The hospitality of an 18th-century plantation can be yours.
Lanterns lead you to George Mason’s beautifully-appointed candlelit home.
Ride in a horse-drawn carriage, sip warm cider by the fire, and sample period recipes prepared in the hearth kitchen. Costumed characters engaged in seasonal activities greet you in the house and throughout the grounds.
Saturday, December 11 5:30 – 9:30 p.m.
Gunston Hall Plantation Christmas Yuletide Dinner
Saturday, December 11 • 4:30, 6:00, and 8:00 p.m.
While celebrating Plantation Christmas, indulge in delicious traditional fare. Reservations are necessary for the full complement of courses served in a candlelit tavern setting.
Gunston Hall Plantation Christmas, 10709 Gunston Rd, Mason Neck, VA 22079
Details here and Gunston Hall or call (703) 550-9220
Colonial Handbell Ringers – Alexandria VA
Hear the English Handbells in the hands of the Colonial ringers and the Canterbury ringers.
Join the Colonial Handbell Ringers as they present their festive holiday musical show! Get into the holiday spirit as you listen – and sing along – with their performance of holiday classics using a long set of Whitechapel bells.
December 19, 2010, 3pm – 5pm. Two one-hour shows! First at 2 p.m. and then repeated at 4 p.m. Free!
The Lyceum Museum, 201 S. Washington St., Alexandria. More details here and at The Lyceum Museum 703/746-4994
Candlelight Tours of Old Town Alexandria – Alexandria, VA
December 11, 2010 6 to 9:00 pm
December 12, 2010 3 to 6:00 pm
Enjoy the warmth and beauty of the holiday season at five festively decorated historic sites in Old Town.
More details here at City of Alexandria and (703) 838-4994
How Christmas was observed during the Civil War. Reenactors, soldiers opening holiday packages from home, a Victorian tree, period music, readings of “The Night Before Christmas” and patriotic 19th-century Santa Claus will visit the troops and hear childrens’ holiday wishes..
December 11th, Saturday. Noon to 4 pm
4301 W. Braddock Road, Alexandria. 703-838-4848.
Christmas at Mount Vernon – Alexandria area, VA
November 26, 2010 – January 6, 2011
The Washingtons’ seasonal entertaining is authentically interpreted daily, including Christmas Day and New Year’s Day at George Washington’s Mount Vernon Estate & Gardens located 8 miles south of Old Town Alexandria at the southern end of the George Washington Memorial Parkway.
Evening Candlelight tours through the mansion and the rarely seen third floor take place at the weekend through December 12.
More details are available here and by calling Mount Vernon Estate and Gardens on (703) 780-2000.
Oh, and the 2010 Mount Vernon Christmas ornament is available here.
More Than A Weekend… An Alexandria Tradition
In their 40th year as host of the Scottish Christmas Walk Weekend and Parade, The Campagna Center is proud to kick off Alexandria’s holiday season with the fresh scent of heather and the festive melody of bagpipes once again!
Scottish Christmas Walk - Alexandria, VA
Festivities kick off at 9:00am Friday and run until 11:00pm, Saturday from 7:00am until 4:00pm.
The parade will be on Saturday at 11:00am until 1:00pm where over 100 Scottish Clans, pipe and drum bands, Scottish dancers, re-enactment groups, Scottie dog groups, dignitaries and, of course, Santa Claus will march through the streets of Old Town. Followed by the mass band concert which runs from 1:00pm until 1:30pm.
More details here and from (703) 549-011 and
The Campagna Center, 418 S. Washington street, Alexandria, Virgina