Hampton History Museum ‘Holly Days Open House’ and ‘Selfies with Santa’ at the Hampton Carousel
Lead Up to Hampton Holly Days Parade on December 8
--Part of Hampton Holly Days Weekend--
Hampton, VA - Hampton, VA – Two family events, the Holly Days Open House at the Hampton History Museum and “Selfies with Santa” at the historic Hampton Carousel offer a day of family fun in Downtown Hampton leading up to the Hampton Holly Days Parade on Saturday, December 8.
The Hampton History Museum’s Holly Days Open House presents live classic Christmas music and popular holiday songs by several groups, heirloom holiday ornament making, face painting, train displays, retro toys, gallery tours, and much more on Saturday, December 8, 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Admission to the Hampton History Museum is free all day, 10:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m. Snap free “Selfies with Santa” at the Hampton Carousel 1:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. The Hampton Holly Days Parade steps off at 7:00 p.m. on Settlers Landing Road.
Holly Days Open House
Hampton History Museum
Saturday, December 8
10:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.
Free and open to the public
Entertainment
Entertainment will be featured throughout the day: uplifting holiday songs from New Sound Alliance from 10:00 a.m. - 11:00 a.m.; timeless Christmas music from Libertylive.church from 12:00 p.m. - 2:30 pm, and acoustic arrangements of seasonal favorites by Louis Vangieri - LCV PROJECT, 2:30 p.m. - 4 p.m.
Live Music Schedule
10:00 a.m. -11:00 a.m. New Sound Alliance
12:00 p.m. -1:00 p.m. Libertylive.church Carolors
1:00 p.m. -2:30 p.m. Libertylive.church Brass & Libertylive.church Woodwinds
2:30 p.m. - 4:00 p.m. Louis Vangieri - LCV PROJECT
Heirloom Ornament Making
Visitors can make new memories creating different types of heirloom ornaments that family and friends will cherish for years to come, such as cloth angels, God’s Eye Ornaments and Tin-Punch Plate Ornaments.
Train Displays
A train display created by the Peninsula Model Railroad Club will dominate the museum’s Great Hall. This nostalgic display features several N-scale trains running simultaneously through city, farm, countryside and other interesting scenes. In addition, railroad enthusiast Dave Shuster is bringing a large layout of the Polar Express, complete with Santa’s Village, along with an O-gauge scenic display, and toy wooden trains to play with.
Face painting
Artists from "A Mile of Smiles" will offer free face painting courtesy of the Hampton History Museum from 11:30 a.m. - 2:30 p.m., and at the Hampton Carousel from 1:00 p.m. -4:00 p.m. during “Selfies with Santa” taking place from 1:00 p.m. - 6:00 p.m.
Old-Fashioned Toys
Children can try their hand at games, and play with reproductions of vintage toys that would have been familiar to parents and grandparents, including Rock’em Sock’em Robots, Twister, Spirograph, “Pop-o-Matic” Trouble, Bozo the Clown 3-D Bob Bag, along with the ever-popular LEGOs.
Cookies and Hot Chocolate
Free cookies and hot chocolate will be offered by Libertylive.church while supplies last.
Selfies with Santa at the Hampton Carousel
602 Settlers Landing Road
Saturday, December 8, 1:00 p.m. - 6:00 pm
Festively decorated for the season, the historic Hampton Carousel welcomes youngsters of all ages to share their holiday wishes and snap “Selfies with Santa.” A second face painting station will be set up at the carousel (1-4 pm). Admission to the carousel, “Selfies with Santa” and face painting are free. Tickets to ride the carousel are $1. The Hampton Holly Days Parade steps off at 7:00 p.m. on Settlers Landing Road.
Free Museum Admission
Visitors can tour over 400 years of the city’s past, from Native American habitation to the 20th Century in the Hampton History Galleries, explore artifacts of early settlement, learn the city’s role in the American Revolution, War of 1812 and Civil War, and view displays such as “1619: Arrival of the First Africans” commemorating the 1619 arrival of the first Africans in English North America nearly 400 years ago, “When the Computer Wore a Skirt: NASA’s Human Computers” that tells the story behind the hit film and best-selling book Hidden Figures, along with “NASA: Hampton Takes Flight” which chronicles a century of contributions to aeronautics and space exploration made at the NASA Langley Research Center and its integral role in the Hampton community.
Also on display on the museum’s second floor is “Civil War Journey: The Maps and Sketches of Private Robert Sneden,” a touring exhibition organized by the Virginia Museum of History & Culture. Eyewitness accounts and images from the Civil War memoir of Union soldier, cartographer, and Confederate prisoner of war Robert Knox Sneden are showcased in an exhibition of 45 watercolor maps and drawings with views of battles, battlefields and military life that provide a unique and mesmerizing perspective on the Civil War.
The Hampton History Museum is located at 120 Old Hampton Lane in Downtown Hampton. There is plenty of free parking in the garage across the street from the museum. For more information call 757/727-1102.
Hampton Holly Days
Tis the season for one-of-a-kind, hand-crafted gifts, cruising aboard the Miss Hampton with St. Nick, making special heirloom ornaments, snapping a selfie with Santa, and enjoying the Peninsula’s largest illuminated parade.
Santa’s Attic Arts & Crafts Show, Friday, December 7, 10:00 a.m.- 5:00 p.m., City Hall lobby, 22 Lincoln St; Lighted Boat Parade, Friday, December 7, 7:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m., Downtown Hampton Waterfront, 710 Settlers Landing Road; Holly Days Open House, Saturday, December 8, 10:00 a.m.- 4:00 p.m., Hampton History Museum, 120 Old Hampton Lane; Selfies with Santa, Saturday, Dec. 8, 10:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m., Hampton Carousel, 602 Settlers Landing Rd; Holly Days Illuminated Parade, Theme: Hampton’s Treasures, Saturday, December 8, 7:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m., Settlers Landing Road, Downton Hampton. For more information about Hampton Holly Days, call 757/727-8311 or visit hampton.gov/holydays.