Rally the corgi has sniffed out the Christmas events for kids in Upper Marlboro for 2026. The county’s Winter Festival of Lights celebrates 40 years at Watkins Regional Park from November 27, and Darnall’s Chance fills its historic rooms with gingerbread houses on weekends into mid-December. We check every date on the host’s own website and link straight there. For the rest of the state, see our Maryland Christmas events for kids guide.
What Rally found in Upper Marlboro
- 2 Christmas events for kids in Upper Marlboro
- Festival of Lights: nightly Nov 27 to Jan 1, Watkins Regional Park
- $20 per car, free on New Year’s Day, wagon rides online
- Gingerbread show: Darnall’s Chance, Fri to Sun, Nov 27 to Dec 13
- Dates checked on Prince George’s County Parks pages on Nov 11
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Ticketed and paid Christmas events for kids in Upper Marlboro
Admission, tickets or a fee apply. Where a host has not posted a price yet, the listing says so.
Event hosts: free events are listed first. The #1 spot puts your event at the top of this page.Inquire about the #1 spotAdd your event for free
Drive-through lights, 40th year
Winter Festival of Lights at Watkins Regional Park
- When: Nightly from Friday, November 27, 2026 through Friday, January 1, 2027, 5 pm to 9:30 pm (entrance opens 5:30 pm); open Christmas Day and free on New Year’s Day
- Where: Watkins Regional Park (entrance on Route 202), 301 Watkins Park Drive, Upper Marlboro, MD 20774 (opens in maps)
- Cost: $20 per standard car, paid at the gate; wagon rides $15 per adult and $10 per child, booked online
- Ages: All ages
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Prince George’s County Parks marks 40 years of its Winter Festival of Lights with more than 90 new displays strung along the drive through Watkins Regional Park, so families can stay warm in the car while the scenes glide past.
For a slower look, the hayrides return with online tickets, and the gate stays open on Christmas Day before going free for everyone on New Year’s Day.
Parent tip: Book wagon rides ahead online and arrive at the gate an hour before your ride time, since missed reservations are not refunded.
New Upper Marlboro events every week
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Rally’s Christmas research
Rally the corgi has 1 more Upper Marlboro event researched for you.
- New events every week We research new events daily and send you one email a week with the new ones we find in Upper Marlboro.
- Exclusive access to free events Find the free Christmas events in Upper Marlboro before they fill up.
- Unlock the filters Find Santa visits, free events and weekend plans in one tap.
- Rally’s Christmas Eve Express and a free advent calendar Get early access to Rally the corgi’s Christmas Eve tracker, plus a free digital advent calendar to count down to Christmas.
- One-tap add to calendar Save any event to your Google, Apple or Outlook calendar so you never miss it.
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Gingerbread houses, America 250 theme
Gingerbread House Contest and Show at Darnall’s Chance
- When: Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays from November 27 to December 13, 2026, noon to 5 pm
- Where: Darnall’s Chance Historic Site and Museum, 14800 Governor Oden Bowie Drive, Upper Marlboro, MD (opens in maps)
- Cost: $2 per person, children 4 and under free
- Ages: All ages
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Local bakers fill the rooms of Darnall’s Chance, an 18th-century house museum in the heart of Upper Marlboro, with entries in the annual gingerbread house contest.
This year’s theme salutes America’s 250th, so kids can hunt for candy-covered colonial cottages and famous landmarks built entirely from gingerbread and icing.
Parent tip: Kids under 5 get in free, so it makes an inexpensive weekend afternoon stop before the lights at Watkins open at dusk.
New Upper Marlboro events every week
Rally researches Christmas events in Upper Marlboro daily and updates this page with new events. Enter your email to get a weekly update with new events in Upper Marlboro.
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We check every event above on the host’s own page for the date, time and cost, plus the things parents ask about, like sign-ups and ages. Looking for a Santa train instead? Those are on our Maryland Christmas train rides page.
See every event on a December calendar
Plan your December
When each Upper Marlboro Christmas event for kids happens
Pair them on one weekend: gingerbread houses at Darnall’s Chance in the afternoon, then the drive through the Festival of Lights after dark.
- Winter Festival of Lights at Watkins Regional ParkUpper Marlboro · Nov 27 to Jan 1
- Gingerbread House Contest and Show at Darnall’s ChanceUpper Marlboro · Nov 27 to Dec 13
Looking further afield? Our Maryland Christmas events for kids guide lists every confirmed event in the state, and we have city guides for Bowie, Annapolis, Laurel and Severna Park. The national search sorts every event by distance from your town.
A story for the drive home
A morning with Santa or an evening of holiday stories tends to end the same way: tired kids, a long drive and one more book before bed. Our picture book follows Rally the corgi on his first train ride to see his grand-paw-rents, and every page is painted by hand. If your family is spending December missing someone, it was written for that too. For the car, print our free corgi and train coloring pages.
A bedtime story after seeing SantaRally Takes the Train is a five-minute rhyming picture book about a corgi’s first ride on a California train, hand-painted in watercolor. $16.99 on Amazon, ages 0 to 8.
Buy on AmazonKeep the Christmas magic going: track Rally the corgi on Christmas Eve, print free Christmas coloring pages, learn how to say Merry Christmas in 100+ languages, find train museums to visit with kids, or browse Christmas events in every Maryland city.
Upper Marlboro Christmas events for kids: questions parents ask
What are the best Christmas events for kids in Upper Marlboro this year?
Rally Takes the Train has confirmed 2 Christmas events for kids in Upper Marlboro for 2026: the Winter Festival of Lights at Watkins Regional Park and the Gingerbread House Contest and Show at Darnall’s Chance.
When is the Festival of Lights at Watkins Regional Park in 2026?
Nightly from Friday, November 27, 2026 through Friday, January 1, 2027, 5 to 9:30 pm, with the entrance on Route 202 at 301 Watkins Park Drive. It is open Christmas Day.
How much is the Watkins Festival of Lights?
$20 per standard car, paid at the gate, and free on New Year’s Day. Wagon rides are $15 per adult and $10 per child, bought online.
When is the Darnall’s Chance gingerbread house show?
Fridays to Sundays from November 27 to December 13, 2026, noon to 5 pm, at 14800 Governor Oden Bowie Drive. Tickets are $2, and children 4 and under are free.
Who do I contact about these Upper Marlboro holiday events?
Watkins Regional Park at WSOinfo@pgparks.com for the Festival of Lights, and Darnall’s Chance at darnallschance@pgparks.com for the gingerbread show.
Are there Christmas train rides for kids in Maryland?
Yes. Santa trains and holiday train rides have their own guide: Rally Takes the Train’s Maryland Christmas train rides page.
How do you confirm these events?
We list an event only after we find this season’s date on the host’s own website or an official city or tourism calendar. We last checked Upper Marlboro on November 11, 2026. Rally is also contacting each organizer to confirm details like parking, restrooms and bad-weather plans.
Event names belong to their hosts. Rally Takes the Train is a family picture book and is not affiliated with, sponsored by or endorsed by any host listed here. Confirm dates, times and prices on each host’s own site before you go.