What to do in Williamsburg with a toddler?
 

My mother and I did an annual Williamsburg Christmas trip every year up until 3 years ago. She wants to celebrate the end of her chemo and go back to Wmburg the week before Christmas. I now have a 2.5yo and a 8mo baby. I would love to go with her, but I don't know that I'll be able to keep the kids entertained.

We have been there many times and don't plan on doing much more than walking through the town and seeing the decorations/illumination. What is there to do in the area that a 2 year old would enjoy? That part is totally new for me.

I would think a 2 year old would enjoy wandering around the pedestrian-only streets and buildings in Colonial Williamsburg.

I was just there over the weekend and there are plenty of gardens to run around and horses and other animals to see; you obviously wouldn't bring a 2 year old into a craftsman's shop, but she could run up and down the streets, see the horses and watch the fifes and drums.

Or, like my 8 year old, chase a "Colonial" kitty. . .


I actually think it is a doable spot!

Mary in D.C.

The VA Living Museum is a wonderful place for toddlers. Its only 1/2 hr away in Newport News. Lots of cool animals at eye level.

I second the Living Museum...the kids love it. My kids also love the hot cider and gingerbread in Colonial Williamsburg.

Have you thought about visiting Jamestown Settlement Museum? It's a living history museum with replicas of an Algonquin Indian village, the three ships on the James River, and the Jamestown Fort. There are costumed interpreters and you can walk in the dwellings, sit on the beds, experience the cooking, etc. It's much more hands-on than Colonial Williamsburg. Lots of things to touch and do that would inspire a little one. Many kids have a least a little understanding of Jamestown from the Disney movie Pocahontas, so it's interesting to take them to the real location and compare it to the movie.