Santa Claus Is Coming To Alexandria: Where To See Him This Christmas

ALEXANDRIA, VA — Visits and pictures with Santa are treasured traditions for many Alexandria families. For them, there’s nothing quite like seeing jolly old St. Nick live and in person.

In Alexandria, kids have several chances:

• Breakfast with Santa, weekends in December at Ada's on the River from 8 a.m. to 10 a.m. at Joe Theismann's Restaurant and Mia's Italian Kitchen
• Scottish Christmas Walk Parade: 11 a.m. on Dec. 2
• Del Ray Holiday Tree Lighting: 6 p.m. on Dec. 4
• Waterskiing Santa: 1 p.m. on Dec. 24
• Santa Photos at Fashion Centre at Pentagon City: Nov. 17 to Dec. 24
• Pet Photos with Santa at Fashion Centre at Pentagon City: Dec. 3 and 10
• Photos with Santa at Springfield Town Center: Nov. 11 to Dec. 24
• Pet Photos with Santa at Springfield Town Center: Mondays from Nov. 13 to Dec. 18

Santa arrived Nov. 5 at Bass Pro Shops and Cabela’s Santa’s Wonderland and will hold court through Christmas Eve. Reservations are encouraged.

Santa will also be at Macy’s stores in New York City, Chicago, San Francisco, Philadelphia and Orlando. In the Metro Center Macy's in Washington, DC, Santa won't be paying a visit, but there's a holiday window display from Nov. 16 to Jan. 1.

Santa is coming to Nordstrom and Nordstrom Rack stores on Black Friday, which is Nov. 24 this year. In Northern Virginia stores, kids can begin writing letters to Santa starting on Nov. 24 through Dec. 20 or attend a holiday breakfast on select dates.

JC Penney stores, including stores in Springfield and Fairfax, are offering professional portraits with Santa through Dec. 18.