Spending the Holidays in Delaware: Ten Unique Holiday Experiences

The holiday season seems to arrive as fast as Santa’s sleigh with each passing year. One of the ways to ensure that you take time to enjoy the season and create new holiday memories is to plan festivities and events in advance. It may only be the beginning of November, but holiday planning can start now. The following events are divided into the three counties that encompass the state of Delaware. Information for each event includes date/time, location, and details including further information online. May your holidays in Delaware be happy and healthy!

New Castle County

1. Yuletide at Winterthur

– November 18^th through January 7^th, 2018. Take in the beautiful holiday décor and historical atmosphere of the Henry Francis du Pont home in Wilmington, Delaware. Enjoy displays of holiday traditions from the 1800’s to the early 20^th century with decorations such as earliest forms of Christmas lights decorating the exterior of homes, full-room scene from A Visit from St. Nicholas by Clement Moore, du Pont family holiday celebrations, and the evolution of Christmas trees from the 1880s through the 1960s. A special tour of “The Crown,” from the Netflix series Royal Splendor: The Coronation Gown will be on display. Check out the 18-room dollhouse mansion, a tree with over 450 custom needlework decorations, miniatures, festivities, jazz, wine events, and so much more. Visit their website for more information and tickets.

2. Holiday Open House at Rockwood

– December 1^st & 2^nd, 5 – 9 PM. Rockwood Park in Wilmington, Delaware. Come home for the holidays at Rockwood Mansion’s Holiday Open House. Enjoy festive children’s crafts, live entertainment, free photos with Santa, costumed characters and food trucks. At this year’s open house, you can find the Youth Entrepreneur Secret Santa Shoppe will be selling gifts for the entire family, go on a tour of the museum’s holiday displays, and enjoy a beautiful light display in the gardens outside of the Mansion and Carriage House. The Delaware Arts Conservatory will be performing “The Snow Queen,” First State Ballet will be performing an excerpt from the “Nutcracker,” and multiple dance troupes and choirs. For a full list of activities/times please visit their website. Come home to Rockwood Mansion this holiday season!

3. It’s a Wonderful Life

– December 15^th and 16^th from 7:30 to 10 PM at the Everett Theater in Middletown, Delaware. Have you watched this iconic holiday classic? Is it one of your favorite movies to watch, year after year during the holidays? Join the Everett Theater this December to watch the 1946 It’s a Wonderful Life starring James Stewart, Donna Reed, and Lionel Barrymore. Ticket information and details are available on the Everett Theater website or on their Facebook page.

4. The Nutcracker

– Tchaikovsky’s The Nutcracker will be performing throughout New Castle, Kent and Sussex Counties between December 1^st to the 23^rd at six different venues including Delaware State University, University of Delaware, Milford Senior High School, The Playhouse on Rodney Square, the Mid-Atlantic Ballet and The Grand Opera House. For more information on each event, please visit their web links for dates/times.

Kent County

5. Holidays in Odessa, Delaware

– November 14^th through December 31^st. Spending the holidays in Odessa is an experience like no other. Travel back to our state’s colonial era where you can celebrate the season by decorating a tree with the theme from your favorite children’s book, visit the historical homes of Odessa decorated in Victorian Christmas splendor, take a candlelit tour or enjoy a cup of holiday tea. These events and more are made possible through the Historic Odessa Foundation.

6. The Choir School of Delaware

– December 2^nd at 7:30 PM at the Smyrna Opera House. Youth ages 7-17 from the Greater Wilmington area put on an engaging performance filled with professional-level choral training, piano, voice and musicianship alongside professional and semi-professional adult singers. This unique program focuses on providing a holistic experience through mentorship and musicianship lessons, harmonizing life & learning. Winner of the 2005 Coming Up Taller Award from the President’s Committee on the Arts and Humanities, the Cathedral Choir School of Delaware is recognized as one of the best after-school programs in the nation. Join them as they perform their talents for the community with holiday favorites!

7. Caroling on the Green

– December 6^th from 5:15 to 6:15 PM. What better way to ring in the holiday season than to sing Christmas Carols beneath the PEACE sign on The Green in Delaware’s capital city of Dover. Free music will be handed out to singers at this third annual event. Don’t forget to dress warm and bring a flashlight in order to read the music.

Sussex County

8. Winter Wonderfest

– November 17^th to January 1^st Gates open at 5 PM on the lights spectacular dates listed on the Winter Wonderfest website. Enjoy driving through a 1.5 mile dazzling Christmas lights extravaganza with over 90 light displays. Visit the Christmas Village including carnival rides, midway games, and the Delaware Ice Rink. Tickets and dates/times Winter Wonderfest are open are available on their website and on their Facebook page. 

9. Rehoboth Beach Tree Lighting & Sing-Along

– November 24^th 6:30 PM. Join the Rehoboth community at the Rehoboth Beach Bandstand from 6:30 to 7 PM on Friday, November 24^th to ring in the holiday season! The sing-along will be hosted by the Clear Space Theatre at 6:30 PM followed by the tree illumination at 7 PM. Song lyrics for the sing-along will be published in the Cape Gazette in the “Tis the Season,” holiday guide insert arriving to subscribers November 21^st and hitting newsstands November 24^th. 

10. Capital Ringers Winter 2017

– Multiple dates in November and December 2017. The Capital Ringers Holiday Classics is a joyful experience that combines music on handbells and percussion instruments, movement, humor, audience interaction, and visual technology that creates a “Holiday Classic,” experience for kids of all ages. Songs include, “You’re a mean one, Mr. Grinch,” “White Christmas,” “Sleigh Ride,” and many more. For dates/times please visit their website’s events.