So it’s official … the Christmas season has arrived in Cape May. I’m sure you’ve seen Santa in your local department store by now, but I assure you that Cape May is the official headquarters for Christmas on the Eastern Seaboard.
The Christmas preview weekend and the lighting of the Physick Estate Christmas tree occurred last Saturday, signaling the true start of the Christmas season. Santa himself flipped the switch on the tree to make it official. I was a bit surprised that the national network anchors weren’t on hand for the event, but thousands of other well informed folks showed up for the festivities. It was all Very Merry.
Of course, the season is a long one in Cape May, which leaves you plenty of time to come experience Christmas in Cape May. You’ll learn all about it as you read further!
With Thanksgiving falling so late on the calendar, the Christmas shopping season has been compressed. This will just add to the usual stress involved in Christmas shopping.
During your visits to The Queen Victoria, you may have noticed that we specialize in reducing your stress. Seriously, were you the least bit stressed during your last stay with us?
I’m pleased to inform you that our signature Stress Relief is available to you right now, even as you read this. I’m talking about how easy it is to purchase the perfect gift for the people you care most about … a Gift Certificate to The Queen Victoria!
If you’ve purchased one in the past, then you already know how wonderfully they are received by whoever is lucky enough to receive it. You don’t have to worry about color or size, or if it will make anyone look fat. Concerns about allergies, the hassle of wrapping, and even the challenge of hiding your gift are all irrelevant. It truly is the perfect gift. Best of all it is really easy to purchase a Queen Victoria gift certificate. You can even do it online from your I-Pad while you’re sitting on the couch next to your loved one without them having a clue. How cool is that?
One last thought. Most gifts are “one and done”. They open it, they love it (hopefully) and they thank you for it. With a Queen Victoria gift certificate the experience keeps giving. You’ll still get the big hug & thank you when he/she opens it, but the anticipation and joy will build as you plan your visit and reserve your room and last until your scheduled visit to The Queen Victoria finally arrives. Oh yeah, I almost forgot, for many of you, it also means a visit to The Queen Victoria for yourself … perfect.
Dickens Extravaganza (Dec 8-10)
The Cape May “Dickens Extravaganza” is probably one of the premier Christmas oriented festivals in the United States. This festival, is a wonderful 3 day event exploring the life and works of the ultimate Victorian author, Charles Dickens. As the author of “A Christmas Carol”, Dickens gave us the enduring image of Christmas that we all carry with us today.
Our Extravaganza is filled with feasts, receptions, wonderfully entertaining presentations, lectures and performances, and some seriously fun entertainment and socializing. This is not some type of scholarly pursuit, but you will have a great time learning a lot of interesting things about Dickens and the Victorian era.
We only have 6 rooms left for this event, so please call us soon if you hope to attend.
At $160/person for 3 days of meals and programming, the Dickens Extravaganza is a GREAT entertainment value!
Christmas in Cape May Now through January 1
So what is Christmas like in Cape May? Well, as I’ve mentioned, we get an early start on the season and we pack it full of tours and fun events. Cape May really is the ultimate Christmas Wonderland. A December visit to Cape May is definitely the right way to get yourself into the Christmas spirit. Nobody does Christmas like Cape May!
Here is a list of just some of the things going on during the Christmas season in Cape May:
Christmas Preview weekend
Christmas Traditions lecture
Evening Yuletide Tour (New!)
Physick Family House Tours
Ghosts of Christmas Past Trolley rides
Holiday Inns Tours
Lamplighter Tours
Candlelight Tours
Cape May Christmas Parade
Holiday Crafts Fair
Dickens Extravaganza
Chef’s Dine Around
At the risk of being repetitious, or stating the obvious, a December visit to The Queen Victoria is a wonderful way to experience the Christmas season!
Celebrate the New Year at The Queen Victoria!
Have you noticed that I’m always full of reasons to plan a visit to The Queen Victoria? It’s a gift.
Anyway, it occurred to me that you might still need another travel planning idea and I’ve got a great one for you. Celebrate the New Year in style in Cape May! Brilliant idea, isn’t it? If you’re looking for crowds and noise and hysteria, then you might want to take a pass on Cape May. If, on the other hand, you’re looking for a relaxing, elegant and romantic way to spend New Year’s Eve with the one you love, then you can’t do better than Cape May (and The Queen Victoria, of course).
If you already have other plans for New Year’s Eve, but still want to do the “relaxing, elegant, and romantic” thing, then plan a couple nights at The Queen Victoria between Christmas & New Year’s Eve. The town will be full of happy people (including you!), the shops will be open and the restaurants will be performing their culinary magic.
It’s your Birthday!
Last year we celebrated Anna Marie’s significant birthday (I’ve conveniently forgotten which one) with a party at The Queen Victoria. It was especially fun because we turned it into a “March Birthday” celebration for several of our guests celebrating birthdays that month. They reserved a room for a fun weekend in Cape May and we had a big party for everyone.
It was such a great time, in fact, that we’ve decided to repeat and expand the event. In 2014 we’ll be throwing a birthday party every month through April. If you’re going to be celebrating a birthday this winter/early spring and you’re looking for a fun way to do it, I suggest a trip to The Queen Victoria.
Here are the dates of our 2014 Birthday Parties:
January 4
February 8
March 22
April 12
If you don’t have a birthday coming up, but still want an excuse to reserve a room at The Queen Victoria, you’re still welcome! We we won’t be checking IDs.
Channeling with Craig McManus Jan 11, 2014
Our Channeling weekends with Craig McManus have turned out to be some of our most popular events, year after year. In 2014 we’ll be doing 3 of them, one of which is already sold out (I told you they were popular).
The good news is that we still have 10 seats left for our January 11th event. The bad news is that means only 5 more couples can participate.
Craig is amazing. He’ll connect you with departed loved ones in ways that you simply cannot believe. Even the most cynical skeptics walk away from these sessions as true believers. You have to experience it yourself to really understand.
Don’t wait to reserve your room for the weekend. These seats won’t be available for long. In fact, there are only 2 seats left for the evening session.
Channeling with Craig McManus Jan 11 (only 10 seats left!)
Channeling with Craig McManus Feb 8 (sold out!)
February Birthdays Party Feb 8
Afternoon with Groucho Show Feb 16
Wine Lovers Weekend (blending party) Feb 22, 2014
“Big Cheesy” Cheese Tasting Party Mar 8
Irish Tenor Concert with Ronan Tynan Mar 8
Sherlock Holmes Murder Mystery Weekend Mar 14-16
2nd Annual Whiskey Challenge Mar 15
March Birthdays Party Mar 22
Singer Songwriter Cape May Mar 28-29
April Birthdays Party Apr 12
Room of The Month
Hampton Court
Hampton Court is a perfect room for us to feature this month, because of that cozy, warm fireplace at the foot of the bed. Sure, it looks great all the time, but as the temperatures drop that fireplace really adds to The Queen Victoria experience. Best of all, it works at the flip of a switch.
Hampton Court is also a large room, actually an open suite, with a comfy leather loveseat in the sitting room, just opposite a nice large flat panel TV. In the bathroom you’ll find a garden style whirlpool tub. Hampton Court is decorated with rich, elegant wallpapers, beautiful color matched crown moldings and some beautiful antique furniture (which you can’t see in this photo).
Can’t you just picture yourself returning to this cozy room after a chilly evening of Christmas tours and enjoying the fireplace or whirlpool tub?
Gift Shop Featured Item Queen Victoria Christmas Ornament
If I may say so myself, this is one seriously good looking ornament. Sure, I’m a little biased, but even objectively, I’m proud to hang it on our tree.
If you love The Queen Victoria, then you should certainly be planning on taking one of these home for your tree this Christmas.
Our Price: $19.95 each
Favorite Photo
All dressed up for the season
The Queen Victoria parlor at Christmas
How could I not feature a pretty picture like this in this newsletter? We always pull out all the stops decorating our parlor for Christmas. Besides the wonderful decorations that abound everywhere you look, we also have literally hundreds of “Winter Rose” poinsettias set up throughout the inn. They are beautiful, different, and we buy enough so that our guests can purchase one or two to take home with them. They come in a rich traditional red and a beautiful antique white & pink color.
Playing at Cape May Stage Jacob Marley’s Christmas Carol (Nov 29 – Dec 29)
Cape May Stage’s Christmas season production, “Jacob Marley’s Christmas Carol”, opens this weekend. That means we haven’t seen it, of course, but here is what Cape May Stage is saying about it:
We all know the story of Ebenezer Scrooge…but what ever happened to Jacob Marley? Chained and shackled, Marley is condemned for all eternity, but when a malicious little evil sprite offers a desperate Marley one chance to free himself, he accepts. To escape his own chains, he must first redeem Scrooge. So begins a journey of laughter and terror, redemption and renewal. This irreverent, funny, and ultimately, deeply moving story retells Dickens’ classic with warmth and infectious zest. This thrilling performance is sure to become a holiday classic for generations to come!
Anna Marie and I are really looking forward to seeing this production. It sounds like a lot of fun. Add a night at Cape May stage to a weekend of beautiful Christmas decor and great tours, and you’ve crafted a perfect Cape May Christmas season weekend. If you were tempted to book a December weekend, but were on the fence about it, this should put you over the top!
Christmas at The Queen Victoria
People are often surprised (pleasantly, I hope) to learn that The Queen Victoria is open for Christmas. We’ve discovered that MANY people are looking for a special place to celebrate Christmas. The Queen Victoria certainly fits that bill. Last year about 60 people (30 rooms) spent Christmas at The Queen Victoria.
For some, it is a perfectly central place to celebrate with other family members with nobody responsible for cooking & cleaning. For others The Queen Victoria is a perfect place to celebrate while their own children are with the in-laws. Some of our guests who don’t celebrate Christmas still enjoy the festivity and cheer of the holiday in a neutral, welcoming environment.
If you’re searching for the perfect place to celebrate the holiday, for whatever reason, give us a call. We’ll be sure to make your Christmas a good one!
Wine Lover’s Weekend
Our favorite event of the year! Feb 22, 2014
If you love red wine then you will absolutely love this event. In fact, it would make an excellent Christmas present for the wine lover that you love!
Each year we pick a February weekend to hold our annual Wine Lover’s Weekend. The weekend revolves around an afternoon Wine Blending Party that we hold at the Cape May Winery. This is one seriously enjoyable event.
On Saturday Feb 22, we’ll gather at Cape May Winery to craft the perfect blend of red wine. We’ll break up into teams of 4-6 people at a table laden with decanters of the various red wines right out of the barrel and trays of cheese from Seaside Cheese. Each team will craft & document several different blends, ranking them among themselves. Once each team has selected its “finest blend”, we’ll all break for a tour of the winery while the winemaker creates the blends we’ve chosen. Following the tour, we head back to the blending room and do a “blind” tasting of the chosen blend of each team. We’ll all vote on the best blend, which will then be bottled for us with a special “Queen Victoria Cellars” label. Each participant will get a bottle of the final blend (2 per couple), the labels of which will be customized with your names and the blending details.
What a great way to spend a winter weekend. I can’t think of anything else I would rather do. I can hardly wait!
Restaurant of the Month Lucky Bones
We love Lucky Bones. I know, it is a strange name for a restaurant, but apparently it has some historical significance related to fishing. That is good enough for me.
Lucky Bones is a great casual restaurant located right at the entrance to our beautiful little village. You’ve probably passed it every time you’ve come down over the bridge into the Fisherman’s Wharf area, on the right hand side of the road. It is owned by the same folks that own the Washington Inn, so that should give you some idea of what kind of quality experience you can expect during your meal. Sure, the menu is completely different, but the quality remains the same.
One of the great things about Lucky Bones is that the menu offers so much variety. From sandwiches to pizza to impressive entrees and specials, the selection is almost dazzling. I love that you don’t have to feel funny not ordering an entree. My personal favorite lately has been the “Positano Pizza”. Anna Marie’s favorite has always been the Grilled Chicken BLT. Add a reasonably priced bottle of wine and we’re sure to have a wonderful dining experience. We think you will too.
Lucky Bones is a popular restaurant, with both locals and visitors. In the summer, you simply can’t get into the place. In the cooler months, however, it is a great option for a terrific lunch or dinner.
Visit The Queen Victoria Soon!
Cape May’s Premier Bed and Breakfast
Make your reservations today for a romantic getaway at The Queen Victoria Bed and Breakfast. We are looking forward to helping you plan your next visit!
Sincerely,
Doug & Anna Marie McMain, Owners/Innkeepers The Queen Victoria Bed & Breakfast
So what is Christmas like in Cape May? Well, as I’ve mentioned, we get an early start on the season and we pack it full of tours and fun events. Cape May really is the ultimate Christmas Wonderland. A December visit to Cape May is definitely the right way to get yourself into the Christmas spirit. Nobody does Christmas like Cape May!
Have you noticed that I’m always full of reasons to plan a visit to The Queen Victoria? It’s a gift.
Last year we celebrated Anna Marie’s significant birthday (I’ve conveniently forgotten which one) with a party at The Queen Victoria. It was especially fun because we turned it into a “March Birthday” celebration for several of our guests celebrating birthdays that month. They reserved a room for a fun weekend in Cape May and we had a big party for everyone.
People are often surprised (pleasantly, I hope) to learn that The Queen Victoria is open for Christmas. We’ve discovered that MANY people are looking for a special place to celebrate Christmas. The Queen Victoria certainly fits that bill. Last year about 60 people (30 rooms) spent Christmas at The Queen Victoria.
