Holiday Celebrations

The return of these annual holidays is the signal for bringing friends together, and uniting around the family fireside.

—Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, 1828

 

NPS Photo

Annual Holiday Open House

Friday, December 12, 2025

1:00-4:00 pm Early-bird open house
5:00-8:00 pm Evening open house
105 Brattle Street, Cambridge MA
Free and open to all, no reservations needed

Plan Ahead: Before entering the historic house, you will be required to store all purses, backpacks, and other bags (including small ones) at our bag check. To skip the line, we recommend leaving these at home!

Special stories, including books and oral traditions, have long brought families together around the holidays. In 1864, Longfellow would add his own words to the catalog of treasured Christmas stories with his 1864 poem “Christmas Bells,” a call for “peace on Earth & goodwill to men” during the American Civil War. Join us on December 12 to celebrate the power of stories to bring us together at the holidays.

Early-Bird Open House

1:00-4:00 pm (last entry at 3:45 pm)
Skip the crowds and enjoy the Longfellow House, decorated in period style with special seasonal objects from the site's museum collection, during the afternoon hours.

Evening Open House

5:00-8:00 pm (last entry at 7:45 pm)Enjoy a luminaria display on the grounds and stroll the halls of the Longfellow House, decorated in period style with special seasonal objects from the site's museum collection. Live harp music will enliven the carriage house.

 

Complete Your Holiday Open House Experience

Sunset Poetry Reading

4:00-4:15 pm
Join us in front of the Longfellow House for a special sunset reading of Longfellow's beloved 1864 poem "Christmas Bells."

Family fun and refreshments at 115 Brattle Street

4:00-8:00 pm
Make your way to the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy’s President’s House at 115 Brattle Street—known as “the other big yellow house”—for festive family fun including holiday Victorian carolers on the porch, puppet shows at the top of each hour (4:00, 5:00, 6:00, and 7:00 PM), “take-and-make” crafts, and treats for all ages. Cookies and hot beverages will be served.
 

 

Victorian carolers at the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy.

Sam DiMatteo Mckenzie

Visitors read the Longfellow children's letters to Santa.

Sam DiMatteo Mckenzie

"Pleasure Books for Young Children" was one of the many books given as gifts by the Longfellows.

Sam DiMatteo Mckenzie

Harp music will enliven the 2025 Evening Open House.

Sam DiMatteo Mckenzie

The interior of the historic house features seasonal items from the site's museum collection.

Sam DiMatteo Mckenzie

A luminaria display lights up the Longfellow House lawn during the Evening Open House.

NPS Photo

 

Thank you to the Friends of the Longfellow House-Washington's Headquarters and the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy for supporting this annual event.

 

Holiday House Tours
Saturday, December 13, 2025

Free, reservations required
11:30, 12:00, 12:30, 1:00, 1:30, 2:00, 2:30

Enjoy 30-minute guided tours of the Longfellow House first floor, decked for the holidays with special seasonal items from the museum and archival collections!

 

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  Holiday Baking Extravaganza

  Watch staff tackle making festive historic foods, and get the recipes to try it yourself!

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  Christmas Bells

  Set to music early on, the poem "Christmas Bells" became part of the Christmas carol canon.

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  Hands on History: Holidays!

  Join our rangers as they try out crafts the Longfellow children might have made for the holidays