Leavenworth Washington - Christmas Town USA

Fresh snow. Kids laughing and sledding down the hill. Cute store fronts and festive lights. It’s hard to beat Leavenworth at Christmas.

My family started making the annual trip at Christmas time a couple of decades ago following a family wedding. My mom was looking for a good place to relax and recover from the event. Little did she know we would still be making the trip these many years later.

As soon as Thanksgiving is over, I begin to check the Leavenworth webcams hoping for snow. We almost always find it when we arrive. A couple of times there was so much snow it took us a few extra hours to get there. A couple of times we arrived to rainy wet roads.

Always when we’re there we enjoy a few days relaxing and spending time with our family. We get to stop the rush of activities for a couple of days and enjoy Christmas. Doing this in a winter wonderland just makes it that much better.

The town can be very crowded during the day. Leavenworth has become a popular destination in December. We prefer to walk around in the evening after most of the shops have closed. There are still lots of people and lots of kids playing in the snow, but not the overwhelming crush that you find earlier in the day. It feels very festive and relaxed.

By far my favorite time to walk downtown is early in the morning. At dawn the town is fully lit up. Most people are still asleep, and we nearly have the place to ourselves. If there was any snow overnight, it’s fresh and clean with no footprints or tire tracks.  I can slow down and take all the pictures I want.  

Back at the house that we rent we enjoy puzzles, games, good food, and just hanging out with our family. We take some time each year to read the Christmas story from the Bible, sing a few Christmas carols, and exchange some small gifts.

Then of course there’s playing in the snow, enjoying the hot tub, decorating cookies…

It’s my favorite part of Christmas, and it’s easy to see why we come back every year.