Leavenworth is one of those little towns in Washington that makes you feel like you somehow left the country without actually leaving the state. All of the buildings have that Bavarian style. Once you add Christmas lights, snow, gingerbread cookies, Christmas shops and people walking around in full snow gear, it really does feel like you stepped into a Hallmark movie.
We decided to visit after seeing a million videos of Leavenworth at Christmas on Instagram. And yes, it is beautiful. We had a great family trip and made some really fun memories there. But I also think Instagram has a tendency to make places look MUCH bigger and more dramatic than they actually are. Leavenworth was definitely one of those places for me.
So before I tell you everything we loved, I want to set realistic expectations — because I would much rather tell you what it actually feels like than convince you this is some giant Christmas village when it isn’t.
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What Is Leavenworth Christmastown?
The Christmas celebration in Leavenworth is currently called Village of Lights: Christmastown. The town keeps more than half a million lights on throughout the winter season. During Christmastown there are live performances, carolers, Santa appearances, food vendors, kids’ activities, gingerbread displays and other holiday events centered around downtown and Front Street Park.
When we visited, I kept calling it the Christmas market because that’s how I thought of it at the time. But it isn’t really a traditional European-style Christmas market with rows and rows of vendor stalls. The main experience is the whole town dressed up for Christmas, with the lights, Bavarian buildings, shops, food, performances and holiday activities all happening together.
And once I understood it that way, I think it made more sense.
Leavenworth Is Smaller Than Instagram Makes It Look
This was probably the biggest surprise of the entire trip.
Instagram made the main Christmas area look HUGE. In reality, the center of the action is concentrated around Front Street Park and the surrounding downtown blocks. There are restaurants and shops extending beyond the park, of course. The main Christmas-town experience is much more compact than I expected.
When we first got there, I remember thinking, wait… this is it?
I don’t say that to make Leavenworth sound bad because we genuinely enjoyed the trip. I just don’t want to tell you that you’re heading to some massive Christmas village. You’re not.
The charm is actually in the opposite.
You walk around the same little downtown area, stop for something to eat, wander into Christmas shops. Get a gingerbread cookie, listen to live music, let the kids play in the snow, and then do it all over again later. It’s much more about slowing down and enjoying the atmosphere than checking off a giant list of attractions.
The Crowds at Night Are No Joke
The other thing I was not fully prepared for was how crowded Leavenworth gets.
This is a small town that brings in thousands of visitors during Christmas. You have people staying in town like we were, plus everyone driving in for the day from Seattle and surrounding areas. During the daytime it was considerably easier to walk around, shop and let the kids enjoy themselves.
At night?
PACKED.
Once the lights were glowing and everyone was downtown it was packed. There were moments when it was difficult to even comfortably walk through the main area. If it had just been me and Corey, it probably wouldn’t have bothered me nearly as much. But we had a 2-year-old who wanted to run around and absolutely did not understand why thousands of strangers were interfering with her freedom.
There was one night when it got crowded enough that we basically said, yep, we’re done. We walked back to the hotel.
If you’re visiting with little kids, I would absolutely take advantage of the daytime. Go back out after dark to see the lights because you should. Just don’t assume nighttime will be the easiest time to leisurely wander around town.
Kris Kringl Was One of My Favorite Shops
Once I set those expectations, there were so many little things about Leavenworth that I absolutely loved.
One of my favorites was Kris Kringl, which is basically Christmas decoration heaven. When I say they had a million different nativity sets and Christmas villages, I mean a MILLION. Harry Potter, Star Wars, animals, traditional villages — no niche was too niche.
We spent a lot of time walking around the different floors looking at everything. Even the girls had fun exploring the store. It wasn’t one of those shops where I felt like I needed to rush everyone through. The kids were enjoying window shopping as much as I was.
They also had a huge collection of German cuckoo clocks, from the old-school wind-up kind to automatic ones. Corey and I spent probably 20 minutes looking at all of them before we finally narrowed it down. We bought one, then had it shipped home.
It’s still hanging in our family room. Every time that thing cuckoos, I think about Leavenworth.
That is exactly the kind of souvenir I love — something we actually use and see all the time. Instead of another random little trinket that ends up shoved in a drawer.
The Gingerbread Factory Was Worth Going Back For
Another favorite was The Gingerbread Factory.
We went earlier in the morning one day and got through the line relatively quickly, but later in the afternoon and evening the line could stretch out the door. The inside is decorated with so much to look at that it almost feels like part bakery, part little Christmas museum while you’re waiting.
And the gingerbread cookies?
So good.
I went back multiple times during the trip. Sometimes more than once in the same day.
That’s how much I liked them. 😂
If you’re going during a busy Christmas weekend, I would definitely try to go earlier rather than waiting until nighttime when downtown is already packed.
Shopping Around Downtown Leavenworth
We spent a lot of the trip just wandering through the shops, and that ended up being one of the most enjoyable parts for us. There was a toy store the girls loved, tons of little shops with gifts and random trinkets, and even a store selling actual leather lederhosen.
Naturally, Corey tried them on.
And then bought them.
Because apparently if you’re going to visit a Bavarian town, you might as well commit. 😂
This is what I mean when I say Leavenworth is more about the little experiences than a giant list of attractions. We weren’t rushing from one big activity to another. We were just wandering around, finding weird things, eating, shopping and hanging out together.
Live Music, Food Vendors and the Gingerbread House Display
Front Street Park is really the center of the Christmas activity. There were live performances throughout the day and little food and drink vendors set up around the park, so we could stop, watch something for a while, grab something warm and then keep walking.
One of the things the girls really enjoyed was the gingerbread house display inside the Festhalle. People had decorated these elaborate gingerbread houses and submitted them for the competition, and we walked around looking at all of them.
That tradition is still part of Christmastown today, along with kids’ crafts, Santa photos, story time, live music and other activities inside the Festhalle.
It was also a nice excuse to get inside and warm up for a little bit because December in Leavenworth is not exactly tank-top weather.
Lunch at Rhein Haus Biergarten
One of my favorite meals from the trip was lunch at Rhein Haus.
Our friends who live in Seattle came out to Leavenworth for the weekend and stayed at Obertal Inn with us, so we met them for lunch and sat outside overlooking the park. We were all wearing full snow gear, and the tables had little fire pits built into them, which made the whole thing feel very Leavenworth-at-Christmas.
The men had their beers, the ladies had cocktails, the kids were hanging out and playing together, and we just sat there enjoying the view and warming ourselves by the fire.
Rhein Haus is right by Front Street and currently has a large four-season biergarten with fireplaces at the tables and views over the downtown area, so this is one I would absolutely put on the list if you want somewhere fun to stop in the middle of your Christmas wandering.
Pizza and Beer at Blewett Brewing
We also had dinner one night at Blewett Brewing Company, which was another easy casual stop with the kids.
Their thing is basically craft beer + pizza, which is a combination I can fully support after walking around in the snow all day. They brew their beer onsite and make artisan pizzas, so Corey got his beer, the girls were happy with pizza, and everybody won.
This wasn’t necessarily some giant destination dinner we built our whole evening around. It was just a really good fit for the kind of trip we were having — casual, warm and easy with kids.
Yodelin and the Mulled Wine That Followed Us Home
Another dinner we really liked was Yodelin.
They had live music when we were there, the atmosphere was fun, and Corey and I had mulled wine that we loved so much that we ended up starting to make it at home for our Christmas Eve parties.
I love when something small from a trip sneaks its way into your family traditions afterward.
The cuckoo clock came home from Leavenworth.
The mulled wine came home from Leavenworth.
Apparently this trip was very productive. 😂
Yodelin is still in downtown Leavenworth on Front Street, so it’s another place I would consider if you’re looking for somewhere casual to eat during your trip.
The Reindeer Farm: The One Thing We Missed
There is also a Leavenworth Reindeer Farm nearby, and this is the thing we completely messed up.
I assumed it would be something we could decide to do while we were there and book the same day.
Nope.
It was sold out for our entire trip.
So we never got to do it, and it’s still one of the main reasons I would like to go back. If seeing the reindeer is high on your list, do not do what I did. Book it ahead of time.
I’ll go into the logistics of the Reindeer Farm more in my complete Leavenworth Christmas guide because it fits better there, but for this post the takeaway is simple:
Do not assume you’re getting same-day tickets.
We Didn’t Need Constant Activities to Have Fun
There wasn’t a huge amount of fresh snow while we were there, but the girls still found piles of it to slide down and play in because kids can apparently turn six inches of dirty parking-lot-adjacent snow into a full afternoon activity.
We also walked along the river, found a playground, and spent time just wandering around without a plan.
One day we walked over toward the Leavenworth Adventure Park, which is about a 15-minute walk from downtown. We stopped for Mexican food along the way, and it was actually pretty good, although I cannot for the life of me remember what the restaurant was called. I’m not going to pretend I do. 😂
I’ll cover Adventure Park more in my complete Leavenworth guide because that’s more of a general Leavenworth activity than something specific to Christmastown.
And That’s Also How I Found the Hotel I REALLY Wanted
During one of our walks along the river, we came across Posthotel Leavenworth.
Which, unfortunately, was the hotel I REALLY wanted to stay at when I was originally planning the trip.
I had already discovered during the booking process that it was adults-only, which was very inconvenient considering we had two children with us. 😂 But seeing it in person during our walk confirmed that yes, if Corey and I come back without the girls, that’s where I want to stay.
For this trip, we stayed at Obertal Inn right downtown, which ended up being a much better fit with the girls because we could walk almost everywhere.
Read my full guide to where to stay in Leavenworth at Christmas here.
Is Leavenworth Christmastown Worth Visiting With Kids?
Yes — but I would go into it with the right expectations.
If you’re expecting a giant Christmas market stretching for miles with endless activities, you may be a little underwhelmed by the size. I was.
But if you’re expecting a small Bavarian town completely decorated for Christmas where you can wander through shops, eat gingerbread cookies, sit around a fire with a cocktail, listen to live music, let your kids play in the snow and just enjoy being somewhere festive together?
That’s where Leavenworth works.
The trip became memorable because of all the little things: buying our cuckoo clock, eating way too many gingerbread cookies, Corey buying lederhosen, drinking mulled wine at Yodelin, sitting around the fire at Rhein Haus with our friends, and watching the girls play in whatever snow they could find.
It wasn’t the huge Christmas village Instagram had convinced me it would be.
But it was still special.
And I think those are two things that can both be true.
Tips for Visiting Leavenworth Christmastown With Kids
A few things I would do differently or plan for after experiencing it ourselves:
- Explore downtown during the day. It was much easier with little kids before the nighttime crowds arrived.
- Go back out after dark for the lights, but don’t assume you’ll want to spend your entire evening fighting through the busiest part of town.
- Stay within walking distance if you can. Not having to constantly load kids into a car made this trip much easier.
- Book the Reindeer Farm ahead of time. Learn from me.
- Make restaurant plans, especially during busy Christmas weekends.
- Leave room to wander. Some of our favorite moments weren’t scheduled activities at all.
- Don’t expect a giant Christmas market. Think small Christmas town, not sprawling festival.
- Dress for the weather. We were literally eating lunch outside in full snow gear and loved it.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the Christmas event in Leavenworth called?
Leavenworth’s winter lights are called Village of Lights, and the December holiday celebration is called Christmastown. Christmastown includes Santa appearances, live music, carolers, food vendors and activities around Front Street Park and the Festhalle.
Is there actually a Christmas market in Leavenworth?
I would not describe it as a traditional European-style Christmas market. There are seasonal food vendors and holiday activities, but the bigger experience is the entire Bavarian-style downtown decorated for Christmas.
Is Leavenworth good for kids at Christmas?
We had a great time with our girls. The biggest thing I would keep in mind is the nighttime crowd level, especially if you’re traveling with toddlers or younger kids who want room to move.
Is Leavenworth crowded at Christmas?
Very.
Daytime was much easier for us, while nighttime around Front Street Park became extremely crowded. If you’re visiting with kids, I would plan most of your wandering and shopping earlier in the day.
How many days do you need in Leavenworth at Christmas?
I think a couple of days is enough to enjoy the downtown Christmas experience without feeling rushed. I’ll break down how I would structure the full trip in my complete Leavenworth at Christmas guide.
Do you need a car in Leavenworth?
We didn’t need one for the majority of our trip because we stayed downtown and could walk almost everywhere we wanted to go.
Leavenworth Was A Memorable Trip
Leavenworth at Christmas wasn’t exactly what Instagram had made me think it would be. It was smaller, more crowded at night, and less like a giant Christmas market than I had pictured in my head.
But that doesn’t mean we didn’t love it.
We ate good food, bought a cuckoo clock that still hangs in our house, found little Christmas shops, watched the girls play in the snow, drank mulled wine, met up with friends, wandered along the river and slowed down for a few days.
And honestly, that’s probably the part I remember most.
It wasn’t about having 25 activities planned.
It was about being together somewhere that felt completely different from home during Christmas.
And for that?
I would absolutely go again.
More Leavenworth Travel Guides
If you’re planning a Leavenworth Christmas trip, these will help with the rest:
- Leavenworth at Christmas With Kids: Complete Guide
- Where to Stay in Leavenworth at Christmas
- Seattle to Leavenworth by Train: Amtrak Guide for Families