Category: Connecticut Travel

The Wilton Historical Society’s annual Great Trains exhibit features many layouts and a wide range of makes and gauges of model trains traversing scenic local landscapes. There are many different model train layouts winding through tiny towns with a variety of different kinds of buildings, tunnels, and even a working Ferris wheel! The display enchants visitors of all ages with lots of buttons to push and knowledgeable “train engineers” on hand to “talk trains.”

Take the children in your life to an entrancing afternoon with trains and holiday excitement. Wilton Historical’s historic 18th and 19th-century buildings are charmingly decorated and transformed into a train-lovers delight with many different model train layouts winding through tiny towns with a variety of different kinds of buildings, tunnels, and all sorts of delightful animals showing up in unexpected places! The displays enchant visitors of all ages with lots of buttons to push and knowledgeable “train engineers” on hand to “talk trains”.

Thrill to the sight of dozens of charming tiny buildings, people, and activities in this amazing show village. Teeming with skaters, children sledding, horses pulling wagons, swans swimming, and even Ebenezer Scrooge in his gloomy house!

The trains are open Wednesday to Saturday from 10:00 – 4:00, and Sundays 12:00 – 4:00. The Great Trains Holiday Show will through Monday, January 17, 2021. Open half-day (10:00 – 1:00) on Friday, December 24, Friday, December 31, and closed December 25 and January 1. Admission is free for members of the Society; $5 per non-member child and $10 for non-member adults.

Find out details at www.wiltonhistorical.org or phone 203-762-7257.

Brew up a pot of your favorite tea and join Keeler Tavern Museum & History Center’s Catherine Prescott and Fraunces Tavern Museum’s Mary Tsaltas-Ottomanelli to explore the history of tea at “Tavern Tastings: Tea”! In this virtual program, on December 14 beginning at 6:30pm, Prescott and Tsaltas-Ottomanelli will discuss the beverage’s journey from Asia to Europe and the Americas, as well as its unique role in the American Revolution and the founding of the United States. They’ll also share details about the types of tea available to colonial Americans and how tea would have been served and consumed in homes and taverns of the period.

“Tavern Tastings,” now in its second season, is KTM&HC’s popular collaborative program with Fraunces Tavern Museum in New York City. Known for its informal, conversational-style format, “Tavern Tastings” is a unique way for participants to learn about the fascinating historical and cultural contexts around some of the typical food and drinks historically served in taverns in Connecticut/New York region.

This program, on December 14 beginning at 6:30 pm will take place via Zoom, and advance registration is required. Admission is free with a suggested donation of $10. To register click here.

Walking in a Winter Wonderland! What a way to start December with the joyous sounds of holiday music, the scents of holiday treats, and the delicious taste of gingerbread. The theme of this year’s 54th Annual Gingerbread Village and Christmas Bazaar is “Winter Wonderland”. All are welcome to come and share this festive weeklong event with the parishioners of St. George’s Episcopal Church in Middlebury CT.

For over five decades now St. George’s parish has graciously welcomed the community to visit their magical village of gingerbread creations. As summer winds down and autumn approaches, visions of gingerbread and the sweet smells of cinnamon and spice fill the church halls. Parishioners, both young and old are often heard collaborating and sharing ideas about candy, construction, and design choice.

Each piece displayed in the village is handcrafted and completely edible. Houses are often built from not just gingerbread, but pasta, beans, gum, and breakfast cereal. In addition to houses, visitors will likely see sleigh riders, snowmen, reindeer, and perhaps even Santa. All items are on sale and will be available for pick up on the final day.

This mission is held near and dear to the heart of St. George’s. It has become part of a local holiday tradition for many, and we cordially welcome all visitors to come to enjoy our truly unique display.

In addition to the village, the bazaar offers a bakeshop, the opportunity to decorate your own cookie, raffle baskets, and Christmas crafts for sale. Gingerbread kit houses will also be for sale which provides everything needed to create your own masterpiece at home.

Food to Go will be available Saturday, December 11th from 11:00am to 3 pm. Village hours are Monday through Friday 2pm-4pm and 6pm-8pm. Saturday, December 11th from 10am-4pm. As always, parking and admission are free (donations welcomed). The church is handicap accessible.

For more information, please visit www.gingerbreadvillagect.com. For general questions please contact the church at 203-758-9864 or email stgeorges9864@att.net. Group appointments can be scheduled by calling 203-217-4246.

They call this little town in the Litchfield Hills of Connecticut “Christmas Town” with good reason. Bethlehem’s Christmas Town Festival scheduled for December 3 and 4, celebrates its 38th birthday this year as one of New England’s favorite ways to kick off the season. Wherever you turn, special treats are waiting, from the town green to the post office to the Abbey of Regina Laudis and the 1754 Bellamy-Ferriday House. Some of the unique attractions continue when the festival is over.

The quaint town green, centered with a giant tree, is home to over 70 vendors with unique gift items, wreaths, and delicious foods for sale. Strolling carolers and musicians help keep things lively, Santa will be waiting at the firehouse to pose for pictures with young friends, and everyone is invited to climb aboard for hayrides offered in front of First Church. On Friday night kids can go on a train ride. This year there is also a special scavenger hunt that is free to enter. Collectors can garner this year’s unique limited edition Christmas Town pewter ornament, sold only during the Festival.

Bethlehem’s beautiful eighteenth-century Bellamy-Ferriday House & Garden will be festively decorated and open for tours and holiday cheer during festival hours. Guides will offer house tours and there will be hot cider and a scavenger hunt for children. The home is located at 9 Main Street North, information can be found at www.ctlandmarks.org

Hours for the Christmas Town Festival are Friday, December 3 from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m., and Saturday, December 4, from 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. For more information,click here. The Opening Ceremony will feature Honorary Emcee WFSB Ch. 3 personality, Irene O’Connor.

Christmas Town Mailings at the Post Office

The Bethlehem post office is busy in December serving the many who come every year to mail holiday cards with their unique postmarks. Visitors can select favorites among the “Christmas Cachet” designs, hand-stamp, and mail these unique greetings to friends and family. The idea of the special stamps dates to 1938, when a local Postmaster, the late Earl Johnson, designed a “cachet,” a special rubber stamp featuring a tree and lettering that said, “From the Little Town of Bethlehem, Christmas Greetings.” New cachets have been added almost every year since. Over 70 designs are now available and nearly 200,000 cards are mailed each year from this small post office. Located at 34 East Street, the post office will have extended hours during the festival, Friday from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., and Saturday from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Precious Crèches at the Abbey

One of Bethlehem’s not-to-be-missed jewels is open all month for visitors. The museum-quality eighteenth-century Neapolitan crèche on view in a vintage barn at the Abbey of Regina Laudis includes hundreds of beautiful hand-carved figures. Made of wood, terra cotta, and porcelain, the figures portray the Holy Family, angels, the Three Kings, merchants and peddlers, children, peasants, and farm animals. This fabulous gift from artist and philanthropist Loretta Hines Howard is similar to the one Howard donated to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, where it is prominently displayed every Christmas.

A second Crèche, The Lauren Ford Crèche, created by a favorite Connecticut artist, is displayed in a farm shed near the Lower Abbey Chapel. This charming rustic Nativity scene displays figures of Jesus, Mary and Joseph dressed in typical New England garb.

The Monastic Art Shop on the property offers crafts, cheeses, jams, herbal teas, flavored vinegar, herbs, and honey, and all created on-site by the residents of the Abbey.

The Abbey of Regina Laudis, located at 249 Flanders Road, is open to visitors daily from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. For more information, visit www.abbeyofreginalaudis.org

Santa Made Me Do It Race!
On Saturday, December 4 there is a 5 k road race that begins at 10 am. The race will start in front of the Memorial Hall next to Bethlehem Green. To register for the race click here.

Wassailing is an annual tradition that involves blessing orchards to ensure a good harvest for the year to come. The celebrations involve music, song, dancing and a recognition of what orchards give to us. It dates from the Anglo-Saxon era, traditionally taking place on the Twelfth Night, but now wassails take place between early December and February. Wassail is a beverage made from hot mulled cider and spices and will be served on Friday, December 3 from 5:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. at the Glebe House located in the historic heart of Woodbury Connecticut.

Wassailing, like many other folk traditions, is a way for people to mark the turning of the seasons. Participants at the Glebe House’s wassailing event will gather around a warm fire and enjoy this iconic holiday beverage while listing to the joyful sounds of the season. Wassail is indeed both a noun and a verb. Mostly it is a salutatory celebration of a long year as you gather with those you cherish and raise a glass of good cheer to toast to a healthy, happy new year and enduring friendships. For wassail is, first and foremost, a salute.

Another highlight of this event is that The Glebe House Museum’s Main Floor will be set for the holidays, and open for viewing and the purchase of holiday décor. Each Guest will receive a “treat” box and a choice of beverages including warm Wassail, hot chocolate, apple cider, and sparkling water. This is the time to enjoy Yuletide Caroling with The Yuletide Singers and the company of friends, old and new alike, as we celebrate the joys of the season.

Admission is Adults $25, Members of the Glebe House $20, Children (6-12) $10, and Children (5 and under) are Free. Advance Tickets are available at https://www.signupgenius.com/go/70A054FAAAC2CA1FF2-anoldfashioned . Tickets will also be available at the door, and payable by cash or check. The rain date for this event is Friday, December 10th.

We know that Santa gets around during the holiday season, but sleighs are not his only favorite mode of travel. In Litchfield Hills, you can often find the man in red enjoying a holiday train ride–and he loves company.

On December weekends, Santa can be found aboard the Santa Express leaving from Thomaston, CT, ready with bags of goodies for all the young passengers he meets along the way. Santa is so fond of trains that he even has two satellite workshops in train cars, one reached via a vintage train ride at the Danbury Railway Museum and another along the way on the Northern Lights Limited, a nighttime train excursion from Thomaston.

Rides are just part of the special railroad fun for families this year in Fairfield and Litchfield Counties, where lavish displays of working model trains are a traditional holiday treat in several locations.

The Santa Express in Thomaston This 1920s vintage train travels along the scenic Naugatuck River for a warm, cozy 80-minute round-trip ride. Santa brings along Mrs. Claus and some friendly helper elves to visit with each child on board. Trains depart from the historic 1881 station in Thomaston Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays December 3,4,5,9,10,11,12,17,18, and 19. Starting Christmas week the train will run on December 20,21,22 and 23. The last train of the holiday season will run on December 30th. On Saturdays and Sundays, the train runs at 12 noon, 2:15, 5 p.m., and 7:15 p.m. On Fridays and during Christmas week the train runs at 5 p.m. and 7:15 p.m.

Light displays inside and out make for an exciting outing at night aboard the Northern Lights Limited from Thomaston. The train makes a stop at Santa’s Train Workshop, where the great man will board and greet everyone with gifts.

Back at the gaily decorated station, a model train layout is in action, and a large selection of railroad theme gifts, books, and memorabilia can be found. Tickets and information are available from the Railroad Museum of New England, online at www.rmne.org, or by phoning (860) 283-7245. Coach tickets are $20 for adults and Children and, first-class tickets are $49.50 for adults and children. The station is located at 242 East Main Street in Thomaston, CT

All Aboard in Danbury At the Danbury Railway Museum, a classic 1903 station with a railroad yard filled with vintage train cars, visitors can ride a working vintage train through the yard to Santa’s Workshop. New this year the Danbury Railway Museum is offering a short train ride in a restored 1950s Rail Diesel Car through historic Danbury Railyard, you’ll be escorted back to the station for a meet and greet with Santa and Mrs. Claus, where the big man himself will give out the first gifts of Christmas (Parents: Bring a pre-wrapped present or select from our online menu [includes FREE gift wrapping & batteries], and Old St. Nick will give your little one their unique present!). The museum is open every Saturday and Sunday, December 4-19 from 12 noon to 7 p.m.

The Danbury Railroad Museum is located on 120 White Street in Danbury. Trains run on Saturdays and Sundays at 12:30, 2 pm, 3:30 pm, 5 pm, and 6:30 pm. Tickets are $20 for ages 2 and up. Click here for more information.