10 Things to Do in Charleston in December

Plans to see and do in Charleston abound during all seasons and months of the year. However, December is a very busy month in all parts of the world because of the Christmas festivities. In the case of this city it is exactly that, as there is a gigantic diversity of activities for adult, children and family entertainment.

Read on through this compilation to get a clear idea of the things you could do with your day to day life during your visit to Charleston, South Carolina.

December is a month defined in large part by the food that characterises all celebrations and at the same time this is a city known throughout the country for its maritime and river culture.

That's why booking one of the Charleston boat tours is a great way to fill some of your Christmas days in this part of South Carolina. In fact, if you can choose an option that offers evening cruises with food included, even better.

Prices for these types of buffet dinners with live music and entertainment can vary greatly depending on the transportation company you choose. What I can assure you is that weekends are highly sought after and the best thing to do is to book your place in advance.

Adults usually pay a little more than children and you can't expect the special dinners on Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve to command the same prices as a regular Friday night outing. For the standards of dress, the service offered and the length of the tour are very different. In the case of an ordinary Friday, everything is much more informal and the ride usually lasts for three hours at the most.

The entire region known as the American Deep South, stretching from Louisiana to South Carolina, is filled with plantations that served as important centres of the slave economy for a couple of centuries. All that changed, fortunately, with the Civil War, but over the decades these places have mutated into a real tourist attraction.

So one of the best plantation tours from Charleston is one that takes you to the Magnolia Plantation. This property is known for having one of the most beautiful private gardens in the southern United States and right in December they host an event called the Children's Villa that is not to be missed.

Basically, it is the staging of some 10 child-sized temporary buildings inspired by Christmas scenes such as Santa's workshop or a gingerbread factory.

Most commonly, this activity runs from late November until New Year's Eve and the best part of the whole thing is that admission to Children's Villa is free. This is provided you have paid for a guided tour of the plantation gardens as well as the main residence.

Across the river again in the direction of Mount Pleasant, at the southern end of that town, a Christmas market known locally as the Old Village Holiday Fest takes place on weekends in December.

It is an open-air community event that takes place along Pier St with a very interesting offer of local products. Always with food trucks, live music, children's entertainment and a very noticeable Christmas atmosphere.

It's a good plan if you're looking to get a taste of how locals in the greater Charleston area celebrate Christmas, beyond the typical Parades that take place at iconic spots around the city.

Enjoying the cultural buzz that a local theatre can offer when you visit a place is always a good idea. Thanks to the Dock Street Theater in Charleston's French Quarter , you can see all sorts of reinterpretations of Christmas movies in a theatrical setting.

Most commonly, these performances are scheduled for weekends, Thursday through Sunday. Prices are not extremely cheap, as they almost always depend on the amount of staging effort involved, as well as the size of the cast.

Visiting a place like this can feel like a bad idea if there are language limitations due to the fact that you don't understand English. However, the reality is that these are very visual shows that are friendly to even a small child.

So they are a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to participate in a Christmas theatrical tradition. Which usually takes place in such medium-sized cities all over the country. Moreover, December is the ideal month of the winter season because the cultural agenda of the theatres chooses it as the preferred time of the year to develop such theatrical projects.

Charleston's dining scene is one of the most interesting in the American South in that it seeks to balance Southern culinary identity with a subtle elegance that ends up putting a 180-degree twist on any native dish.

The Dickens Dinners are just that, a series of four-course dinners held every weekend in December at a restaurant called Circa 1886. It is located in the Wentworth Mansion, one of the most beautiful historic buildings in the city.

It is a relatively elegant event, so it is best to dress appropriately if you want to reserve a seat for you and all your companions. Please note that it also consists of a dinner that will be much more expensive than any less exclusive alternative.

The proximity of this restaurant to the most iconic sites of Charleston's peninsular South Charleston, where the historic district is located, makes it a good place to close or open the best guided tours of Charleston's tourist heart.

As free, family-friendly entertainment options abound throughout December in Charleston, you won't be surprised to learn that there's a maritime parade of Christmas-lit holiday boat floats through the Cooper River and Charleston Harbour and then on to the mouth of the neighbouring Ashley River.

This is an annual event organised by the Charleston City Council's cultural affairs department and involves all manner of local boats decorated from bow to stern with as many Christmas lights as possible.

It almost always happens in the middle of the month, between the 15th and the 24th. But it all depends on what the city council decides about the dates of the Christmas weekends.

Visibility from the Charleston waterfront usually starts around 7:30 pm and three places that are perfect to be with your family at that time are the Battery, the White Point Garden and the famous Joey Riley Waterfront Park.

As much of your evening will still be free after this little entertainment, it would be great if you opt to hire one of the best carriage tours of Charleston through the cobblestone streets of the French Quarter.

This is due to the fact that the closer it gets to Christmas Eve, the more likely it is that the horse-drawn carriage drivers will be dressed as Christmas characters, ranging from lots of elves to a plump and familiar Father Christmas.

Within Charleston County itself, on the other side of the Cooper River, there is an annual parade filled with Christmas-themed illuminated flo ats. It all takes place in the community of Mount Pleasant and is known as the Mount Pleasant Christmas Light Parade.

This parade, or parade as it is called in the United States, takes place along Coleman Boulevard. This is an arterial road that runs east-west through the part of this quiet and friendly town closest to the Charleston peninsula.

It is usually held in early December, on the first or second Sunday of the month. It's a very family-friendly atmosphere, free to attend and completely full of Christmas spirit. That's why it's one of the best things to see or do in Charleston with kids if you're visiting for the holidays.

The event almost always starts around 5:30pm and for this reason I advise you to cross the Arthur Ravenel Jr. Bridge towards the Pleasant Seaport Pier well in advance.

In this part of town there are other interesting attractions such as the Patriots Point Naval Museum that can entertain the beginning of your Christmas afternoon.

Seafood is one of the mainstays of the food culture of coastal cities in the United States. In the case of Charleston, oysters have been one of the most important since pre-war times.

Most restaurants, as long as they are not a cafeteria, usually offer fresh oysters for tasting to their clientele. Especially in December, as the end of the autumn season and the beginning of winter is marked by the proliferation of these delicious marine molluscs.

Oyster House Seafood Restaurant is an indisputable reference when it comes to alternatives for eating fresh and large oysters in the historic heart of Charleston, as its ambience has a very interesting charm.

Some nearby plantations, such as Boone Hall, also host annual festivals that focus on live music, craft spirits and a festive, holiday atmosphere while everyone enjoys a couple dozen oysters.

The fact that oysters are plentiful during December, January and February in all of the city's establishments means that the price of oysters is much cheaper than at other times of the year. So venturing out to try them when you feel like it is one of the things to see or do in Charleston during the winter if you're looking to save a little on your budget.

If you've rented a car for your holiday stay in Charleston, you can't miss another of Charleston's great Christmas spectacles. This is a festival of lights and Christmas decorations that takes place annually at James Island County Park, located in the area south of the peninsula that contains Charleston's historic downtown.

Father Christmas, the reindeer and sleigh, the elves' workshop and lots of Snowmans are some of the characters that take on a life of their own thanks to the light manipulation of these impressive sculptures that are displayed along a route of almost 7 kilometres in length.

Other activities around the drivable route include a visit to some gingerbread houses and sand sculptures, as well as a cosy evening stroll through the public areas of this municipal park.

The little ones in the house can have their pictures taken with Father Christmas if they wish, but what I can recommend is that this is one of the best things to see or do in Charleston at Christmas if you decide to visit on a weekday. On weekends it tends to get crowded with both locals and tourists looking for children's entertainment events.

Knowing that maritime life is so important to Charleston's culture, it's understandable that the city's most famous New Year's Eve party takes place on a cruise ship in the middle of the Cooper River and Charleston Harbour.

But what's really interesting is that it's not just any ship - it 's the USS Yorktown, a retired aircraft carrier that served in both World War II and the Vietnam War.

It feels like an open-air nightclub, as it's filled with music and champagne is overflowing from the moment you walk through the entrance. This is ideal for those who are looking for a party atmosphere, but still comfortable to celebrate the arrival of a new year.

Don't expect a big meal at this event, as it's really more of a celebration in the style of a moderately elegant party atmosphere than a family buffet.

If you're looking to entertain yourself on December 31, you always have the option of taking a ride on the tour bus that tours Charleston's most interesting landmarks as a sort of farewell to the holiday season.

Charleston maintains an average temperature during December that is second to none to cities further south such as Miami or Savannah. The average high is around 22 degrees Celsius and the average low is no lower than 8 degrees Celsius.

However, bear in mind that the weather is defined by its changeability throughout the 21st century and on more than one occasion temperatures have reached negative degrees Celsius, with the potential for snowfall in late December.

Because of the temperatures I mentioned earlier, I recommend packing warm coats and know that long trousers could be your best ally to keep you comfortable in all kinds of contexts. Water activities may be out of the picture, considering that the water temperature can be unbearable for those who are sensitive to the cold.

Charleston is an important city in the United States, there is no doubt about that. In fact, it is the second most populated city in the state of South Carolina.

However, it is still a good alternative for those looking for a tourist destination that is not overcrowded. It's a picturesque and architecturally unique place, but it's a second-rate destination when compared to the number of visitors who go to New York or Las Vegas.

So you can be confident that your holiday visit to Charleston won't be marked by the hassle of waiting in lines everywhere or dealing with overwhelming traffic to get around the city.

As for the prices you might find in Charleston during December, you should know that they will be a little higher than they are during the rest of the year. Although this is logical for the simple fact that the holiday season is expensive in all parts of the world, touristically speaking. It all depends on the level of luxury of the hotel you choose and the number of companions that depend on your pocket on the trip.