"If you can get some Holly Trees to plant upon the Circular Banks in the manner, or rather thicker than I did a year or two ago I should be glad of it." George Washington wrote that line to his cousin Lund Washington in December 1776, in a letter preserved on the National Archives' Founders Online. He was on the south side of the Falls of the Delaware, with about 5,000 men to oppose General Howe's army, minus the part of it that had sailed off under General Clinton.
That letter is the documentary backbone of this year's holiday season down the Parkway. Last year, Mount Vernon by Candlelight showed visitors how Virginians celebrated Christmas in 1775, the first Christmas of the war, to mark that year's 250th anniversary. The 2026 tours move forward exactly one year. Guests follow the Washingtons and the people at Mount Vernon as they wait for news of the Continental Army's crossing of the Delaware. The estate's 250th programming now runs on the war's own calendar, and December 1776 was the bleakest Christmas in it.
A Letter Written in Two Sittings
Washington started the letter on December 10 and forgot to send it. He picked it up again on December 17, "Ten Miles above the Falls," and explained that "in the multiplicity & hurry of my business I forgot that I had wrote it." The Battle of Trenton came nine days after that second sitting, on December 26, 1776.
The military news in it is grim, and Washington gives it in numbers. Before the Philadelphia militia joined him, he wrote, he had no more than 3,000 men fit for duty, and now perhaps 5,000. Weedon's Virginia regiment, once the strongest, had between 130 and 140 men fit for duty, "the rest being in the Hospitals." General Charles Lee had just been captured. Washington expected the enemy might simply wait for the first of January, when enlistments ran out and "their will be no other Men to oppose them but Militia." The only exceptions he made were the Virginia regiments and "the shatterd remains of Smallwoods," and he described both as worn down to almost nothing.
"Our only dependance now, is upon the Speedy Inlistment of a New Army; if this fails us, I think the game will be pretty well up."
The Estate Business in the Same Pages
The rest of the letter is about home, and that's what makes it such a good fit for a tour set at Mount Vernon. In between reports on desertion and boats, Washington handles the estate in detail:
- Hedges. He wanted holly planted thickly on the circular banks, or young, straight pines if good holly couldn't be found. He doubted sycamore and thought honey locust "must, I should think, be better."
- Horses for Martha's chariot. At first he wrote that he had no time or men to send the promised horses, so "Mrs Washington must therefore make the old greys serve her a little while longer." By the December 17 sitting he had changed his mind and was sending two young bays to make up "a very good set."
- Clothing for the enslaved workers. Lund had reported that linen cost an "enormous price." Washington wanted a cheaper workaround found, but not by "making the poor Negros suffer too much," and he wrote that they "certainly have a just claim to their Victuals and cloaths."
- Locust trees. A postscript asks for tall, straight locusts from the New Garden to the Spinning House, planted 15 or 16 feet apart so the limbs would interlock as they grew.
One paragraph is marked as private. Washington tells Lund, "in confidence to you, as a friend," to get his papers ready to move at short notice "in case an Enemy's Fleet should come up the River," and to send them to his brother's in Berkeley. He asked that this be done "in such a manner however as to give no alarm or suspicion to any one."
How the Evening Tour Stages That Waiting
The candlelight tour turns this home-front view into a walk. Character interpreters play members of Washington's family, friends, and enslaved or hired staff. The route goes through the lantern-lit historic area, stopping at the slave quarters and outbuildings, then into the Mansion. Mount Vernon says the tour covers three points: why the army's situation was so desperate, how the crossing affected people at Mount Vernon, and how the victory at Trenton brought new hope.
The soldiers' side is told back at the Education Center. In the Great Hall, Continental Army interpreters who were at key events of 1776 talk with visitors about battle and camp life, next to the newest exhibition, George Washington: A Revolutionary Life.
The lighter traditions are still part of the evening. Aladdin the camel stands on the 12-acre field, a custom based on the 18 shillings Washington paid in 1787 to bring a camel to Mount Vernon for Christmas. There is 18th-century music and dancing in the greenhouse, plus complimentary spiced hot cider and ginger cookies in the Education Center lobby.
This is also the second holiday season with the full Mansion open. All first- and second-floor rooms reopened in November 2025 for the first time since January 2024, after the $40 million Mansion Revitalization Project. The work included restoring the Washingtons' Bedchamber to its documented 1799 appearance.
The December 2026 Calendar
The holiday season starts Thanksgiving weekend. Every date below comes from Mount Vernon's November 2026 holiday announcement and its event pages.
| Program | 2026 dates | Time | Adult / youth 6–11 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mount Vernon by Candlelight | Nov. 27–28; Dec. 11–12, 18, 21–22 | Timed tours from 5 p.m., about 2 hours | $41 / $33 |
| Aladdin the Camel | Nov. 24 through Jan. 7, 2027 | Daytime estate hours | Included with general admission |
| Winter Wreath Class | Dec. 4–5 | 10 a.m.–noon or 2–4 p.m. | $175, sold out |
| The Death and Mourning of General George Washington Tour | Dec. 12–14 | See event page | See event page |
| Christmas Illuminations | Dec. 19–20 | 5:30–8:30 p.m., fireworks around 8 p.m. | $58 / $36, plus $5 Mansion add-on |
| Patriots Path encampment | Through Dec. 31 | Daytime | Included with general admission |
Children 5 and under get in free to both evening events. Members pay $32.80 for an adult Candlelight ticket and $46.40 for Illuminations. Members also have their own shopping day at The Shops at Mount Vernon on November 12, the same day this post goes up.
Picking a Night by What You Want From It
The two evening events tell different parts of the season. Candlelight is the one built around the 1776 story. You book a set tour time, and the guided candlelit Mansion visit is included. Illuminations costs $17 more per adult and is a general-admission evening with an artisan winter market, caroling, George and Martha Washington, Aladdin, a Revolutionary War encampment and the fireworks. Going inside the Mansion that night takes the separate $5 add-on ticket.
The Candlelight dates follow the history in a way. Two of them, December 21 and 22, fall in the days right before the 250th anniversary of the crossing itself. If you're hosting family over the holidays, the estate stays open every day of the season, Christmas Eve and Christmas Day included, and the daytime holiday activities come with regular admission. That means Aladdin and the Patriots Path encampment are both there for a daytime visit, whether or not you get evening tickets.
The Mount Vernon Inn has dates set for Holiday Afternoon Tea on December 4–6, 11–13, 21–22 and 26–27, with live harp music. Breakfast With Santa, with a buffet, a Santa photo and cookie decorating, is on December 19, the first night of Illuminations. Both listings say reservations are coming soon. Families who want a full day can pair the Santa breakfast with a ticketed evening at Illuminations.
When Washington signed off on December 17, the jobs he had left with Lund were holly on the banks, locusts by the Spinning House, and a set of horses for Martha's chariot.
If you're planning a December around the estate and want to talk through the rest of life along the Parkway, Lauren Kolazas would be glad to help. Holiday logistics or a bigger question about your next move, let's connect.
