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Hampton History Museum “Holly Days Open House” and “Selfies with Santa” at the Hampton Carousel Lead Up to Hampton Holly Days Parade on December 14 

Part of Hampton Holly Days Weekend

Two free 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 14.

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, gallery tours, and much more on Saturday, December 14, 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” and enjoy a free carousel ride and other fun activities at the Hampton Carousel 1:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. The Hampton Holly Days Parade, celebrating the holidays “Around the World”, steps off at 6:00 p.m. on Settlers Landing Road.

Holly Days Open House
Hampton History Museum
Saturday, December 14
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 10:30-11:30 a.m.; timeless Christmas music from Libertylive.church from 12:00-2:30 pm, and acoustic arrangements of seasonal favorites by Louis Vangieri - LCV PROJECT, 2:30-4:00 p.m.

Live Music Schedule
10:30 am-11:30 a.m.  New Sound Alliance
12:00-1:00 p.m.          Libertylive.church Carolers
1:00-2:30 p.m.            Libertylive.church Brass & Libertylive.church Woodwinds
2:30 pm-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 am-2:30 pm, and at the Hampton Carousel from 1:00-4:00 pm during “Selfies with Santa” taking place from 1:00-6:00 p.m.

Cookies and Hot Chocolate
Free cookies and hot chocolate will be offered by Libertylive.church while supplies last.

Free Museum Admission
Visitors can tour over 400 years of the city’s past, from Native American habitation to the 20^th 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 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 "Hampton One: Working, Building, and Racing on the Water.” This artifact-rich exhibition explores Hampton's integral ties to, and love of, the water that surrounds the city, its seafood and maritime heritage, and passion for sailing as embodied in the locally developed Hampton One-Design sailboat, and the competitive sailing culture that grew out of it. The exhibit features a restored Hampton One sailboat and an extensive collection of original tools, forms, jigs, documents, photos, trophies, uniforms, and other artifacts.  

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.

Admission to the Holly Days Open House and Selfies with Santa is free! Bring your family and friends for a great day in Downtown Hampton!