment
  • Delicious Beef Stew
  • Bottle Opener Medal for those who finish the race
  • a 5 piece Santa Suit or a technical race t-shirt
  • Samuel Adams beer
  • and more!

Registration and packet pick up is on Friday, December 14 at the Virginia Beach Convention Center. 

Click here to learn more about this fun holiday run

The Nutcracker at the Sandler Center

Friday, December 14 – Sunday, December 16

Some families make it a tradition to see The Nutcracker ballet performance. If you’re one of those people, or if you’re not one of those people but just want to see this beautiful story… Here’s your chance!

The Sandler Center of the Performing Arts is the place to be on December 14-16 for many chances to see The Nutcracker. Tickets start at just $37.

Here are the showtimes for this Christmas Classic:

Friday’s (December 14) only show is at 7:30 pm

Saturday’s (December 15) two shows are at 2:00 pm and 7:30 pm 

Sunday’s (December 16) only show is at 2:00 pm 

Christmas Town at Busch Gardens

Saturday, November 17 – Saturday, January 5

Visit Christmas Town at Busch Gardens for a delightful sparkling spectacle. There will be 10 million lights to be in awe over, so you won’t want to miss this! This beautiful Christmas Town at Busch Gardens is located in Williamsburg, Virginia. This requires a bit of driving (about an hour and a half), but we 100% recommend it as it is a great experience everyone should have at least once!

If you check our Events page, you will see that there are many opportunities to catch some Christmas happenings. There are plenty of Holiday Events in Virginia Beach that we are still adding every day! VA Beach is a great place to be for the holidays, and VirginiaBeach.com is an even better place to find out where to go!