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The holiday season truly is “the most wonderful time of the year” in New York's Hudson Valley, and Dutchess County’s many Colonial homesteads and Gilded Age mansions are getting decked out in their most festive décor for the occasion. Warm your heart and set your holiday spirit aglow with a visit to any of these historic sites and great estates and learn about the people, events and cultures that have shaped the region’s rich history.
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Featured in this article: Staatsburgh State Historic Site | Elmendorph Inn | Wilderstein Historic Site | Mesier Homestead | Clermont State Historic Site | Locust Grove Estate | Mount Gulian Historic Site | Roosevelt Historic Sites | Vanderbilt Mansion National Historic Site
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Make your reservations now for Staatsburgh’s “A Gilded Age Christmas” and immerse yourself in holiday cheer as you tour Ogden and Ruth Livingston Mills’ lavish estate overlooking the Hudson River. Tours run Thursdays through Sundays, Nov. 29–Dec. 29 plus Monday, Dec. 30. Admire the home’s stunning interiors, along with their original furniture and art, specially decorated for the holiday season.
Feel free to make a reservation during Staatsburgh's extended evening hours, from 6–8 p.m. on Dec. 13, 14, 20 and 21.
The kids will certainly get a kick out of The Holiday Whodunit, which will be held on the first four Sundays in December. Children (ages 6 to 11) and their family members become detectives and solve a mystery by interviewing costumed interpreters who portray Gilded Age house guests and servants.
Perhaps you’d like to party like it’s 1899. If so, then the Friends of Mills at Staatsburgh's A Gilded Victorian Christmas Gala on Dec. 6 is just your thing. Enjoy live music, hors d’oeuvres and drinks in the Mills Mansion’s formal dining room.
Do you think Staatsburgh State Historic Site has the best holiday decorated historic home in the nation? Vote for them in USA TODAY's 10Best Reader's Choice Awards, every day through Dec. 2 at noon.
Related: Local Dutchess Drinks Perfect for Your New Year's Cheers
Historic Red Hook hosts a traditional holiday favorite with its Holiday Open House at the Elmendorph Inn on Dec. 8. Enjoy live holiday music, hot mulled cider, homemade cookies and fresh-baked treats from the beehive oven! Constructed in the mid-1700s, the Elmendorph Inn once served as a popular and convenient stopover on the stagecoach trip between New York City and Albany, which took four days (Are we there yet??).
The former residence of Franklin D. Roosevelt’s distant cousin and longtime confidante Daisy Suckley, Wilderstein is open for Holiday Tours on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays from Nov. 29–Dec. 29. Take a guided tour of the exterior landscape, the first floor, and the recently restored second floor of the mansion, which was built in 1852. There will also be a Holiday Storytime and Scavenger Hunt kids' event on Dec. 7. The estate was named Wilderstein ("wild man’s stone") in reference to a Native American petroglyph on the property, a reminder of the Indigenous peoples who lived in this region before the arrival of the European settlers.
Holiday Open House events (Dec. 11, 13, 18, 19 and 21) offer a perfect chance to experience the Mesier Homestead all dressed up for the holidays, complete with candlelight, greenery, ribbons and bows. The little ones are sure to love Mesier’s Sinterklaas and Dutch Holiday Traditions celebration on Dec. 7. This fun family event is filled with stories, decorations and traditional Dutch holiday treats. Discover the history of Sinterklaas and learn about the holiday traditions the Dutch settlers brought with them to the New World. Learn how Sinterklaasavond (St. Nicholas eve) was celebrated, and taste some of the traditional Dutch sweets that were part of the festivities.
While you’re there, learn about the homestead’s fascinating history. It was constructed in 1741 by Dutchmen Adolphus and Nicholas Brouwer. Nicholas and his sons were active patriots and provided wheat, corn and other supplies, without compensation, to George Washington's Army during the Revolutionary War. The Homestead was later sold to Peter Mesier, a Tory loyalist merchant from New York City whose store was reportedly the target of the Wappingers Tea Party of 1777. Be sure to visit the Mesier Homestead gift shop for local-themed art, books and gifts — but beware of angry patriots who refuse to pay full price for tea!
Speaking of “A Visit from St. Nicholas,” head to the Livingston Mansion at the Clermont Historic Site for the Holiday Story Hour event on Dec. 14 and enjoy a free reading of the timeless poem, also known as "The Night Before Christmas," which was written by Henry Livingston. Stick around after the reading and make a festive jingle bracelet.
There will also be a Merry Monster Madness Children's Holiday Scavenger Hunt in the mansion on Dec. 7. Enjoy snacks, prizes and holiday fun. Visit Clermont's annual Holiday Open House on Dec. 21 and see the mansion decorated for the season.
The original Livingston Mansion, built in 1740, was burned by the British in 1777 because of the family’s allegiance to the Patriots during the Revolutionary War. Margaret Beekman Livingston escaped to a relative’s house in Connecticut before the burning and soon returned to oversee the project of reconstructing the mansion.
The crew at Locust Grove will have the 170-year-old mansion looking simply “dashing” for the holidays (which is what one might expect at the one-time summer home of Samuel Morse, the inventor of Morse Code and the telegraph). Santa Claus will visit Locust Grove on Dec. 1 to help kick off the holiday season. Bring your wish list and get your photo taken with the big guy!
Enjoy a delightful guided tour through the mansion with 25 decorated Christmas trees in 25 rooms. This year's theme is "Merry Music: Favorite Holiday Songs," and each tree celebrates a favorite Christmas Song throughout the mansion's history! Tours begin Friday, Nov. 29 and will run every Friday, Saturday, Sunday, and Monday in December, as well as daily Dec. 26–30.
The kids are sure to love a holiday tour of the mansion on Festive Family Days (Dec. 8, 15 and 22). Find nutcrackers, angels, fairies, stars, jingle bells, and more hidden among the decorated trees.
If you’re looking to finish your holiday shopping (or, perhaps, start it) then head to Locust Grove the weekend after Thanksgiving, Nov. 29–Dec. 1, for the 10th-annual Hudson Valley Artisan Marketplace. Browse through the unique, hand-made creations of dozens of vendors from the Hudson Valley.
Related: Top 10 December Events
Tours of the Verplanck homestead — which served as the headquarters of patriot General Friedrich Von Steuben during the Revolutionary War — will be held on December 8, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 18, 19, 20 and 21. Tours will begin at 12, 1 and 2 p.m.; reservations are recommended but not required. The rooms of the home will be decorated in different styles to reflect different time periods, including Victorian décor in the dining room; rustic decorations in the study; and contemporary holiday displays in the main room. The museum’s fascinating collections of artifacts and ephemera will be showcased against the backdrop of the stunning holiday displays. Prepare to be amazed as you learn of the remarkable history of Mount Gulian and its various residents.
Plus, Mount Gulian's popular Children's Holiday Tea is set for Dec. 27. This event, which always sells out in advance, combines fun, good manners, and education about a bygone era in an place where social teas were once standard fare. It will be held in Mount Gulian’s two main museum rooms, beautifully decorated for the holidays, with tables set with fine linens and china. Prepaid reservations are due by Dec. 17. Call (845) 831-8172 or email info@mountgulian.org for reservations
The Home of Franklin D. Roosevelt National Historic Site and Val-Kill Cottage at the Eleanor Roosevelt National Historic Site will be decorated to replicate the appearance of the homes during the time the Roosevelts lived in them.
The Home of FDR (Springwood) and The Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum will host a joint Holiday Open House on Dec. 14, featuring a full day of free holiday events. The Museum will be open to visitors free of charge from 9 a.m.–5 p.m. The Home of FDR will have tours available from 9:30 a.m.–4 p.m. There will be holiday decorations, refreshments and special activities — including the annual Children's Reading Festival, Holiday Cards for Sailors, and free photo time with Santa — at the Henry A. Wallace Center.
The Children's Reading Festival will be held from 1:30–4 p.m. Children's book authors will read from and sign copies of their books. Featured books will be available for purchase in the New Deal Store in the Wallace Center. Participating authors include A.J. Schenkman, Michael Garland, and Barbara Ann Mojica.
The annual Holiday Cards for Sailors event is always a special one. Children can make holiday cards for sailors on the USS Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt and meet with Dickens, a little black Scottie dog who loves to impersonate President Roosevelt's famous dog, Fala.
Val-Kill will host a casual Holiday Open House of its own on Dec. 22.
The dining room table at the Gilded Age mansion will be adorned with seasonal decorations for the holidays. The standard, ranger-guided tours of the mansion will be held every day during the holiday season (except Thanksgiving, Christmas Day and New Year's Day). The mansion was a seasonal residence for the Vanderbilts, who also owned lavish homes in New York City, Bar Harbor, Maine, Newport, R.I., and the Adirondacks. The property has perfectly symmetrical, Italian-inspired formal gardens and the famous "Millionaire's View" of the Hudson River.
Photo of the Main Hall Christmas Tree at Staatsburgh by Karl Rabe.
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