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Every year (starting just after Thanksgiving) George Washington’s Mount Vernon offers special nighttime tours of the estate called Mount Vernon by Candlelight.  This year (2017) the event began on November 24th and lasted until December 17th (November 24, 25 and December 1,2,8,9, and 17).  The children had never been, so we decided this was a nice year to take them.  Tickets are $24 each with the exception of children 5 and under which are admitted free.  These limited admission evenings typically sell out, so if you are interested you definitely should make sure to plan ahead.

Since the sun goes down about 5 PM, we decided against the earlier time slots and selected a 5:15 ticket.  We arrived early as traffic can be very bad in this area.  We browsed the gift shops and considered a light snack in the food court while we waited until time for our tour.   We had tried to get a reservation in the attached Mount Vernon Inn for dinner, but did not plan far enough in advance.  I think if I had made dinner reservations when I bought the tickets we would have gotten a table.  After using the restroom we headed to the gate a couple of minutes after 5 PM.

 

From the gate we followed the path to the Orientation Center where they scanned our tickets and then assigned us to a tour group.  We were selected to be guests of William Fitzhugh.  While we waited for the town crier to announce that Mr. Washington was ready for Mr. Fitzhugh and his guests, we purchased a few snacks to tide us over until dinner and enjoyed the Christmas music that was being performed on a hammered dulcimer and  flute.  Our tour was scheduled for 5:15, but the crier called us about 5:20.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Once assembled we left the Orientation Center and began our tour.  We walked up the path toward the mansion as our guide explained everything to us.  She then asked for our Letter of Recommendation, which thankfully one of the children in our group had.  Then she led us through the estate which included a stop at the blacksmith’s shop as she explained what Christmas would have been like for the different residents of the estate.

As we entered the mansion, we began in the kitchen where we met the cooks.  We then entered the mansion where we met Mr. Washington’s agent, his grandson, Dr. Craik and Mrs. Washington.  One important thing to keep in mind is that this is not really a tour of the mansion (even though you do go inside), if that is your primary interest you should visit during the daytime.  This is a special seasonal tour that is focused more on what Christmas was like on the estate.

After we finished in the mansion we returned outside.  Your first stop once you leave the big house is learning 18th century dancing (it is participatory if you are inclined).  The last stop before you exit has Aladdin the camel, Christmas carols around the fire and some hot apple cider with ginger cookies.

We spent about one hour and fifteen minutes on our tour (starting from once we were called by the crier), but we would have stayed longer if the children had not been tired.  Mount Vernon estimates that most visitors spend two hours.  How ever long you stay, it is a nice visit and a unique Christmastime event to add to your advent season.  Our entire group was pleased with the evening from children to senior citizens.  We will definitely return.  If you have never visited Mount Vernon at night, I would recommend you give it a try.

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