Christmas Day 2024: What’s Open in the DC Region and Where to Dine?

On December 23, 2024By Littum

While hosting on Christmas Day can be stressful, fear not, some shops and restaurants will be open should disaster strike your dinner table.

It’s no secret that the holiday season can be full of stressors, especially when you’re playing host on Christmas Day and find yourself having to add an extra plate at the last minute, plus one at the dinner table.

Rest assured you won’t find yourself in too rough a place, as a good serving of storefronts and restaurants will remain open for the festive season.

Shops and pharmacies

The following stores will be open Christmas Day, Wednesday 25 December, according to The holiday seasonwhich tracks closures for many chain stores:

CVS Pharmacy — Many places will be open with normal opening hours, but some places may be closed or have reduced opening hours.
Walgreens — Many locations will be open with extended opening hours on Christmas Eve, but will have reduced opening hours on Christmas Day, which vary from location to location.
Fight — Most places open on a modified schedule from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
Safeway — Some locations will be open with reduced hours, with pharmacies closed.

The following stores will be closed Christmas Day:

Entertainment

If you’re not interested in the Christmas spirit and looking for something different, the cinema is a great substitute, especially with new releases that include the Bob Dylan-focused biopic “A Complete Unknown” or the horror drama “Nosferatu.”

Most movie theaters, including AMC and Regal Cinemas locations, will be open Christmas Day.

The following are among the DC-area restaurants open during the holiday, according to OpenTable:

Basic farmers — DC, Reston and Rockville locations
Fogo de Chao — Locations in DC, Maryland and Virginia
Pembroke — DC
Yardbird Table & Bar — DC
Succotash PRIME — DC
Gyu-Kaku – Arlington, Virginia
Ambar – Arlington, Virginia
Delhi Spice — Bethesda, Maryland

For more restaurants open Christmas Day in the DC area, check out OpenTable’s website. It is best to call restaurants before Christmas Day to confirm opening hours and availability.

When it comes to picking up a last-minute luxury gift, alas, you won’t be able to get it done at Pentagon City, Tysons Mall or that Clarksburg Outlets as everyone is closed on Christmas Day.

Transit

Getting around without a car on Christmas Day won’t be like a typical Wednesday commute. However, there are some possibilities.

Subway train working on a Sunday holiday schedule from 7:00 a.m. to midnight and Metro buses will run on a Sunday schedule.

Both VRE and MARC the trains do not run on Christmas Day.

For drivers on the I-95 Express Lanes, road operator Transurban said there will be no turnaround on Christmas Day, with lanes remaining northbound all day.

Roads and parkways

The open parkways are park roads open to pedestrians and cyclists and closed to motor vehicles. In June, the Montgomery County Planning Board voted unanimously to make its modifications, with extensions from Knowles Avenue to Cedar Lane, permanent.

While the decision saw the permanent parkway reduced by 0.7 miles, Fridays were also added to the planned weekend closures. It now reflects the same opening hours for the Sligo Creek Open Parkway.

The winter holiday schedule for 2024 for both parkways, according to Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commissionis Fridays at 9.00 to Sundays at 4 p.m

Local services

DC area government offices and courts will be closed Christmas Day.

Waste and recycling collections

If you’re anxious to clear your home of disastrous Christmas food creations or want to get rid of those torn-down gift wrappers, wait an extra day as the DC region pushes back trash and recycling days by one day.

This means that if your regular collection is to be delivered on the Wednesday that falls on Christmas, you must wait until Thursday. Typically, pickup continues on Monday and Tuesday on a normal schedule, with one-day pushback continuing for the remainder of the specified week.

For full details, be sure to check in with your county’s waste management plan.

Postal and parcel deliveries

If you expect a package before December 25th, luck will not be on your side on Christmas Day.

While the postal service and other major package delivery services will not offer regular deliveries or be open to retail services, UPS and FedEx will be available for customized critical services which include temperature sensitive, urgent, valuable or hazardous products.

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