Amp up the season with festive events around N.E.
From sweet pop-ups to challah workshops, pet photos with Santa and a Vermont light spectacle, N.E. has the holidays covered.
When it comes to the festive season, there’s no better place to get in the spirit than New England.
When we aren’t picking apples or strolling through our foliage-rich parks, we’re reveling in gorgeous celebrations of style and creativity.
And it all starts as early as this week. If you’re sharpening up your kitchen skills in anticipation of Thanksgiving, Christmas, and/or Hanukkah, jump into a baking class and learn to make delish babka and challah. Bakey, the Boston bakery founded by Danish-Israeli baker Uri Scheft, shares its know-how for blending European and Israeli baking traditions. On Nov. 6 from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. there will be a Challah Workshop. And on Dec. 4 from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m., a Babka Workshop. Participants will make, decorate, and bake their own treats to take home. To purchase tickets, visit https://www.bakeybabka.com/workshops
The festivity ramps up further next weekend in one of the region’s most beautiful towns, Kennebunk, Maine. On Nov. 8 and 9, the elegantly rustic White Barn Inn will host a blowout culinary weekend. Joining Executive Chef Mary Dumont will be James Beard Award-winning Chef Jeremiah Langhorne from The Dabney, the Michelin-starred Washington D.C. restaurant. The two chefs will collaborate on everything from throwing cocktail parties and five-course dinners to oyster shucking and grilling demos over an outdoor wood-burning hearth — all honoring the farmers, watermen, and purveyors of New England and the mid-Atlantic region. Reserve for the events and book rooms at https://aubergeresorts.com/whitebarninn
On Nov. 21, things get lit in Shelburne, Vermont. It’s all for Winter Lights, a holiday tradition at The Shelburne Museum. Picture this: brilliant, colorful light installations on buildings and gardens throughout the Museum’s campus — from a 220-foot steamboat floating in a sea of light to the Museum’s Sawmill and adjacent Covered Bridge (both of which will be illuminated for the first time). Find more information and tickets on https://shelburnemuseum.org/visit/winter-lights/.
On Nov. 30, a sweet spot for kids and their parents comes to life at The Avery Bar at the Ritz- Carlton in Boston. Its Chocolat Pop-up, which includes tableside hot chocolate service, also has a Letters to Santa Claus station. Between rounds of ice skating on the Frog Pond nearby, or before a performance of Boston Ballet’s “The Nutcracker” at Citizens Bank Opera House across the street, kids can sip traditional cocoa while writing to the North Pole, while parents can order a richer, decadent cocoa that can be made “naughty” by adding their favorite spirit or cordial for an additional charge. Catch it from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. every Saturday and Sunday through Dec. 29. For more information or to reserve, call 617-574-7100 or visit www.ritzcarlton.com/boston.
And finally, on Dec. 13 from 4 p.m.- 6 p.m., pooches get in on the festivities at “Picture Your Pet With Santa,” a fur-friendly photoshoot and cocktail party at The Colonnade Hotel. Hotel guests, neighbors, and passers-by are welcome to bring their four-legged friends for a festive photo op with Saint Nick himself. A cash bar, and complimentary hot chocolate and sweets from The Colonnade Hotel’s restaurant, LUCIE drink + dine, will be available for human attendees, along with free, festive treats for pets. A $25 donation to the MSPCA Animal Care and Adoption Center is required for attendance. Secure your spot at ColonnadeSantaPics2024.eventbrite.com.
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