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Sparkle! An Outdoor Family Event
Friday evenings: November 24, December 8, 22
Enjoy Blithewold’s marshmallow-roasting-Christmas-carol-singing-cocoa-sipping-strolling-through-the-twinkling-garden-paths-fun-for-the-whole-family event! Free Hot Cocoa! S’mores kits are 1 for $2, and 3 for $5 (a part of the proceeds benefits the Boy Scouts) Carol-singing around the fire performances at 6 and 7 pm. The gardens and house are fragile and can suffer from too many visitors. So, there are timed entrances at 5 pm, 6 pm and 7 pm. Pre-registration is required.
$16 Adults, $3 Children (3 years and older). $36 Family (2 Adults and 2 Kids)
Music in the Living Room
Select Saturdays & Sundays in December. Enhance your visit to Blithewold and enjoy the holiday decorations in the Mansion by attending our Music in the Living Room Series!
Saturday:
Nov, 25 – Mary Audette from Barnacle
Dec, 02 – Classic Winds
Dec, 9 – Enigmatica
Dec, 16 – Barry Brown, Acoustic guitarist
Dec, 23 – The Ivy Leaf
Dec, 30 – Mary King, Harp / Fiddles
Sunday:
Dec, 3 – Laszlo Gardony, Jazz Pianist
Dec, 10 – Silver Bells
Dec, 17 – Nancy Hood, Mezzo Soprano with accompanist Faye Maris
Concerts are included with regular admission $15 Adults, $6 Youth 6-17, $32 Family (2 adults, 2 youths). Seating is on a first come, first served basis. Reserved seats can be held for an additional $2 fee.
Holiday Open House
Start the season with the Newport Historical Society’s annual Holiday Open House. Visit the 1739 Colony House on Washington Square Tour and hear hymns performed by costumed interpreters that were once sung in colonial Newport. A handout with lyrics will be provided, audience participation is encouraged. Admission is free, donations are welcome. Christmas in Newport’s official opening and tree lighting ceremony in Washington Square follows.
Christmas at Coggeshall
Get into the holiday cheer the 1790’s way at “Christmas at Coggeshall!” Enjoy hot apple cider, authentic Christmas cookies from 1796, crafts, caroling, games, and shopping. Add some holiday spirit to your home by purchasing your Christmas tree at Coggeshall. Our gift shop is stocked with our own maple syrup and honey, historic games, toys, and our brand new magnets and T-shirts.
Admission is $7 for adults, $5 for kids 12 and under, seniors, and active military, and free for kids under 4.
UnDecked Halls
Saturdays, December 2, 9, 16 & Wednesday, December 27
Enjoy an authentic view inside a Newport mansion in winter. Heiress Doris Duke spent Christmas in sunny Hawaii far away from Rough Point, her Newport estate. Experience the quiet house, see the decorated staff wing, and hear about Miss Duke’s tropical holiday. Learn how Rough Point’s winter caretaking traditions have remained the same for the past half century. Tour the first floor and enjoy refreshments in the staff dining room, not normally open to the public. Tours offered every 1/2 hour.
$15 Adults, Free for Children 12 and under
Christmas at the Castle
The aroma of the home baked treats will fill Smith’s Castle along with the spices of mulled cider and the scents of the season. Enjoy some cider, cookies, and music of the season. Meet Father Christmas! Bring home special items from the popular Docent Bake sale and ornament sale. View the Gingerbread house made by Exeter Job Corps Academy culinary students. Children will enjoy a craft table, Christmas cookie decorating and face painting. Chat with Castle Docents dressed in Colonial attire. Learn about the tradition of Mistletoe and the origin of a still popular Christmas favorite.
Enjoy live entertainment! Saturday:
12.30-2.00 pm Dulcimer players and Sheila Reynolds
2.00- 3.15 pm Brown University Madrigal Singers (a Cappella group)
3.15-4.00 pm Sheila Reynolds, on guitar, will play Christmas carols
Sunday:
12-2pm Jesse Liam band (Jesse will be collecting donated new unwrapped toys for those in need)
2-4 pm Sheila Reynolds and Mrs. Claus
Admission: $6 Adults, $3 Children 6-12, Free for Children 5 and under. $20 Family maximum charge.
Felicity’s Christmas: An American Girl Doll Celebration
Girls and their American Girl Dolls are invited to bring their moms to take a step back to the late 1700s and learn what the holiday was like for young girls through “Felicity’s Christmas Surprise.” Felicity will be on display in her beautiful gown and accessories that girls would have worn at that time. Enjoy Christmas carols and seasonal goodies, prizes, raffles and a favor to take home. Share your wishes with Santa and take a photo. See the decorations throughout the house and visit the gift shop, stocked with special presents for all. Two seatings at 12:30 and 2:30 p.m. Limited availability.
$10 Adults, $5 Youth 10+, Free for Children under 10
Holiday Open House and Santa’s Workshop
The Rhode Island Historical Society invites the community to visit the Museum of Work & Culture for a free annual Holiday Open House, offered as part of Woonsocket’s Main Street Holiday Stroll. In attendance will be the North Pole Postman, whose latest book, The North Pole Postman Visits Rhode Island – in which Santa’s postman “Post” Mark visits sites across the Ocean State to collect letters from children – features the Museum of Work & Culture. “Post” Mark will be at the MoWC from 1 to 3pm to sign books and help children write letters that he will then bring to the North Pole. Visitors are also invited to decorate cookies from Wright’s Dairy Farm & Bakery and help Santa’s elves build and test toys in their workshop. Children who help the elves will be entered in a raffle to win a toy train set. Visitors may also tour the MoWC, which will be decked in its holiday finest, while enjoying cookies, hot cocoa, and performances by Woonsocket’s strolling entertainers. The MoWC gift shop will also offer a 20% discount throughout the day.
Santa Sundays
Santa Claus visits The Breakers, The Elms and Marble House on successive Sunday afternoons in December to listen to your children’s wish lists. Bring the kids and your camera for a great photo op! Admire the glitter of gold and the sparkle of silver as you tour the mansions all decked out in Yuletide finery. Santa’s visit is from 12 p.m. – 3 p.m.
December 3: The Breakers
December 10: Marble House
December 17: The Elms
Admission for Adults is $24 at The Breakers and $17.50 at The Elms or Marble House. Youth 6-17 are $8 at each house. Children under 6 are always free. A special Winter Passport ticket providing daytime admission to all 3 houses is $30 Adults, $10 Youth 6-17 & Free for Children under 6.
A Christmas Family Celebration
Enjoy readings of “Santa Mouse” for kids, visits with Santa, family portraits in front of the tree! Hearthside is known for its beautiful holiday decorations. Each room is elaborately decorated with Victorian ornamentation of lace and gold, festive garlands, and countless poinsettias. The festive atmosphere is enhanced with live seasonal music and caroling, homemade cookies and hot cider, and a gift shop stocked with holiday gifts.
$10 Adults, $5 Youth 10+, Free for Children under 10