A Brandywine Valley Christmas weekend gives you a lot of choices: du Pont mansions dressed for the holidays, a garden with hundreds of thousands of lights, a museum with a model train display and a Wilmington riverfront that glows at dusk. The challenge is fitting them together. The Brandywine Valley is a region covering parts of southeastern Pennsylvania and northern Delaware around Brandywine Creek. This guide shows where to go, eat and stay from Friday to Sunday, using the 2026 dates the venues have published.
Quick overview: all seven of the Brandywine Valley’s main holiday attractions overlap from December 3 through December 30, 2026, which makes that the broadest window for a weekend visit. Longwood, Winterthur, Hagley, the Brandywine Museum and the Wilmington riverfront also run into January 2027, but Nemours closes December 30 and the Holiday Lights Express ends December 31. Stay in downtown Wilmington for a city base, or in the Chadds Ford and Kennett Square countryside for an inn base.
What’s open: Brandywine Valley holiday dates for 2026
Stop
Where
2026 season
Hours to know
Holidays at Brandywine
Chadds Ford, PA
Nov. 14 to Jan. 10, 2027
9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily; until 8 p.m. Fri. to Sun., Dec. 18 to Jan. 3 (except Christmas Day)
A Longwood Christmas
Kennett Square, PA
Nov. 20 to Jan. 10, 2027
10 a.m. to 11 p.m. daily; timed tickets
Yuletide at Winterthur
Winterthur, DE
Nov. 21 to Jan. 3, 2027
Tue. to Sun., 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Holiday Nights Fri. and Sat. until 8 p.m. (none Dec. 26 or Jan. 1)
Noël at Nemours
Wilmington, DE
Nov. 24 to Dec. 30
Tue. to Sun., 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. (last entry 4 p.m.); Late Nights Dec. 5, 12, 19, 26 until 8 p.m.
Holidays at Hagley
Wilmington, DE
Nov. 27 to Jan. 3, 2027
10 a.m. to 4 p.m.; closed Wednesdays
Holiday Magic at Riverbright
Wilmington riverfront
Nov. 27 to Jan. 3, 2027
Lights on at dusk
Holiday Lights Express
Red Clay Valley, DE
Dec. 3 to 31
Evening trips on select dates; reservations required
Holiday exceptions: Brandywine, Hagley and Winterthur are closed on Christmas Day. On Christmas Eve, Brandywine closes at 1 p.m., Hagley at 2 p.m. and Winterthur closes early. Brandywine and Winterthur are also closed on Thanksgiving. Dates and hours were checked against the linked venue and tourism pages on November 7, 2026; confirm them before you book.
A Friday to Sunday Brandywine Valley Christmas itinerary
The Wilmington, DE riverfront decorated for the holidays
1Friday: arrive, then choose one evening plan
Check in, then pick one of these evening plans rather than trying to do them all:
Riverfront lights and dinner (default). Head to the Wilmington riverfront at dusk for the Holiday Magic display, which Visit Wilmington lists from November 27 to January 3. Then book dinner downtown, such as Bardea Food & Drink (see our Bardea review).
Estate after dark. Winterthur runs Holiday Nights on Fridays and Saturdays beginning November 27, open until 8 p.m. with candlelit tours,
