From November 20 through January 10, 2027, A Longwood Christmas will bring a space theme to the Kennett Square, Pennsylvania, estate. The seasonal display includes more than half a million outdoor lights and over 100 decorated trees across the grounds.
The theme leans hard into outer space, with stars, planets and galaxies worked into displays both indoors and outdoors, according to PhillyVoice. Longwood itself describes the season as inspired by “the mystery and majesty of the cosmos,” inviting visitors to “journey through an out-of-this-world display of stellar spectacles and luminous lights,” per Longwood Gardens.
An Observatory, a Telescope, and Two Rotating Firs
The Music Room will take on the look of an astronomer's observatory, with an 18-foot rotating Fraser fir as its centerpiece, according to MyChesCo. The room will also display a 1923 telescope once owned by Longwood founder Pierre S. du Pont, PhillyVoice reports. Outside, an illuminated shooting-star garland and metallic ornaments will decorate a 22-foot rotating Fraser fir on the Center Walk, per MyChesCo.
The Exhibition Hall will feature poinsettias arranged as a spherical galaxy, Longwood Gardens says. PhillyVoice reports that moss, Moravian stars and hanging orchids will also contribute to the room’s swirling effect. Elsewhere, the Visitor Center will show images taken by the Hubble and James Webb space telescopes. The Small Lake will be lit with blue and white stars, while shooting-star decorations and illuminated half-moon arches will line a Meadow Garden path, according to PhillyVoice.
Fountains, Trains and a Returning Tunnel of Lights
A tunnel illuminated by nearly 20,000 bulbs is returning, according to Longwood Gardens. At the Open Air Theatre, 750 water jets will move to holiday music in daily fountain shows, weather permitting, the gardens said in the release announcing the cosmic theme. The garden railway, which opened for the season in October, runs miniature trains past Longwood landmarks, PhillyVoice reports.
Visitors can also expect carolers and musicians on select evenings, along with conservatories filled with thousands of poinsettias, paperwhites and amaryllis, PhillyVoice reports. For something to sip, Longwood created a special holiday beer with Victory Brewing Company using ginger grown at the gardens, alongside hot chocolate and holiday pastries, according to Longwood Gardens.
Holiday Dining and Ticket Details
Food options extend to the 1906 Restaurant, which will offer special holiday dining, and the Fountain Room, where Taste of Christmas culinary experiences run December 20-24 and again December 26-30. Fountain Room dining requires reservations or additional tickets that do not include separate admission to the gardens, per Longwood Gardens.
Timed tickets are required for general admission and are already on sale, with Longwood warning that busy stretches of the season can sell out, according to the gardens' own FAQ page. Children ages 4 and under get in free without needing a ticket, while kids 5 and older require a timed ticket, the same source notes. PhillyVoice reports adult admission running $45 to $52 and child admission for ages 5-15 running $25 to $32, with free parking included. During the season, Longwood Gardens is open daily from 10 a.m. to 11 p.m., and the gardens advise that the outdoor lights are best seen after dusk.
A long-running holiday tradition
The cosmic theme is part of a seasonal tradition that dates back decades. Longwood Gardens says its first full-fledged Christmas display filled the Orangery and Exhibition Hall in 1957, and that it first announced an overall title for the display in 1980, calling it A Nutcracker Fantasy, according to Longwood Gardens. The gardens also say their energy-saving programs have included replacing incandescent bulbs with LEDs, but do not specify whether the 2026 display uses LEDs or report its energy consumption; that information is not identified on Longwood’s energy-reduction page. Longwood’s garden railway is one part of its seasonal experience. A separate regional attraction, the Brandywine Railroad model-train display at the Brandywine Museum of Art in Chadds Ford, celebrated 50 years of operation in 2022, according to the Brandywine Conservancy and Museum of Art.
Longwood Gardens is located at 1001 Longwood Road in Kennett Square, Pennsylvania, according to MyChesCo.
