An Early New England Christmas

Roaring fires, festive foods, and early New England holiday traditions will help us experience what Christmas was like in the 17 and 1800s.

Our first stop will be at Salem Cross Inn for their Fireplace Feast that will provide an authentic colonial experience. This special dining event features a 1700s style feast that is prepared on the open hearth of a great fieldstone fireplace. Relax by the fire or lend a hand as dinner is prepared for you, colonial style. See the prime rib roasted ‘to a turn’ (as the only known authentic Roasting Jack still operating in America rotates slowly over a crackling fire of wild cherry logs). Help make the apple pie! Stir the chowder as it bubbles in the antique cast iron cauldron. The day’s menu will consist of: Prime Rib, Chowder of the Sea, Homemade Rolls and Muffins, Herbed Roasted Potatoes, Spinach Pie, Butternut Squash, and Fresh Made Apple Pie with a Dollop of Fresh Whipped Cream. There will also be hors d’oeuvres and a choice of a complimentary drink (hot mulled cider or hot mulled wine).

The day’s festivities will continue at Old Sturbridge Village for their Christmas by Candlelight event. Here, you can learn about cherished holiday traditions including: roasting chestnuts, yule logs, mistletoe, and more! Also, be sure to check out demonstrations of period holiday baking and cider mulling, as well as tin-making, pottery and 19th-century printing. Victorian carolers will stroll around the Village Common singing traditional carols. The Village Common and the buildings around it are transformed into a magical, picturesque nod to Christmases past. Decorations feature twinkling lights, glowing candles, fresh evergreen garlands and wreaths, and a 40- foot Village Christmas tree. Rooms in the Salem Towne House show Christmas decorations like that of the 1830s, 1850s, and 1870s. The Parsonage decorations are inspired by A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens. Explore these buildings and more during your visit.