Hugh Beebower/PCS Adventures

Shaka Santa and Tutu Mele bring the party to the Honolulu Hale.

8 Christmas Towns Near Military Bases

Moving with the military gives us the opportunity to experience unique Christmas celebrations all around the United States.  Ande and I rounded up some of our favorite festive Christmas towns near military installations from coast to coast and even Hawaii.  Enjoy!

St. Augustine, FL

St. Augustine takes the Christmas very seriously.  I thought the glowing reports of a Christmas lights extravaganza exaggerated just a tiny bit.  But, nope.  The city’s Night of Lights celebration makes Clark Griswold’s illuminated house look pitiful by comparison.  Over three million cheerful, twinkling lights over 20 city blocks make this historic city explode with colorful cheer.

Denise Sloan/PCS Adventures

Millions of lights turn historic St. Augustine into a magical experience.

Join Old Town Trolley’s Night of Lights tour (like we did) for a holly, jolly good time.  Tickets include “magical” viewing glasses, a cookie and hot apple cider. All of the passengers join in for the Christmas carol sing-along.

Walking the city also works.  This is a super crowded event, so bring your patience.  It’s worth it!  The event runs mid-November to early January each year.

Closest Military Bases:  NAS Jacksonville, Naval Station Mayport, USCG Sector Jacksonville, USCG ANT Jacksonville, USAREC, Jacksonville Battalion

Jekyll Island, GA

Jekyll Island was once the playground of the rich and powerful.  Today it’s elegant Christmas festivities draw everyone to the island.  Each of the exclusive historic houses, built by the likes of Rockefeller and Vanderbilt, are decked out in festive Christmas decor. 

Unfortunately the Holly Jolly Light Tours and the Christmas Tour of Lights were sold out during our visit, but we enjoyed walking the historic district where massive live oak trees dripped with Spanish moss and Christmas lights.

Denise Sloan/PCS Adventures

The famous Jekyll Island Club pulls out all of the stops for a holly, jolly Christmas.

Throughout the season there are plenty of other festivities: a holiday high tea and a lunch with Santa at the Jekyll Island Resort, the Holly Jolly Jekyll Light Parade, drive-in movie night at the Jekyll Island Convention Center and a holiday fireworks display on select nights.  Events happen Thanksgiving week through early January.

Closest Military Bases: USCG Station Brunswick, Naval Submarine Base Kings Bay, Ft. Stewart, Hunter Army Airfield, Naval Station Mayport, NAS Jacksonville

Honolulu, HI

Mele Kalikimaka takes on an epic size and scope at the Honolulu City Lights.  This free celebration started in 1985 and grows larger each year. 

But this is no ordinary Santa.  Nope.  This delightful experience puts the Hawaiian stamp on Christmas.  It begins with the Electric Light Parade to Shaka Santa and Tutu Mele greeting visitors from their perch in front of the Honolulu Hale (City Hall).  A 50 foot, decorated Norfolk Island pine tree, food trucks and more lights than you can count stretch around the building.  Inside, city departments compete for prizes with their decorated Christmas trees and locals compete with wreaths.

Hugh Beebower/PCS Adventures

Even the menehune make a magical appearance at the Honolulu City Lights.

We always took a trolly from Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam to the event. We purchased tickets through MWR.  You can drive and park along the street, but spots can be hard to find.

The celebration starts the week of Thanksgiving and runs through December.  Make sure you visit the Honolulu City Lights at least once during your time on the island!

Closest Military Bases:  USCG Sector Honolulu, Ft. Shafter, Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Camp Smith, USCG Air Station Barbers Point, Marine Corps Base Hawaii, Schofield Barracks

Annapolis, MD

Historic Annapolis transforms into a Hallmark-worthy holiday affair during Christmas.  All of the quaint shops decorate their store windows and the city puts up a giant community Christmas tree near Market House and City Dock.

Special events like the Chocolate Binge Festival help visitors get in the Christmas spirit.  Over at the Visitor’s Center, locals create amazing gingerbread houses that stay on display through mid-December.

Denise Sloan/PCS Adventures

The community Christmas tree brings a festive flair to downtown Annapolis.

Also don’t miss the Eastport Yacht Club’s Lights Parade at the harbor and Lights on the Bay at Sandy Point State Park. Events happen the week of Thanksgiving through December.

Closest Military Bases:  US Naval Academy, USCG Station Annapolis, Ft. Meade, US Coast Guard Yard (Baltimore), USCG Surface Forces Logistics Center (Baltimore)

West Point, NY

If you have ever enjoyed the cathedrals of Europe up close and personal, or wish to, you should visit the Cadet Chapel at the United States Military Academy (USMA). There you will find a Gothic Revival-style cathedral built by Italian masons. When you drive up to the church, you have a sense that you have just been transported to a very different place.

Why is Christmas not to be missed here? Its beautiful!  USMA Cadet Chapel houses one of the largest pipe organs in the world. In December, the annual performance of George Frideric Handel’s “Messiah” puts a spotlight on both the chapel and the organ.

Denise Sloan/PCS Adventures

The Cadet Chapel is beautiful year round, but especially at Christmas.

Every year (except COVID) for the last 65 years, local choirs, choral societies, and instrumentalists have been invited to participate in this lovely tradition. The chapel is decorated with greenery and candlelight.  The orchestra and organ music fill the air to the ceiling, and the choir sings emotive verses that fill the heart.

It's a moving performance to be sure. If you enjoy classical music, dressing up in your Sunday best, Christmas traditions, or simply sitting in a magnificent Gothic setting, and are within an hour of West Point, I strongly recommend attending. Details are posted on the West Point Cadet Chapel Facebook page. The event is free to the public.

Closest Military Bases:  US Military Academy, Stewart Army Airfield, USCG ANT Saugerties, Ft. Hamilton, USAREC New York City Battalion, USCG Station New York

Cleveland, OH

I don’t know what most of Cleveland looks like during the holidays, but The House from “A Christmas Story” should be a mandatory stop for anyone wanting a Red Ryder BB gun or a Major Award Leg Lamp.  Why?  Because you can buy one.  Really. Any time of the year.

For movie buffs, visiting this house provides a rare opportunity to reenact scenes from a beloved Christmas classic in the house where “A Christmas Story” was filmed.  You can touch anything in the house because everything is an exact replica of items that appeared in the movie.  You can even stay in the Bumpus House next door.  How’s that for a hands-on museum?

Jonathan Sloan/PCS Adventures

The alluring leg lamp still glows in the window where “A Christmas Story” was filmed.

The tour includes Ralphie’s house as well as the museum across the street.  We dropped a nice chunk of change in the gift shop where you can buy just about anything imaginable related to the movie.  Bonus—the gift shop contains all the things from other Christmas hits like “Elf”, “National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation” and “Home Alone”. 

Closest Military Bases: USCG Sector Great Lakes, USCG Station Cleveland Harbor, USCG MSU Cleveland, USAREC Cleveland Battalion, USCG Station Fairport, USCG Station Ashtablula, Defense Supply Center Columbus, USAREC Columbus Battalion, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base

Grapevine, TX

Even the Texas State Senate agrees Grapevine, Texas is the “Christmas Capital of Texas”.  In 2009, the legislature awarded this mid-sized city that designation for the 1,400 Christmas events that take place over 40 days!  Things really are bigger in Texas.

Some of the events include Santa’s North Pole Express, Carol of Lights, the Peace Plaza Ice Rink, the Grapevine Christmas Market, Parade of Lights, shopping in historic downtown Grapevine and ICE! at the Gaylord Texan.

Denise Sloan/PCS Adventures

Naturally Santa visits Grapevine, the Christmas Capital of Texas, every year.

We spent an afternoon wandering through the shops downtown, watching Christmas ornament glass blowing demonstrations and exploring all of the holly jolly stuff this mid-sized Texas town had to offer.  Lunch at Esparza’s Restaurant Mexicano capped a fun Christmas-filled trip.

Closest Military Bases:  NAS JRB Fort Worth, USAREC Dallas Battalion, Dyess Air Force Base, Sheppard Air Force Base, Red River Army Depot

Leavenworth, WA

We rang in the 2019 New Year in Leavenworth. The whole experience screamed picture perfect Hallmark movie.  The entire downtown glowed with Christmas lights. Quaint little shops offered unique treats and outdoor opportunities in the glistening snow abounded.

Army folks don’t confuse Leavenworth, Washington with Leavenworth, Kansas. This Leavenworth, nestled in the Cascade Mountains of Washington State, offers oodles of Bavarian charm and hospitality.

Mark A. Lee/Shutterstock

Downtown Leavenworth looks like a Hallmark Christmas movie set.

The hustle and bustle of Christmas shopping was finished during our visit but all of the cute shops remained open for browsing.  We saw everything from a Christmas store to a music box store.  We found plenty of food too from a chocolatier to a specialty cheese business.

We saved money on meals by eating in our RV so we could spend a little more on a bucket list experience --a sleigh ride!

I loved this part of our adventure in Leavenworth. There is a reason the song says “laughing all the way” – the joy from speeding along on a quiet of a blanket of snow and listening to sleigh bells ring made us all giddy.

Christmas in Leavenworth usually starts during the week of Thanksgiving and runs through February.  Get more information by reading my full story about Leavenworth.    

Closest Military Bases:  Naval Base Everett, Joint Base Lewis-McChord, USAREC Seattle Battalion, Fairchild Air Force Base, NAS Whidbey Island, Naval Base Kitsap

Our PCS Adventures team wishes you a Merry Christmas wherever you are this December!

P.S. Know about a great Christmas town near your installation?  Tell us about it!  We might just feature it in our next Christmas article.