Christmas in New England
 

Hello all~
We are two mid-50s empty nesters looking for the quintessential Norman Rockwell/Currier & Ives/Charles Dickens Christmas experience. This is our first experience not being with family, so we are hoping to make up for it with great atmosphere and potentially meeting other Christmas travelers to share the season with. We'll have about 4 weeks vacation time to burn starting mid-December. We are keen on history and would like to spend some time playing history tourist. Then, ideally, we'd like to find a festive place to spend Christmas with other travelers....chestnuts roasting on the open fire, mulled wine, signing carols, sharing good food...all the makings of a Hallmark channel movie. Maybe even throw in a few characters from the Waltons and the Bob Newhart show. Now that I've painted an impossibly quaint picture, here are the questions...

1- Suggestions for a B&B or similar place that ticks all the boxes for said Christmas celebration

2- Suggestions for places to visit that meet the historical and quaint requirements or are just ideal New England Christmas locations

3- Any other suggestions that would be festive and "mood setting."

Added info....we are probably flying into Boston and driving from there. We don't snow ski. We're Floridians. Our skis go in the water.

I actually haven't been to either of these events:
Portsmouth NH:
http://www.strawberybanke.org/events...ght-stroll.cfm
Kennebunkport, ME (easy drive from Portsmouth)
https://www.christmasprelude.com/

We live in a small NH town and like many small towns, there's a Christmas Eve service that is mostly carol singing and ends with a flame being passed to each person's candle. The lights are turned off and everyone sings Silent Night. If we're lucky, there is a light snow falling when we come out. I think Yankee magazine has done some stories on small town Christmas services. Our church is a typical white painted Congregational church but due to its age, the pews have doors at the ends to protect people from drafts.

Your skis will be in the water---albeit cold water-- in Boston at Christmas too. Usually no significant snow until late January/February.
Look further north for a picture postcard of Christmas with snow.


Here's another suggestion. May be a bit early for you but the quaint atmosphere sticks around.
http://christmasstroll.com/

I live in Nantucket, and while I don't like a lot of the "festivals" that the Chamber of Cimmerce dreams up, I do like Christmas Stroll.

There are nice decorations and lighting, the churches have Christmas fairs with cute stuff to buy and good things to eat, Santa arrives on a Coast Guard boat and parades up Main Street, there is carol singing in the streets, and some churches have candlelit services. It is certainly a big deal at my church, St Paul's Episcopal, but I confess that after my shift showing our Tiffany windows, I sneak around to the other churches to try their clam chowder. The Methodist chowder was great last year, while St Mary's RC was best the previous year. But wehave the best quiche! It's that kind of weekend.

Plus, most of the stores close soon after Christmas, and it is the one time of the year when there are actual bargains on Nantucket. Dining out can be hit or miss because a lot of staff have moved on to Stowe or Park City for their season, but you can still eat well.

If you want to be certain of snow, you have to go way north or way up high. We spent our 50th anniversary at Smugglers Notch ski resort in Vermont with our whole family. Plenty of snow but even though we were almost in Canada, we still had a rainy day.

If I were you, I would consider the Appalachian Mountain Club in Pinkham Notch, NH, where you stay in very simple accomodation and eat vast meals served family style with others who mostly find themselves away from family. The emphasis is on hiking, climbing, and skiing, but you can sit and read in front of a vast fire all day if you wish. It has always had snow because it is up high on MT Washington.

Sturbridge, MA is a must-see stop at Christmas.Sturbridge Village is "An 1830s New England Living History Museum" that is wonderful all times of the year but especially beautiful at Christmas. Their Christmas events are described as, "Escape the frenzy of a modern Christmas with an enchanted evening of gingerbread, roasted chestnuts, music, dance, and a sleigh ride (weather permitting).

Christmas by Candlelight at Old Sturbridge Village is an evening filled with New England holiday traditions, live musical performances, storytelling, sleigh rides, festive foods, a roaring bonfire, and strolls around the decorated Village Common. Be sure to visit North Pole Village where families will find Santa and his whimsical elves, Mrs. Claus’ Bake Shop, a magical talking Christmas tree, a kids’ holiday craft workshop, and an expanded G-scale train display. And do not miss the nightly tree lighting and the ever-popular gingerbread house contest!"

Small New England charm and a quaint area. I highly recommend. As for a stay I recommend, https://www.osv.org/lodging-packages.

The Bob Newheart Show opening credits used the Waybury Inn in East Middlebury, VT for the background. It would be a perfect Christmas setting.

My recommendation would be to try to stay at Longfellow's Wayside Inn, probably the oldest inn in America. It's very peaceful and the restaurant is excellent--great breakfasts. You can visit a working mill on the property and see the schoolhouse where Mary took her little lamb. The Inn is near Sudbury, MA.

But Sturbridge, the Wayside Inn , and Nantucket wont have snow and it is not guaranteed, though more likely, in Vermont.

Another tack would be a city Christmas. Friends with too many family in the area used to avoid conflict by spending Christmas Eve at the Ritz Carlton (the real Ritz Carlton, now the Taj) on the Public Garden in Boston. You could shop, enjoy the decorated houses on Beacon Hill, have a lovely dinner, then go to Emmanuel Church (famous singing) or Trinity Church, Copley Square (famous architecture) for a midnight service.

Woodstock Vermont might be what you are looking for. Woodstock is a picture perfect Vermont village, with a handful of nice restaurants, shops and lots of decorations at Christmas. There are several churches that do Christmas holiday carolling and such. Horse drawn sled rides are available - weather permitting. Many of the small towns in Vermont will do church suppers, holiday bazaars, etc. Snow by mid December is iffy, but likely.

Thank you all for the wonderful suggestions. I took notes and will begin looking into them all. Keep those ideas coming!

Well, you mention Norman Rockwell in your OP so that makes me think of Stockbridge, MA.

In early December they have a festival and they recreate the famous scene in Rockwell's painting.

https://stockbridgechamber.org/visit...-at-christmas/

Also, if you are passing through central Massachusetts you could stop at Tower Hill Botanical Gardens (home of the Worcester Horticultural Society). They host a Winter Reimagined every year from November to early January.

Here's last year's info (no info yet for this year):
http://www.towerhillbg.org/2016/09/2...d-even-better/

From Boston, my best suggestion is Vermont.

How do you feel about driving in snow though?

Sounds like Stowe, VT. and the Trapp Family Lodge.

Burlington is also pretty around Christmas time.

You might look into the following villages and towns:Cooperstown, NY, Saratoga NY, Litchfield, CT, Bethlehem, CT. Also for lodging you might checkout Winvian in Morris, CT