Delight in the beauty of Christmas tradition with a tour into Central Pennsylvania where the holidays aren’t about consumer spending and running up credit card accounts, but instead hearken back to a simpler time. Enjoy a home cooked meal in an Amish home and visit museums full of Christmas memorabilia.
Day 1: Lancaster, PA - Tour Begins
Begin your old fashioned Christmas vacation in Lancaster, Pennsylvania known for its Amish community that eschews modern conveniences and practices non-violence and self-sufficiency.
Day 2: Amish Farmlands
Learn about Amish history and culture on a tour around the area’s farms. Enjoy a homemade feast in an Amish home, where you can witness first-hand the ingenuity, industry, and humility that characterize the community. Take a trip to the Farmers Market, before enjoying an evening at your leisure. You may want to take in a dinner performance at Sights & Sounds Millennium Theatre, where actors and actresses recreate Biblical stories.
Day 3: Brandywine Valley
Take a trip to the Brandywine Valley, where the DuPont estate of Winterthur sits on 1,000 acres of rolling hills, forests, and gardens. Enjoy the abundant Christmas decorations that saturate the landscape and heighten its lavish beauty. See the Winterthur’s incredible collection of American artifacts arranged in 175 different time period rooms dating back to the 1600s. Later, travel to the Longwood Gardens where thousands of poinsettias will greet you with holiday cheer.
Day 4: Paradise
Fill your heart with the Christmas spirit as you visit two holiday-themed museums. At the Landis Valley Museum you can experience a traditional Pennsylvania German Christmas as costumed interpreters walk you through the living history museum, dedicated to maintaining the rural traditions of the region. Next a visit to the National Christmas Center Museum will allow you to explore 20,000 square feet of nostalgic exhibits and displays of Christmas memorabilia. In the evening, partake in an entertaining dinner and show at the Dutch Apple Dinner Theatre.
Day 5: Lancaster - Tour Ends
The tour concludes, but the memories of this holiday vacation will fill your heart with cheer for years to come.
Catch the Christmas spirit in the heart of Pennsylvania Dutch country! See the elaborately decorated Winterthur grounds and marvel at thousands of red poinsettias in Longwood Gardens. Enjoy a show at the Dutch Apple Dinner Theatre and have a very merry Christmas!
