Homes for the Holidays

Picture it. The crisp December air is crackling with anticipation. Shoppers are hustling and bustling with holiday packages. The squeals of happy children, fingers in mittens as they sip hot chocolates, permeate downtown Cape May as they wait to see Santa. The whole of Cape May a living, breathing testament to the holidays, transformed into a Dickens village with garlands of greenery and twinkling lights.

And while a simple December stroll through Cape May would be enough to get Ebenezer Scrooge himself to bask in the warmth of the holiday spirit, there’s nothing like experiencing the high point of Cape May’s holiday season with the Christmas Candlelight House Tours, sponsored by the Mid-Atlantic Center for the Arts and Humanities (MAC).

While the Victorian-era houses of Cape May are admired year round, they truly—and literally—shine during the holiday season, a fact the MAC has been highlighting for over four decades.

“The first Christmas Candlelight House Tour was in December 1974,” says Susan Krysiak, Director of Media Relations for MAC. “This year, 2019, will be the 46th year of the event. The Christmas Candlelight House Tour is MAC’s longest continuously operating tour since the organization was founded in 1970.”

The tour—which includes gorgeous Victorian properties decorated by homeowners who open up their homes for thousands of visitors—has certainly changed since the early days, when the MAC monitored and tracked ticket sales with pens and paper and collected ticket money in cigar boxes.

These days, tickets should be purchased in advance, either online or by phone, and visitors can upload a map of their Christmas Candlelight House Tour onto their smart phones. It’s a smooth operation; one that can accommodate thousands of visitors and over 25 properties, including private homes, inns, hotels, and churches, all decked out for the holidays. And while MAC has grown digitally savvy, it still all comes down to the people.

“Every year, Cape May MAC staff meets after the final Christmas Candlelight House Tour to discuss ways to improve the next year’s event,” says Susan. “Planning is ongoing throughout the year.”

And that’s just the planning. During the tours themselves—which traditionally take place the on the first three Saturday nights in December, unless, as in the case this year, the final night is too close to Christmas and dates are adjusted accordingly—MAC relies on a great deal of community support.

“Because Cape May MAC offers the tour on three nights with over a dozen properties open each night, the needed manpower and woman power is substantial, with dozens of volunteers involved in manning the properties—sometimes several at each location—and manning the refreshment stops,” says Susan. “The tours are busy for staff, with Visitor Service Associates answering questions, musicians performing on the streets, staff and police directing traffic and keeping visitors safe, and managers keeping everything going. Then, there’s the homeowners, innkeepers, church personnel—our most crucial partners, who open their properties to the public. They’re usually onsite to answer the questions of guests touring their property.”

With so many people involved in getting the tours up and running, you might be wondering who’s left to attend. And the answer is…so many people.

After all, it’s a sight to behold any well-kept historic home. Adding in all of the excitement that comes with decking the halls with literal boughs of holly just makes everything more fun and festive.

“In 2018, we had 4,235 visitors; in 2017, we had 3,980 visitors; and in 2016 we had 4, 412 visitors attend the Christmas Candlelight House Tours,” says Susan. “The numbers each year fluctuate based on a variety of factors, including the weather and where the dates fall that year.”

Many of those visitors are repeat customers, choosing to make the Christmas Candlelight House Tour a part of their own holiday tradition.    

“I can’t give you an exact number of visitors who’ve taken the tour since 1974, but I can tell you that there are many visitors who do the tour every year as a beloved family tradition, some of whom I know have done it for close to 25 years,” says Susan.

While the tour offers families an opportunity to create their own longstanding traditions, it’s also something that has lots of different options, providing tour-goers with enough variety and choices to keep it fresh for decades.

“There are three nights available for people to choose from to take the tour. Each of these nights has a different mix of over a dozen properties,” says Susan of this year’s dates, which include December 7, 14 and 28. “We tell our visitors that it is next to impossible to visit over a dozen properties in three hours, so it’s best to plan ahead with the map to decide which ones you’d especially like to visit.”

The stops vary each night. This year, they include The Mission Inn, Angel of the Sea, The Henry Sawyer Inn, Cape Island Baptist Church, The Colonial House Museum, The Mason Cottage, The Bedford Inn, The Episcopal Church of the Advent, Cavalier Cottage, Hotel Macomber, Beauclaire’s Bed & Breakfast Inn, Franklin’s Key, George Ogden House, The Blue Heron, Pharos at the Harrison, The Harrison, Casablanca, The Dormer House, The Mainstay Inn, Cape May United Methodist Church, The Queen Victoria B&B, The Humphrey Hughes House, The Bradford Cottage, Cape May Convention Hall, John F. Craig House, The Luther Ogden House, Bowne Family Residence, Franklin at 721, First Presbyterian Church of Cape May, Inn at the Park, and Antoinette’s Apartments & Suites. Only a selection of these properties—over a dozen per night—is included in each evening of the tour. 

While all of the properties have their differences, visitors can expect their fair share of gingerbread trim, full length windows, well-appointed verandas, wraparound porches and lofty ceilings—the best of traditional Victorian architecture—along with actual gingerbread, elaborately decorated mantels, doll collections, Victorian Santas, sophisticated and often historically decorated Christmas trees, and thousands upon thousands of lights. It’s the perfect marriage of Christmas and history.

As for the run of the tours, well, that’s entirely up to each visitor, though according to Susan, “most people are only able to comfortably visit about half a dozen properties.”

“These are self-guided tours,” she explains. “Volunteers are at each property to help guide visitors and assist the property owner and answer logistical questions. Visitors choose the properties they want to visit and the route to see them. Each property has a story to tell with each being uniquely decorated for Christmas.”

While the tour is essentially a walking excursion with most of the properties within walking distance of each other—and this is a really good reason to plan your route in advance—some properties are further away. In the case of hard-to-reach locales, tour-goers can ride trolley shuttles provided by MAC, or they can drive.

As with any activity that takes place on a cold December evening, MAC recommends taking some steps to ensure a smooth—and safe—tour. In addition to comfortable walking shoes and warm clothing, MAC suggests bringing a flashlight—or using your mobile device—and sticking to the sidewalks. If tour-goers use MAC-provided trolleys, they should still be prepared to walk—trolleys run a continuous loop, but they don’t stop at each property, instead making designated stops along predetermined routes. And finally, if tour-goers need assistance during the tour, they should look for tour staff members—wearing illuminated vests—who can help direct them.

And while the homes themselves are the highlight of the tour, it’s the additional elements that contribute to that elevated air of festivity.  After all, what’s more festive than holiday cookies and Christmas carolers? The tour includes light refreshments—think warm beverages and home-baked treats—at various locations. The Episcopal Church of the Advent serves as a hospitality center on the first night of the tour; refreshments and a free concert will be at Cape May Convention Hall on the second night; and on the third and final evening, the hospitality center is at the First Presbyterian Church of Cape May.

During each tour, the hospitality center in the Carriage House Café & Tearoom of the Emlen Physick Estate will be open. While you’re there—and all tour-goers receive admission to the Emlen Physick Estate, Cape May’s only Victorian house museum—take the opportunity to explore the “An Old-Fashioned Christmas” exhibit in the Carroll Gallery. Full of holiday traditions, the exhibit includes a giant Christmas tree, a Dickens Village, model trains, nostalgic photos from Christmases past, and more.

Add in the traveling musicians meandering through the historic district, and the occasional spontaneous caroling on the trolleys, and the Christmas Candlelight Tour House Tour will imbibe you with the spirit of the holidays in no time.