By AML Publisher
Chestnut Hill photos courtesy of Vida Carson
Narberth Photos (including homepage featured shot) courtesy of Donald Groff
Photo of Finer Things courtesy of Mary Kate Burgess
Looking for a fun holiday guide for the next few weekends? We have got you covered with six super towns that are pulling out all the stops to entertain and delight the young and old.
The most cherished holiday tradition in Chestnut Hill is its Stag & Doe Nights which will be held on Wednesdays: December 9th, 16th and 23rd. Pictured is a holiday display in Robertson’s Florist.
Chestnut Hill
Holidays on the Hill
December 2nd through December 24th
www.chestnuthill.org
Discover wonderful holiday design ideas this weekend at the Chestnut Hill Holiday House Tour on Saturday, December 5th. Five magnificent homes, each with unique design and architectural styles, will be professionally decorated for the holidays and open from 10 am to 4 pm.
The most cherished holiday tradition in Chestnut Hill is its Stag & Doe Nights which will be held on Wednesdays, December 9th, 16th and 23rd, from 6 to 9 pm. Shops offer evening hours with wine and cheese or cocoa and cookies. Live music, roasting chestnuts, carolers and merriment make the nights come alive with joy and holiday spirit. And everyone looks forward to greeting Santa as he, too, enjoys the fun of Stag & Doe. New this year is Girls Night Out on Wednesday evening, December 2nd from 6 to 9 pm. Participating shops will offer lots of goodies and the ladies can get a head-start on their holiday revelry (and shopping, too).
Chestnut Hill’s highly anticipated Holiday House Tour is Saturday, December 5th from 10am to 4pm. For full info on the tour, visit chestnuthill.org
For a special treat, Santa will be in Chestnut Hill every Sunday from 1 to 4 pm. He has invited all the children to visit him at his gingerbread house and tell him their wishes for Christmas. The Morris Arboretum has a special gift for all children who stop by to see Sant-admission for two children for the price of one with a full-price adult admission to the Arboretum’s 9th Annual Holiday Garden Railway Display. Visitors of all ages will be wowed by a quarter mile of track featuring seven loops and tunnels with fifteen different rail lines and two cable cars. The Garden Railway opens on Friday, November 27th and remains open through January 3rd.
Marshallton
Christmas in Marshallton House Tour
Saturday December 12th, 10am to 4pm
Located just four miles west of West Chester, Marshallton offers a charming Chester County daycation year round. This year’s Christmas in Marshallton House Tour is the perfect reason to experience the town for the first time. The tour benefits the Marshallton United Methodist Church and offers a fun glimpse of unique Victorian homes and buildings decorated for the holiday season. Tickets are $25 in advance, $30 the day of the tour. Tickets are available at the church Monday through Thursday from 9am to 1pm. No food, drinks, high heels, smoking or children are permitted on the tour. For more information, call 610-696-5247 or 610-793-0201.
Bah Humbug!
Narberth’s popular Dickens Festival, slated for December 12th, is chocked full of old fashioned fun for the kid in all of us. ©2008 Donald D. Groff
Narberth
The Narberth Dickens Festival
Saturday December 12th, Noon to 4pm
www.narberthonline.com
The Narberth Dickens Festival is a free family event held on a Saturday afternoon every December on the streets of downtown Narberth. This year’s event is from Noon to 4pm on December 12. The event had a modest start in 2006, when the Narberth Business Association (NBA) hired a brass quartet to stroll through town playing holiday music. It was met with such enthusiasm that the NBA expanded the entertainment to create a Dickens themed event, complete with horse and carriage rides, musicians, Christmas carolers, plus Ebenezer Scrooge and all the characters from “A Christmas Carol.” There’s a scavenger hunt for the children, sending them searching high and low for every character in order to win a prize. The 2008 prize was a top hat that was worn all afternoon by hundreds of kids throughout Narberth’s version of 1840’s London.
Malvern
Malvern’s Victorian Christmas
Friday December 4th, Saturday December 5th
malvernbusiness.com
NBC Philadelphia’s Lori Wilson is the emcee for this year’s Victorian Christmas festivities in Malvern. Rain or shine, starting on Friday at 6:15 p.m. in Burke Park, the community will gather to light Malvern’s town tree for the season. The ceremony will be covered live on NBC10 for the sixth year.
Following the tree lighting, there will be musical performances throughout town, strolling street performers, children’s shows, horse and carriage rides, a hay ride and more. Malvern’s shops will also be hosting open houses with refreshments. In addition, the most highly anticipated guest, Santa Claus, will hear the wishes of all the children in the pavilion Friday night. On Saturday at Malvern Federal Savings Bank, Mr. and Mrs. Claus will be welcoming the children from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. with plenty of activities and workshops for families to enjoy.
Wayne’s Finer Things will be one of the town’s stores open late for the annual First Friday ‘Wayne Christmas,’ with over a thousand locals expected to attend.
Wayne
Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony, Old Fashion Christmas
Friday December 4th, Saturday December 5th
waynechristmas.com
The Wayne Hotel is the title sponsor of the Old Fashioned Christmas in Wayne, an annual event presented by the Wayne Business Association (WBA). The two-day community and family celebration begins Friday evening, December 4th with festive caroling and horse drawn carriage rides along North and South Wayne Avenues and culminates with the lighting of the Christmas Tree at the Wayne Train Station. The countdown to the tree lighting, scheduled for 7:30 p.m., will be led by 6ABC Action News Reporter Cathy Gandolfo.
The festivities continue with a parade on Saturday morning, December 5th. Led by Radnor High School’s marching band, Jolly Old Santa will make his way down Lancaster Avenue from the Wayne Acme on a fire truck to the porch of the Wayne Hotel. Wide eyed children and their families will gather on the porch to visit with Santa, while enjoying fresh baked chocolate chip cookies and hot chocolate compliments of the hotel. New this year is the opportunity to contribute to Toys for Tots and on Saturday you are invited to bring a new, unwrapped toy when visiting with Santa on the porch of The Wayne Hotel. Bring your loved ones to celebrate at the Wayne Hotel’s Old fashioned Christmas!
West Chester’s popular Old Fashioned Christmas is in its 30th year.
West Chester
Flavia Old Fashioned Christmas
December 3rd-6th
greaterwestchester.com
Now in its 30th year, the four-day (Thursday through Sunday) celebration features over forty events including theatrical and musical performances, guided walking tours, a holiday craft bazaar and breakfast with Santa. The parade, scheduled for Friday, December 4, begins at a new time, 8 p.m., giving spectators plenty of opportunity to get into the Borough and enjoy all the evening has to offer. Beginning at 5:30pm, many businesses and organizations throughout the downtown will host Holiday Open Houses featuring refreshments and seasonal entertainment. At 7 p.m., the First Annual Jingle Elf Run kicks off at Market and High Streets with a 2-mile run and a 1-mile walk.
The evening culminates with the Old Fashioned Christmas Parade which offers a blend of traditional and new elements. In keeping with West Chester’s small town ambiance, a host of local schools, businesses, volunteer fire companies and service organizations will be represented among the many marching bands, floats and antique vehicles that have become a mainstay of Old Fashioned Christmas. Appearing for the first time will be Radio Disney recording artist, Joey Page; the United States Submarine School Silver Dolphins Drill team from Connecticut; and the Cultural Fraternidad Pachamama Dancers from Maryland. Meteorologists Karen Rogers and Adam Joseph from 6abc Action News will serve as emcees. The parade also features a “Salute to the Military” and, of course, the arrival of Santa Claus.
