Come be a part of our annual celebration "Holidays at Hampton" and explore the holiday traditions of Hampton from 1790 to the modern era.
The theme for 2018 is “A Victorian Christmas.” Many of the holiday traditions that are familiar to us today have their origins in the 19th century during the long reign (1837-1901) of the British Monarch Queen Victoria, who helped popularize some of our most important holiday traditions, including Christmas trees. Four of the Mansion’s rooms (Drawing Room, Music Room, Children's Bedchamber, Guest Bedchamber) interpret different parts of the period from the 1830s to the early 1900s, coinciding with Victoria's reign and displaying several of the important traditions from that era that have come down to us in the 21st century.
Victorian Christmas traditions we’d recognize today include Santa Claus with his sleigh and reindeer; elaborate Christmas cards; Christmas stockings hung by the children for St. Nick; and beautiful books made especially for Christmas gift-giving.
In the 1840s Drawing Room, small toys that are similar to those given to the plantation’s enslaved children can be seen, along with the original lists of the gifts next to the children’s names.
A full weekend of activities will include guided and open house-style tours of the historic mansion, an evening 'candlelight' tour, arts and crafts at the Lower Farm, holiday musical performances, storytelling, and more!
The open house schedule will be as follows:
Saturday, December 8
12 pm - 4 pm and 6 pm - 8 pm
(Guided tours will be offered at 10 am and 11 am)
Sunday, December 9
12 pm - 4 pm
(Guided tours will be offered at 10 am and 11 am)
Farm House: Christmas crafting and farm programs from 12:00 pm to 4:00 pm.
Admission is free. Free parking will be available on a first come, first serve basis. Free shuttle services will be available from parking areas at Towson United Methodist Church on Hampton Lane and Hampton National Historic Site. Contact HNHS at 410-823-1309.
Silhouettes will be freehand-cut in the traditional manner, traditional to the Victorian era, by your specialist artist Lauren Muney. Silhouettes are free to the public, sponsored by the Friends of Hampton. Only 1 copy per person with a “timed ticket” provided at the Lower Farmhouse door.
Silhouette Timed-Tickets will start just before 1:00pm; ‘first come first served’ until all ticket times are given out, which corresponds to the end of the Silhouettes time at 4pm. If you miss your Ticketed time, you will not get another chance - due to the amount of people. No other silhouettes will be cut at this event outside of these ticket-times, due to limited time for this event.
(If you want more than one copy, please make an Order. Local Baltimore people can choose to arrange to pick up their Mail Order in person - and have their Shipping price refunded)