From trips&getaways.com

'Tis the time to light up the season with festive events and holiday happenings. Here are some suggestions for local getaways that are certain to brighten your holiday, courtesy of www.tripsandgetaways.com.

Lights on the Bay

Sponsored by the Anne Arundel Medical Center, this annual drive-through holiday lights show features new exhibits as well as its ever popular Dino-lights, Winter Fairy Tale, Teddy Bear, and Maryland-themed exhibits. Runs through Jan. 1, 2009, from 5 to 10 p.m. Admission fee.

Contact: Call 443-481-3161 or visit www.visitannapolis.org.

Location: Sandy Point State Park, Route 50 by the Chesapeake Bay Bridge

Ocean City, Md., Winterfest of Lights

Visit the Winterfest Village where dazzling lights on winter nights will to put you in the mood for the holiday season. Enjoy hot chocolate inside the heated Yukon Cornelius tent, browse the Gift Shop for that special gift, and have your photo taken with Santa! Board the Winterfest Express and sing Christmas carols as you glide past spectacular lighted displays including the Twelve Days of Christmas and your favorite Fairy Tales, Jurassic Park and much more. This event runs through Jan. 1, 2009.

The admission to ride the train is $4 for those 12 years and older and FREE for those 11 years and younger. While in Ocean City take a drive through the Tunnel of Lights at the Inlet Lot lights boasting a nautical theme. Enjoy the Avenue of Trees on 15th – 32nd Streets.

Contact: www.ococean.com.

Location: Northside Park, 127th and the Bay, Ocean City, Md.

Yuletide at Winterthur Museum & Country Estate

View elegant interiors of the DuPont mansion bedecked in holiday finery and be inspired by dazzling holiday entertaining displays, concerts, how-to demonstrations, family activities and more. Come for the tour and stay for the day! Reservations recommended. $5 members; $22 nonmembers. Museum hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday-Sunday. Event runs through Jan. 4, 2009.

Contact: 800-448-3883 or visit www.winterthur.org.

Location: Route 52, six miles northwest of Wilmington, Del., and five miles south of U.S. Route 1.

Dressed for the Holidays in Valley Forge, Pa.

When it's the holiday season in the Valley Forge area and Montgomery County, Pa., the historic sites, villages, inns, malls and more are dressed in their holiday best.

Events run through Jan. 11, 2009.

Pottsgrove Manor, once the Pottstown summer home of ironmaster John Potts, showcases the elegance of a traditional 18th century English Christmas. On Dec. 14, the manor hosts its Colonial Candlelight Open House with Colonial music, costumed historians, period fare prepared by Susan Plaisted, and entertainment by the Tapestry Dance Ensemble.

The home of former Pennsylvania Governor Samuel Pennypacker, Pennypacker Mills in Schwenksville, will be wrapped in grand Victorian holiday style from Nov. 28 through Jan. 4. During the site's Victorian Christmas Open House on Dec. 13 costumed historians, as well as Santa and Mrs. Claus, greet guests who also witness toy candy making.

Ft. Washington's Hope Lodge has rooms furnished in the Colonial style (1743-1770) and in the Colonial Revival style (1922-1953). From Dec. 5 through 7, the mansion is trimmed with trees, lights and more.

Thirty-five themed Christmas trees, including one suspended from the ceiling; a multitude of Santa Clauses of many eras; and an extensive Christmas village decorate the seven-room Shearer Elegance Bed & Breakfast in Linfield.

An outdoor Christmas tree lighting at 7 p.m. on Nov. 28 celebrates the season in Skippack Village, along Route 73, in Skippack. Santa arrives to the joy of little children and choirs perform.

Contact: www.valleyforge.org.

Location: Valley Forge, Pa.

A Longwood Gardens Christmas

A Christmas fantasy awaits guests to Longwood Gardens, near Kennett Square, Pa., featuring dazzling floral displays, stunning trees, holiday music, 500,000 outdoor lights, dancing fountains and ice skating under the stars. Admission is by timed ticket only. Ticket prices are $16 for adults; $14 for seniors (62+), $6 for students (5-22), free for age 4 and under. This event runs through Jan. 11, 2009. Hours are 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.

Contact: www.longwoodgardens.org

Location: Kennett Square, Pa.

National ZooLights

ZooLights at the National Zoo in Washington, D.C. is a winter holiday event that is sure to be fun for the whole family. The National Zoo presents a display of thousands of sparkling lights featuring sculptures of many of the Zoo's most popular animals, including giant pandas, Asian elephants, gibbons, a sea lion, an octopus, and a Komodo dragon. Visitors at ZooLights will enjoy winter-themed crafts, ice sculpting demonstrations, choral groups, and storytellers.

Tickets: $6 for FONZ members, $10 for nonmembers, $20 for a member family pack of four tickets

Kids under two are free.Tickets are available at the Zoo's Visitor Center or by Ticketmaster. The event runs through Dec. 30.

Contact: 202-633-4800 or visit http://nationalzoo.si.edu

Location: National Zoo. Rock Creek Park, Washington D.C.

Berlin, Maryland's Victorian Christmas

Street lamps and store fronts trimmed in garland...the sound of a horsedrawn carriage clip-clopping down Main Street. Carolers singing traditional songs around the big Christmas tree in front of the Atlantic Hotel while the kids visit with Santa. It's Christmas the way it should be in Historic Berlin. Events run through Sunday, Dec. 21.

Contact: 410-641-2998 or visit www.berlinmdcc.org.

Location: Berlin, Md.

Garden of Lights at Brookside Gardens, Md.

Brookside Gardens brings the holiday season to life with more than 700,000 colorful lights. Enjoy a stroll outdoors along an easily accessible one-half mile walk that will take you through imaginative displays of the snowy Arctic winter, spring showers, summer blooming flowers and the falling leave of autumn. What would be more romantic than pausing at a beautifully lighted gazebo or enjoying musical dancing fountains, or walking hand-in-hand through a garden of illuminated flowers? But beware of the whimsical creatures who roam through the garden. You may encounter Nessie, the smoke-breathing Loch Ness monster, or a howling coyote, or perhaps even a polar bear. Perennial favorites are the kaleidoscope caterpillar and the croaking bullfrog. Event runs through Jan. 4, 2009.

Contact: 301-962-1400 or visit www.brooksidegardens.org.

Location: 1800 Glenallan Avenue, Wheaton, Md.

Christmas at Mount Vernon

George Washington's Mount Vernon Estate is joyfully decking the halls for "Christmas at Mount Vernon," a special daytime program offered from Thanksgiving Day weekend through the Twelve Days of Christmas. New this year are themed decorations, a gingerbread Mount Vernon by former White House pastry chef Roland Mesnier, historical chocolate-making demonstrations, 18th-century dancing, and even a Christmas camel just like George Washington had on the grounds during Christmas of 1787.

All programs are included in general admission: $13 for adults, $6 for youth (6-11), and free for children 5 and younger. Mount Vernon is open 365 days of the year, and hours are 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. during "Christmas at Mount Vernon." Event runs through Tuesday, Jan. 6, 2009

Contact: 703-780-2000; 703-799-8697 (TDD) or visit www.mountvernon.org

Location: George Washington's Mount Vernon Estate & Gardens, on George Washington Memorial Parkway, Mount Vernon, Va.

25th Anniversary of Holiday Festival of Trains

B&O Railroad Museum, Ellicott City, Md.

Bring the family down to the Ellicott City Station for the ALL NEW 2008 Holiday Festival of Trains. The star of this year's Festival in Ellicott City is a miniature Thomas the Tank Engine G-scale model layout along with a brand new custom-built, multi-level O-scale model train layout. Saturdays, December 13th & 20th, Santa Claus will greet visitors in station's very own red caboose. Children are invited to bring a letter to Santa that they can mail from the Ellicott City Station's telegraph office. Event runs through Sunday, Jan. 25, 2009, from Wednesday through Sunday, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Contact: 410-461-1945 or visit www.ecborail.org.

Location: B&O Railroad Museum, 2711 Maryland Ave., Ellicott City, Md.

Admission: $5 adults/$4 seniors/$3 children 2-12

A Civil War Christmas at the Shriver House

See how Christmas was celebrated during the Civil War while fathers, sons, and husbands were sepa The candlelight tour costs $10 for adults and $7 for children 12 and under. Space is limited and reservations are required. Event runs through Dec. 20 and runs on Saturdays, at 5, 7 and 9 p.m.

Contact: 717-337-2800 or visit www.shriverhouse.org.

Location: 309 Baltimore St., Gettysburg, Pa.

For more holiday events, visit www.tripsandgetaways.com.