Spend Thanksgiving weekend at Washington Irving's Sunnyside

Wednesday November 21, 2012 3:00 PM By Kristin Taveira

Photo credit: Bryan Haeffele | The halls are decked for holiday tours at Washington Irving's Sunnyside in Tarrytown.

Families are invited to travel back in time and learn about 19th-century holiday traditions during a tour of Sunnyside, the bucolic riverside home of the Hudson Valley’s own literary legend, Washington Irving (3 W. Sunnyside Lane, Tarrytown; 914-366-6900; www.hudsonvalley.org).

Through works such as “Old Christmas,” “Newstead Abbey” and the “Knickerbocker History,” Irving brought to life a number of old English Christmas customs for his American readers, popularizing such traditions as Santa Claus and holiday evergreens. Starting the day after Thanksgiving, the historic homestead — and the tour guides — will be decked out in period holiday finery to present themed tours and share yuletide tales of life with the Irvings. Kids can enjoy stories and an assortment of drop-in craft activities such as making holiday cards, 19th-century-inspired ornaments and handmade gifts like matching cards and silhouettes.

Sunnyside is open from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Friday through Sunday, Nov. 23-25. Story times are at 11 a.m., 12:30 p.m., 2 p.m. and 3 p.m. Admission is $12 for adults, $6 for children, $10 for seniors and free for members and children under 3.

Tags: Tarrytown , Sunnyside , events , kids , holidays , Thanksgiving