Page 45 - The Hunt - Winter 2024

Top 10 Festive Experiences
When it comes to celebrating the season, Delaware knows how to deck the halls, serve up fun and light up the nights. Here are some of the best and brightest events in (and a little beyond) the First State.
Through December 29
NOËL AT NEMOURS ESTATE
Nemours salutes the season with spectacular decorations throughout the 77-room mansion, chauffeur’s garage and gardens. Christmas decorations give the grand Nemours Estate a spectacular holiday flair. Live music provides an extra festive dimension to the holiday tours. $23.Wilmington; 651-6912; nemoursmansion.org
Through December 31
SCHELLVILLE ENCHANTED WINTER CELEBRATION
Now in its seventh year, the magical Christmas village called Schellville brings holiday cheer to coastal Delaware. Hop aboard the Schellville Express Train, visit 23 elaborately decorated miniature houses, stroll through a maze of lights, say hello to Mr. and Mrs. Claus, and strap on your skates (or rent a pair) for a spin around the 12,000-square-foot roller rink and skate path. Gather around the Snowflake Stage for live entertainment. Let the local crafters and merchants on Candy Cane Artisan Lane inspire your holiday gift giving. Fuel up at Frosty’s Food Trucks and assorted snack shacks. Adults can take a break at a beer garden and the speakeasy-style Ho Ho Ho Hospitality tent. Admission and most activities are free. Rehoboth Beach; schellbrothers.com.
Through January 1, 2025
HOLIDAYS AT HAGLEY
Whatever the weather forecast, it’s guaranteed to be a
white Christmas as Hagley Museum and Library highlights themed decorations and traditions inspired by multiple generations of the du Pont family at their 1803 ancestral home, Eleutherian Mills. Take a day or night Holiday House and Garden Tour, bring the kids to Santa Day, and exercise your baking
chops by constructing an architectural masterpiece for Hagley’s seventh annual gingerbread house contest. Tour tickets are $20. Wilmington; 658-2400; hagley.org.
Through January 12, 2025
A LONGWOOD CHRISTMAS
The holiday season will sparkle with the brilliance of more than half a million dazzling lights, ingenious botanical displays, and fountain shows featuring 750 water jets dancing to holiday tunes
throughout the day and evening. On select evenings, carolers will stroll the grounds singing seasonal classics. Making the celebration even more festive is the debut of the “Longwood Reimagined:
A New Garden Experience” expansion, the culmination of a three-year project with new buildings, including a 32,000-square- foot West Conservatory, imaginative outdoor landscapes, and breathtaking water features. $32. Kennett Square, Pennsylvania; 610-388-1000; longwoodgardens.org.
December 6 and 7
ROCKWOOD PARK & MUSEUM HOLIDAY OPEN HOUSE
Follow the glow of the colorful light displays through the park, take a nighttime tour of the 19th-century mansion museum,
pose for free photos with Santa, and enjoy performances by local choirs and dance companies. Both nights, New Castle County’s Santa Shop features students and organizations making and selling crafts, jewelry, and other gift items. Admission is free, as is the shuttle and parking at 501 Carr Road. Wilmington; 761-4340; newcastlede.gov.
December 7
CHRISTMAS IN ODESSA
If a genuine small-town holiday is on your wish list, head for the charming town of Odessa for the 60th year of grand celebration. Take a self-guided walking tour of its elegantly decorated homes and public buildings, many dating from the 18th and 19th centuries; visit with Santa, Mrs. Claus, and Santa’s elf; sing along to seasonal tunes with the St. Paul’s Church Choir, M.O.T. Male Choir and St. Paul’s Bell Ringers; savor tea and cookies courtesy of The Women’s Club of Odessa; and be sure to gather for the
tree lighting. Tours are $25 in advance, $30 day of tour. Some events do not require tickets. Odessa; 378-4900; christmasinodessa.org
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KELLY GIARROCCO FOR LONGWOOD GARDENS
Longwood Gardens is spectacularly decorated and illuminated by half a million lights during the holidays.