Top Williamsburg Christmas Tours

Experience Colonial Williamsburg’s holiday traditions with the added insight of a costumed guide who brings local history to life. Instead of exploring on your own, discover the stories behind the town’s seasonal decorations and celebrations while strolling its historic streets. It’s an engaging way to see how Christmas has been celebrated through the centuries.

Experience the magic of Colonial Williamsburg Christmas on one of our most popular private walking tours. Discover the beauty of Colonial Williamsburg's Christmastide as we stroll from the Williamsburg Inn along Duke of Gloucester Street, admiring spectacular holiday decorations, historic homes, and 18th-century architecture. Learn how handcrafted wreaths and garlands are created from fresh greenery, fruits, seed pods, oyster shells, feathers, and other natural materials, then judged in the Professional, Amateur, Trades, and Crafts divisions. Your knowledgeable local guide brings history to life with stories of Christmastide traditions celebrated by plantation owners, middling families, and military during the Revolutionary War. It's the perfect way to experience Christmas in Colonial Williamsburg, Virginia. Note: Traditional ginger cake is included. Tours before 7PM include a beverage. Grand Illuminations: first three Saturdays in December. Yule Log ceremonies: first three Fridays.

Spend the evening exploring the historic streets of Colonial Williamsburg on a candlelit guided ghost tour. The ghost tour reveals a lesser-known side of the historic streets and takes you to parts of the town most tourists wouldn’t be comfortable visiting on their own. Along the way, a guide entertains the group with family-friendly stories and local legends.

Have you ever wondered how our modern Christmas traditions began? Join us for a 1-hour walking tour through the streets of Colonial Williamsburg, where your guide will reveal the colonial Christmas celebrations that shaped our current traditions. You'll also learn how the decorating style of Colonial Williamsburg influenced decorations across the nation. Shades of Our Past is not affiliated with Colonial Williamsburg; therefore, this tour does not include entry to any buildings owned by Colonial Williamsburg. The tour takes place through the streets of Colonial Williamsburg and is subject to weather conditions. Please be prepared for various weather scenarios. Additionally, the advertised tour route may change based on activities in the Historic Area. Please note that tours may be unavailable on certain days due to staff participating in other events. For more details about these programs, please visit our website.

Be transported back to Williamsburg in 1943 in this 1-hour character tour. Learn how the citizens of the town are dealing with rationing, blackout drills, and all the new servicemen in town during the Holiday season. Please note that each tour is unique, so the advertised routes may vary. You will be guided through town by either a USO Hostess or an Air Raid Warden. However, for evening tours, the guide will solely be an Air Raid Warden. Routes may also be changed to accommodate activities in Colonial Williamsburg. Shades of Our Past is not affiliated with Colonial Williamsburg; therefore, this tour does not include entrance or admission into Colonial Williamsburg-owned buildings. Since the tour is through the streets of Colonial Williamsburg it is weather contingent. Please be prepared for all weather conditions. Please be aware that due to staff participation in other events, tours may be unavailable on certain days. For details about these programs, please visit our website.

Richmond, Virginia is celebrated for its over-the-top holiday lights displays every year—and this tour makes exploring them simple. In the evening, depart from Williamsburg via climate-controlled vehicle and travel to Richmond. You’ll learn all about the city’s history of tacky lights displays, will admire some of the best examples, and will even see the Christmas tree in front of the Virginia State Capitol.