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Old-Fashioned Christmas in Kansas City: 2010

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Kansas City is rich with wonderful historic sites and museums. This holiday season they are offering the best in festive fun for the whole family!

Old Fashioned Christmas Events in Kansas City:

Overland Park Arboretum Luminary Walk November 26-27 & December 3-4 from 5-8:30pm at the Overland Park Arboretum. Stroll down candlelit trails through the gardens and woods and around the ponds at the Overland Park Arboretum. Admission is $7/ea. NOTE: The November Issue of KC Parent Magazine listed prices that have since been updated by OPAG. Please note the corrected price as listed above. 913.685.3604 Overland Park Arboretum  

Christmas 1856  November 26 & 27, 6 - 9 pm at the Harris-Kearney House. Visit Col. John and Henrietta Harris at their home on Christmas Eve 1856 as they welcome friends and family from far and near. Join the holiday preparations as you learn about Christmas traditions on the frontier. Tours begin every 15 minutes and refreshments will be served. Admission is $7.00 for non members, $4.00 for non member students. Call 816.561.1821 or 913.648.0952 for more information or to make reservations.  Westport Historical Society

Candlelight Tours December 3 & 4 from 6- 8:15 PM tours start every 15 minutes, John Wornall House Museum. Step back in time and learn about the Wornall family on different Christmas Eves over the past 150 years. $14/ea. 816.444.1858 John Wornall House Museum

Candlelight Homes Tour December 3-5, Weston. Keeping with Weston tradition, Father Christmas, in his holiday splendor, will light up the streets and welcome you to our town to tour our homes. Friday: $25/ea. Sat & Sun: Adults $12.00, Children under 12 $5.00 Weston, MO

Holiday Traditions on the Prairie December 4 from 9:30am-1:30pm, Oxford One-Room Schoolhouse. Participate in old-fashioned fun as you make crafts, decorate the tree, make Christmas cards, string cranberries and popcorn as you sing-along with a live musician. FREE Admission. 913.339.6700 Leawood, KS

Fairy Princess at the KC Museum Saturdays: Dec. 4, 11, and 18 from 10am-4pm, Sundays: Dec. 5, 12, and 19 from noon-4pm, Kansas City Museum. Since 1935, Kansas City kids have been celebrating the holidays with the Fairy Princess! With a wave of her magic wand, the Fairy Princess surprises children with a Christmas gift. Take a picture with the Fairy Princess, create holiday arts and crafts, enjoy a sweet treat, and visit the Fairy Princess Boutique. $5/child. 816.483.8300 KC Museum Fairy Princess

Holiday Open House December 4 from 10am-5pm, and December 5 from 1-5pm, Shawnee Indian Mission. Enjoy refreshments, holiday music, crafts, and 19th century skill demonstrations. 913.262.0867 Shawnee Indian Mission  

Celebrate the Holiday at the Trails Museum December 4 & 11, National Frontier Trails Museum. December 4th hop on board for a free covered wagon ride and visit Father Christmas. Live music at 2 p.m. on both December 4 and 11 only; cider and cookies, festive decorations and wonderful bargains in the museum gift shore are offered all days. Free with museum admission. 816.325.7575 National Frontier Trails Museum  

Coleman Open House December 4 from 10am-4pm, Toy and Miniature Museum. Join in the annual tradition as the largest dollhouse in the Museum is opened for all to see! Measuring 9 feet tall and 7 feet wide, the Coleman dollhouse is a testament to the enormous wealth of an illustrious early American family. The house will be open all day and collections coordinator Mary Wheeler will give two talks about the home at 10:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. House open from 10:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. Talks at 10:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. FREE with admission. Adults: $6, Children (5-12): $4, Children 5 and under: FREE. 816.333.9328 Toy & Miniature Museum  

A Visit with St. Nicholas at Shoal Creek December 4 from 10am-4pm, Shoal Creek Living History Museum. Visit log cabins of 1825 and 1835, a school, church, mercantile and then St. Nicholas, resplendent in green velvet robes. Ride the horse drawn sleigh and take the walking tour through 17 historic buildings. $5 per person, 5 and under free.. 816.792.2655. Shoal Creek  

Mahaffie Christmas Open House December 4 from 10am-4pm, Mahaffie Stagecoach Stop and Farm. Visit with Father Christmas and Santa, ride the stagecoach, make gingerbread houses and more. Enjoy stagecoach rides and gingerbread house decorating. Free admission, charge for some activities. 913. 971.5111 Mahaffie Stagecoach Stop & Farmstead  

A Country School Christmas December 4, 1-5pm, Lanesfield School Historic Site. Enjoy a traditional 1904 Christmas Celebration! Visit Santa (bring your camera), make traditional Christmas decorations, enjoy Christmas caroling, storytelling, refreshments, and write a  letter to Santa with pen and ink. Free. 913.715.2552 Lanesfield School  

Christmas on the Farm December 4 from 2-7pm, Watkins Woolen Mill Historic Site. Activities at the home will include holiday caroling, reading Watkins family letters, free samples of traditional holiday treats, flaming plum pudding demonstrations, and visits with Father Christmas. Activities at the visitor center include kids crafts, live traditional holiday music, and a performance by the Lathrop Singing Mules grade school choir. 816.580.3387 Free. Watkins Mill  

Twilight Tour December 5 from 4-7pm, Bingham Waggoner Estate. Twilight Tour with music and complimentary refreshments. Admission applies. 816.461.3491 Bingham-Waggoner Estate  

Christmas 1855 December 11 from 9am-7pm, Missouri Town 1855. Visit with the residents of a mid 19th century community as they prepare for Christmas. The aroma of hearth cooked meals and the sound of authentic music will put you in a festive mood. Recent immigrants will depict their ethnic traditions as they keep their heritage alive with their own special customs. As the afternoon turns to evening, visitors will tour the village by luminary lit paths. Adults, $5.00; Youth 5-13 and Seniors, $3.00; Under 5, free. 816.503.4860 Missouri Town 1855  

Christmas at the White House December 11 at 11:00 AM, Truman Presidential Library. Archivist David Clark takes you inside America's most exclusive address for a peek at the Truman family's celebration of Christmas at the White House. This intimate holiday portrait is painted with photographs, letters, Christmas cards, and sound recordings from the Truman Library's extensive collection. The program is included with Museum admission; seating is first come, first served. Museum admission charged. 816.268.8200 Truman Library  

Gardens by Candlelight December 11 & 12 from 5-7:30pm, Powell Gardens. Enjoy live holiday music, homemade cookies by the fireside and a walk along a candlelit path to the peaceful Marjorie Powell Allen Chapel. $7/adults, $6/seniors, $3 children 5-12, free for members. Please help us plan with an RSVP at 816.697.2600 x209. Powell Gardens

Ongoing Christmas Exhibits in Kansas City:

Heritage Homes Christmas Tour: November 26 - December 30. The elegance and beauty of the Vaile Mansion is a perfect setting for "A Victorian Silver Christmas", while "Twas the Night Before Christmas" is celebrated at the Bingham -Waggoner Estate. At the Marshal's Home, enjoy the charming warmth of the 1850s home decorated simply with homemade wreaths, ribbons and ornaments. A Twilight Tour of the three sites will be held on December 5. Package price includes lodging accommodations for one night and two adult tickets to each site. Heritage Homes Tour: Independence

"Spirit of Christmas Past" November 26- December 30, Bingham-Waggoner Estate. The Bingham-Waggoner Estate has a wonderland of holiday delights in store for you, your family and friends. The Victorian family finished making their final holiday preparations and settled down for a long winters nap. The stockings are hung, the presents are wrapped and the house is gloriously decorated from top to bottom.  Each room in the house has been lovingly embelished with holiday decor. After your tour, relax in the 3rd floor tearoom with home baked cookies and coffee or spiced tea. Don't forget to stop by the Carriage House Gift Shop where you are certain to find unique gifts to please all on your list. Adults - $5.00 Youth 6 to 16 - $2.00. 816.461.3491 Bingham-Waggoner Estate  

A Very Fifties Christmas November 27 – January 2, Johnson County Museum . The 1950s All-Electric House is decorated for the holidays! Rock around our aluminum Christmas tree on the guided tour and take home a special holiday memento. $2 for adults, $1 for children. 913.715.2552 1950s All-Electric House

Christmas at Lanesfield November 27 – January 2, Lanesfield School Historic Site. Discover what Christmas meant to school children in rural Kansas at the turn of the 20th century. The restored one-room schoolhouse will be decorated for a 1904 Christmas. Join in on the festivities and make your very own Christmas ornament. 1:00 – 5:00p.m. Tuesday – Sunday. Free. 913.715.2552 Lanesfield School Historic Site

Victorian Silver Christmas November 26 - December 30, Vaile Mansion. The Vaile Mansion is elegantly decorated with wreaths, garland, and greenery with touches of shiny silver that will enhance the beauty of the mansion as we celebrate a "Victorian Silver Christmas." 10-4 Mon.-Sat., 1-4 Sun. Adults $5.00 Children $2.00. 816.229.8293 Vaile Mansion  

 

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Note: This guide was compiled by the staff of KC Parent Magazine and may not be reproduced in print or online without permission. If you have additions to this guide, please email kristina@kcparent.com.

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