Shopping for the perfect present? Two crafts destinations are open every week through Christmas, offering unique items to delight everyone on your list. The Christmas Craft Fair at the Shaker Meeting House in Albany features over 50 local artists offering jewelry, ornaments, pottery, photography, and gourmet foods. Crafts can also be found at the Holiday Art and Crafts Show in Port Jervis. Cedarwood Center for the Arts will fill your basket with organic candles and soaps, wearable art, fine arts, and accessories for the home in wood, metal, fiber, and glass. Be green this season, shop locally and support the region’s artists and establishments.
One of the treats of the season is seeing the Holidays the way they used to be. Everyone’s inner child will delight in the Miniature Dollhouse Exhibit in New City. Two galleries of antique pedal cars, dollhouses, dolls, and miniatures are displayed at the Rockland Historical Society with handmade dolls and giant puppets from Lincoln Center.
More family fun awaits at the Holiday Spirit Festival in Wappinger Falls, as visitors wander through a magical Christmas Village. Stroll the Enchanted Forest of Lights, and visit the Polar Express train display. The Candy Castle and Santa’s Workshop are just two of the fantastic holiday stops you’ll enjoy along the way.
Four of the Hudson Valley’s most picturesque villages welcome you to their charming downtowns for festivities of the season. On Friday, December 5th, the artist’s enclave of Woodstock invites you to its 27th Annual Woodstock Holiday Open House. More than 70 stores and businesses welcome guests with food, drinks, and warm hospitality. Stroll the village streets arrayed with festive window displays while listening to the carolers and brass ensemble. Mr. and Mrs. Santa Claus will also be there!
On the evening of December 6th, visitors to Hudson will be greeted with a fantastic wonderland on Winter Walk night. Animated store windows and street entertainment with the Lumbering Snowman, Walking Grandfather Clock, and Victorian carolers are sure to delight. Mr. and Mrs. Claus make another appearance with live reindeer in the Santa Parade, as holiday music plays and a stilt-walking toy soldier vies for the attention of children of all ages. The same night, enjoy Cold Spring by Candlelight with Holiday house tours of vintage homes dressed in their seasonal best, special activities and promotions up and down Main Street.
On Sunday, December 7th, Coxsackie celebrates Christmas by the River starting with breakfast with Mr. and Mrs. Claus. Crafters and vendors fill the streets as music plays and decorative wreaths are auctioned. That same day might find you taking a Victorian Stroll in Troy. The wonderment of Christmas past is brought alive with Holiday magic from the 1800’s in the streets of this quaint city. Live music, dancing, theatre, and costumed performers are all set against the backdrop of unique storefronts and restaurants.
Top all of this off with a visit to Winter WonderLights at Washington Irving’s historic home, Sunnyside. Weekends from December 11th to January 3rd, a dazzling and imaginative display of light, color and sound surrounds visitors as they wander the dreamscape of Rip Van Winkle during his 20 winters of sleep. Wander through a super-sized candy land forest and the woodlands filled with life-size eco-sculptures of exotic animals, fairies, and creatures.
Make this a memory-filled Holiday for the family. The magic of the season is found right here in the Hudson Valley where celebrations will delight young and old alike. For more information, please contact:
Christmas Craft Fair, Albany. 518-456-7890, www.shakerheritage.org&
Holiday Art and Crafts Show, Port Jervis. 845-856-2307, www.cedarwoodcenter.com
Miniature Dollhouse Exhibit, New City. 845-634-9629, www.rocklandhistory.org
Holiday Spirit Festival, Wappinger Falls. 845-297-9687, www.holidayspiritfestival.com
Holiday Open House, Woodstock. 845-679-6234, www.woodstockchamber.org&
Winter Walk on Warren Street, Hudson. 518-822-1438, www.hudsonoperahouse.org&
Cold Spring by Candlelight, Cold Spring. 845-278-7272, ext. 287, www.PutnamARC.org
Christmas by the River, Coxsackie. 518-731-8113
Victorian Stroll, Troy. 518-274-7020, www.troyvictorianstroll.com
Winter WonderLights, Tarrytown. 914-591-8763, www.hudsonvalley.org
Hudson Valley Tourism, Inc. is the 10-county region designated by I LOVE NEW YORK to promote tourism for the area. Counties include Albany, Columbia, Dutchess, Greene, Orange, Putnam, Rensselaer, Rockland, Ulster and Westchester. Regional information can be obtained from any of the county tourism offices, the Hudson Valley Tourism website, www.travelhudsonvalley.com, or by calling 845-615-3860.
