The person who wrote the Christmas song by the above title had it right, at least for me. I am, for real, dreaming of a white Christmas and everything that goes with it.
Earlier this month, I spent the best part of two hours traipsing the fields of a tree farm with my family in search of the perfect Christmas tree. Even that was a wonderful experience because unlike the many times I did the same thing while living in New England, this field was flat and not uphill and downhill … both ways.
Here at the Mid-Atlantic Center for the Arts & Humanities (MAC) in Cape May, we take Christmas to heart. After all, we owe Queen Victoria and Prince Albert thanks for many of the Christmas traditions we love, so you can’t find a better place to mark the holiday than in this Victorian seaside town.
Cape May’s historic properties are pretty enough in their own right; when decked out for Christmas they become downright breathtaking.
It’s fun to walk through the Physick House with its authentic decorations and imagine the family preparing for the holiday, welcoming visitors to “ooh and ahh” over their Christmas tree decorations, and just think of the hustle and bustle of Christmas preparations in the kitchen.
Our Physick Family Christmas Tours let visitors experience this through the eyes and ears of a member of the family, as our talented guide staff gets into the spirit of the season.
Of course, my big project for the season is the Old-Fashioned Christmas exhibit in the Carroll Gallery at the estate’s Carriage House. Along with faithful fellow worker Barbara Hubmaster who devotes most of her time and energy to the project and Mary Stewart, who believes as I do that there’s no such thing as too much garland or too many lights; we finish three weeks of construction with aching backs and tender knees. But, like childbirth, we forget the pain as we see the finished product through the eyes of our visitors.
Beneath the boughs of a giant Christmas tree, which spans the width of the gallery, lies an extensive collection of Dept. 56 Dickens Village, complete with lots of little English village people and a chugging train, with thanks to trainmaster Rich Chiemingo. The Gallery is open every day except Christmas Day, as well as some evenings as part of evening tours, and you’ll be sorry if you miss seeing this.
Despite how most people view this area as a tourist destination and think that summer is the only busy time, that’s not true down here at the tip of the county. Just ask our tour staff, who juggles dozens of special holiday tours that keep everyone super busy and our visitors engaged.
Those who come to Cape May for the holidays get to experience the true feeling of Christmas that just can’t be found in mega-malls or online shopping. A walk through the Physick House is a great way to travel back in time and de-stress from today’s hectic holiday atmosphere.
So, if you’re one of those people who is shopped out and looking forward to Christmas being over, take a break and a deep breath, give yourself something special for Christmas and come and visit us. Whether it’s house tours that take you behind the doors of the town’s Victorian treasures, a trolley tour to see the twinkling Christmas lights, or a moment spent back in 1879 with the Physick family, it will be a gift you will truly treasure.
ED. NOTE: Barraclough is manager of publications and website at MAC.
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