Christmastide- Celebrate a Colonial Christmas at Stratford Hall
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🎄 Christmastide – Celebrate a Colonial Christmas at Stratford Hall 🎅✨
Step back in time and celebrate the magic of Christmas at Stratford Hall! 🕯️🎁 Join us for Christmastide on Saturday, December 5, 2026, from 11 AM to 7 PM for a festive day filled with historic holiday traditions, family fun, delicious food, and plenty of Christmas cheer!
📍 Location: Stratford Hall, 483 Great House Road, Stratford, VA 22558
📅 Date: Saturday, December 5, 2026
⏰ Time: 11 AM–7 PM
🏛️ Explore a Colonial Christmas!
Wander through the beautifully decorated c. 1738 Great House and experience Christmas in historic style! Snap photos with Santa in the Great House Parlor from 11 AM to 1 PM, learn about traditional holiday foods with Harold Caldwell in the Historic Kitchen, enjoy West African drumming demonstrations with Slam One LLC, take a tractor ride around the twilight grounds, and sing your favorite carols with members of the Rappahannock Colonial Heritage Society. 🎶🚜
🎅 Letters to Santa & Mrs. Claus!
Have a special message for the North Pole? Starting November 1, drop off your letters to Santa at the Stratford Hall Visitor Center. Mr. and Mrs. Claus are joining us this year, and Santa will collect the letters at the Gift Shop at 1:15 PM before heading back to the North Pole! ✉️❄️ Be sure to include a return address so Santa can write back.
🍪 Cookies & Story Time with Mrs. Claus
Gather in the Stratford Dining Room at 2 PM for Christmas stories and homemade cookie decorating with Mrs. Claus! 📚🍪 This sweet add-on is $10 and includes one pack of four cookies, with additional packs available. (Two packs are included with the Family Package!)
🎁 Holiday Shopping & Handmade Keepsakes
Warm up in the Stratford Hall Gift Shop with historic chocolate demonstrations by American Heritage chocolate historian David Borghesani from 11 AM to 4 PM. 🍫 Shop ornaments, mill products, holiday jams, gift baskets, and more! Place your holiday orders by Sunday, November 29, for pickup at the event. Visitors receive 10% off event-day purchases, while Friends of Stratford members receive 20% off (exclusions apply). Families can also create their own authentic tin punch ornaments to take home! ✨
🍽️ Two Delicious Dinner Experiences!
🥞 Family Buffet Dinner – 4 PM
Bring your appetite for a festive, buffet-style dinner in the Stratford Dining Room! Enjoy a pancake bar loaded with toppings, sausage links, scrambled eggs, yogurt parfaits, and a hot chocolate bar overflowing with holiday goodies. ☕🍓
Pricing:
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Adults and guests ages 15+: $35
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Youth ages 4–14: $25
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Children ages 3 and under: Free
Event admission is included with this dinner option, and each guest receives one buffet plate.
👨👩👧👦 Make It a Family Affair!
The $140 Family Package includes event admission, buffet dinners for two adults and two youths, photos with Santa using your own phone or camera, cookies with Mrs. Claus, and a wooden Stratford Hall Christmas ornament. 🎄 Reservations are required by Sunday, November 29. (The package includes two packs of cookies.)
🥂 Four-Course Dinner in the duPont Memorial Library – 6 PM
For a special evening out, enjoy a four-course Christmastide dinner catered by Dori Farrell in the beautiful Jessie Ball duPont Memorial Library. ✨ Tickets are $95 per person, with tables accommodating up to eight guests. A cash bar will be available. Event admission is not included with this dinner option.
📌 Plan Ahead! Reservations for both dinner experiences, the Family Package, and cookie decorating are available as add-ons where applicable. Dinner reservations and holiday gift orders must be made by Sunday, November 29.
🎅 From historic holiday traditions and festive treats to twinkling grounds and memories with loved ones, Christmastide at Stratford Hall is a wonderful way to celebrate the season. The more the merrier! ❤️🎄
Fees
$10 general admission; Free for ages 3 and under; Free for Friends of Stratford members; $140 Family Package: Includes event admission and buffet-style dinners for two adults and two youths, photos with Santa in the Great House (your smart phone/camera), two packs of cookies for 2:00 p.m. story time with Mrs. Claus in the Dining Room, and a wooden Stratford Hall Christmas ornament. Reservations are required by Sunday, November 29.
Location
483 Great House Road Stratford, VA 22558
Latitude and Longitude 38.151986, -76.839513
Schedule
Date:
Time:
Duration:
10:00 AM - 7:00 PM Open house tours of the Great House; 11:00 - 4:00 PM Historic chocolate demos in the Gift Shop with David Borghesani, American Heritage chocolate historian; 11:00 - 1:00 PM Pictures with Santa in the Great House (your smart phone/camera); 1:15 PM Santa Letter Pickup at the Stratford Post Office (next to Gift Shop); 2:00 PM Story time with Mrs. Claus in the Dining Room ($10 per pack of 4 cookies)*; 4:00 PM Buffet-style breakfast dinner in the Stratford Dining Room*; 6:00 PM Four-course Christmastide dinner in the Jessie Ball duPont Memorial Library*; *reserve by Sunday, November 29.
Contact Information
Ethan Burgess
Contact Us
Event Type
- Living History