When I was looking for places to relive that old fashioned Christmas,
Holiday Nights at Greenfield Village in Dearborn, Michigan came up in a search. I gave their website a peep and it looked like just the ticket. I saw they start selling tickets in mid-September so I made sure I hopped on it the day they went on sale since I figured the day we wanted to go was probably one of their busiest days. I was right. That place was jam packed to the gills with families, cranky bebes, and people adorned in lights and glow in the dark swords that would both be burnt out by night's end.
When we finally got through the line, we decided to follow the posse of carolers on a mission.
Because it's at the Henry Ford Museum, you are able to hop a ride in an old Model T around the block. You must watch out for them though because people of a certain age might know what an old time horn sounds like but those born after 1995 may not and therefore run the possibility of becoming a hood ornament if they're not careful.
The city hall (I think) boasted the best set of carolers which explains why they had the best amp system.
It was supermoon weekend so we had some assistance from the heavens to light the way.
I'll be honest, without it, we probably would've been a little disappointed. It was hard enough to see the attractions in the village unless you were right up on something so if there'd been a new moon, we might've been groping in the dark.
The streets are lined with lanterns which are nice but don't give off much guiding light. The horses seemed to like them though.
Some of the homes in the village had demonstrations and if you were up to showing off your muscles, they'd put you to work!
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| (Dude is putting his weight into it! Get it, sir!) |
On Maple Street you could choose to walk the village to see Santa on his balcony or barrel past him in a carriage ride that took corners a wee fast whilst belting out Christmas carols as they zoomed by.
At the end of the street, booming music was beckoning us to come close and we stumbled upon these lads and lasses.
They were excellent and the little house next to it had a nice warm fireplace to heat us up for a few minutes before moving on to the next attraction.
I am a friggin' Cotswold NUT and this home was actually too beautiful for me to want to go inside. I told the Mr my heart couldn't take it, I would flop on the floor and chain myself to the furniture.
He assured me we should go in and just as I suspected, I fell in love immediately. A Christmas radio broadcast featuring Judy Garland and other performers of the day was playing, a sweet little tree by the window, a spiral staircase and beamed ceilings.
I wanted to push everyone out and pay them to let me stay the night. I heard a heater coming on so I knew I'd be fine. Seriously, I love that place and just like Henry Ford, I would've paid to have it labeled brick by brick, moved from England and reassembled on an idyllic plot of land. They actually do afternoon teas there in the summer so that may have sold me on a return trip.
More carolers were in the lit gazebo.
Some very calm, friendly horses stood patiently letting the Mr and I (and everyone else) pet them.
There were quite a few neat exhibits but they were so crowded and rushed, I felt like I didn't get to see much of them.
They have a cafeteria type restaurant by the church called A Taste of History and when we saw they had a turkey dinner, I was sold. We had turkey, mashed potatoes, that awesome wet, old fashioned stuffing, a bit of plum pudding (YUM!) and a biscuit (left it in favor of pecan pie, not that it helped me feeling like Violet Beauregard pre-juicing)
That's Cool Whip by the way which made the Mr and I squee. She wasn't shy with it either.
They had a carousel you could ride.
You could buy Christmas wreaths, kissing balls, garlands and greens for your home.
The line for the Model T rides never seemed to dissipate so we skipped it.
If you're into getting your ice skates on, they've got rentals for you to zoom around the rink.
The night ends with a fireworks display and it is truly one at a time.
They are LOUD too, they sound like cannons!
We both agreed that we likely didn't see all of it but also that we didn't know if we'd need to make it a return trip. We might though at some point in the future, maybe for that afternoon tea. There is just so much to see and not enough time to see it all in 3 1/2 hours without being rushed. If you took the time to go to each house in the village, well, I honestly don't think you could. So it might be a good idea to visit the village some other time to see that stuff but it's only open at night during December but 9:30am-5pm from mid-April to November. If you do that, then it might be worth considering a membership because members get discounts on food and certain goods.
It was a great way to kick off making merry in December. Of course, now I want to learn how to make plum pudding.
Have you ever been to Greenfield Village? What event/attraction do you like to go to for the holiday season?
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