photo credit: syracuse.com
The turkey has been gobbled up, the stuffing has gone to the "waist" side and the pumpkin pie has been proffered. Now onto to all things Christmas!! The holidays go into full swing before the tryptophan wears off so you may as well get the family out there and soak it all up. The Finger Lakes are brimming with festivities to check out and the beautiful Victorian town of Skaneateles is a great place to begin. The day following Thanksgiving marks the start of the 23rd Annual Dicken's Christmas in Skaneateles, NY. The town travels back through time with over 50 costumed characters from Charles Dicken's classic, a Christmas Carol. There are free horse and wagon rides, Christmas carol sing-alongs, free roasted chestnuts, story times, and Father Christmas is at the Masonic Temple waiting to visit and hear Christmas wishes. The characters act out scenes from the story and interact with all the townspeople throughout the day, also. This tradition starts the day after the turkeys and continues on each Saturday and Sunday until Dec.18 (noon to 4) and again on Dec. 24th. (noon to 2:30). We had a light lunch before arriving, to save money and not have to worry about crowds but be sure to grab some hot chocolate at Skaneateles Bakery to warm everyone up. And have the camera ready for many photo ops, maybe you will get photobombed by Scrooge himself.
After "chilling" with the Dicken's folks, hop back on the road and head to Corning, NY with a stop along the way for some food without crowds. Finish your first day at a hotel in Corning. We stayed at the Hampton Inn and the kids enjoyed the indoor pool for awhile before bed. After our free breakfast at the hotel, we headed to the Corning Museum of Glass. The kids found that there was enough to keep them entertained for a bit and anyone under 17 years of age is free! The museum is decorated for the holidays and there are workshops for older kids to make their own glass. Be sure to grab some of the gallery's free activity sheets to keep the kids engaged also-my daughter was all about finding all of the items on her sheet. The next stop was in, what is known as, the Gaffer District. The Saturday after Thanksgiving is Small Business Saturday in town and there are plenty of restaurants and shops to support. We also found Santa in his glass house with no line, if you missed Father Christmas at the last stop. We visited with both, since the kids believed the first was more of a character from a story. You can also check out the gingerbread house display and much more American art at the Rockwell Museum and if you can pull off one more day in Corning, Sunday has a gingerbread house building workshop and the Parade of Lights comes through the streets at 4:30. This parade is unique because every participant has to be lit up!
photo credit: corningfingerlakes.com
Corning has many more holiday events each weekend such as, Sparkle on Dec. 3 which is a celebration with activities and holiday fun for the whole family, including fireworks. On the drive from Skaneateles to Corning is Seneca Falls, where there is the "It's a Wonderful Life Festival" on December 9. The town is said to be the inspiration for Bedford Falls in the classic film and characters from the movie will be in town, Bedford Falls postmarks are available at the post office and there are crafts, caroling and carriage rides too. The holidays are such a fun time to get out and enjoy our surroundings and these Finger Lakes towns are great places to start!