Gingerbread House Contest Opens
2023-11-16 10:00 - 16:00, 2023-11-17 10:00 - 16:00, 2023-11-18 10:00 - 16:00, 2023-11-19 10:00 - 16:00, 2023-11-20 10:00 - 16:00, 2023-11-21 10:00 - 16:00, 2023-11-22 10:00 - 16:00, 2023-11-23 10:00 - 16:00 (America/New_York) and 8 more dates
The Wenham Museum’s Gingerbread House Contest is back! Individuals, families, groups, teams–all are encouraged to create a Gingerbread House for this friendly community competition.
Visit the 2023 Gingerbread House Contest page for contest details and registration. There is no fee to submit a Gingerbread House to the contest.

Silhouette Portraits
2023-11-18 09:00 - 16:00
Capture your child in silhouette! Portraits in Silhouettes will once again be at the museum this November. Reserve a time for a sitting on Saturday, November 18 between 9:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. Each sitting is 15 minutes and each child must have their own time.
The cost is $79 per child and you receive two silhouettes of your child, one facing right and one facing left. Additional copies of portraits are $25 and may be purchased the day of the sitting. More than one child? Reserve two time slots back-to-back.
Portraits In Silhouette is the combined expertise of silhouette artists and mother-daughter team, Jean Comerford and Marcella Comerford-Foley. Portraits In Silhouette is focused on bringing you original, personalized work, full of inventive detail and creative spark. Their silhouettes are never produced with a digital program, copied, or traced. You can expect a genuine, handcut, and individual portrait each time, with consideration for the subject’s character and those great details – capturing “what makes them who they are.” Whether that is a signature hairstyle, a cowlick, the way they hold their mouth, a bow-tie, or glasses, we love to bring out the personality in our portraits!

Gingerbread House Drop Off
2023-12-01 10:00 - 16:00, 2023-12-02 10:00 - 16:00
If you are participating in this year’s community Gingerbread House Contest, drop them off at the Wenham Museum Friday, December 1st or Saturday, December 2nd during regular business hours (10 a.m. – 4 p.m.) for display.

Gingerbread House Competition
2023-12-03 12:00 - 16:00, 2023-12-05 10:00 - 16:00, 2023-12-06 10:00 - 16:00, 2023-12-07 10:00 - 16:00, 2023-12-08 10:00 - 16:00, 2023-12-09 10:00 - 16:00, 2023-12-12 10:00 - 16:00, 2023-12-13 10:00 - 16:00
Visit the Wenham Museum to explore the amazing Gingerbread Houses created by members of our community! Do you have a favorite? Thank you to all our participants!

Holidays in the Village
2023-12-03 12:00 - 16:00
Celebrate the Season in Downtown Wenham!
Enjoy the beauty of Wenham’s historic downtown with an afternoon full of holiday events, shopping, and fun! Support our local businesses and organizations this season while getting in the holiday spirit.
Sign up your downtown business or organization to participate here >>
Schedule of Events
12 – 4 p.m. Open Houses at Downtown Businesses

Irresistibles
4 Monument Street, Wenham | (978) 468-7247
Offering promotional discounts for the day, along with mimosas and light fare.
Nazir’s Fine Jewelry
135 Main Street, Wenham | (978) 468-6366
10% off of in store purchases only. Not valid on services, special orders, or custom pieces.
Vin Fromage
152 Main Street, Wenham | (978) 468-1315
Wine tasting from 12 – 4 p.m.! Purchase 3 or more bottles of wine and receive 10% off your choice of cured meats and/or cheeses.
Restore Health & Aesthetics
154 Main Street, Wenham | (978) 468-
15% off any weight loss treatment after consultation booked during Holidays in the Village. Hot cocoa bar!
Salon Volition
154 Main Street, Wenham | (978) 335-6587
Complimentary Emerald Add-On Treatment with any appointment
booked on that day ($40 value). Complimentary gift with any
retail or gift card purchase of $150 or more.
Insideout Health & Wellness
162 Main Street, Wenham | (978) 468-4294
You won’t want to miss our Insideout FREE gift when you spend over $150. Drinks and light-bites provided!
The Copper Shed
162 Main Street, Wenham
Free gift with purchase and 10% off purchases over $150.
First Church of Wenham & Treat (**from 1 – 3 p.m.**)
One Arbor Street, Wenham | (978) 468-4900
Story hour featuring seasonally-inspired books and goodies from Treat.
12 – 4 p.m. Sen. Bruce Tarr’s Toy Drive
Wenham Museum, 132 Main Street, Wenham | (978) 468-2377
Bring an unwrapped toy to support a child in need this holiday season!
12 – 4 p.m. HW Garden Club Winter Family Festival
Wenham Museum, 132 Main Street, Wenham | (978) 468-2377
Join the Hamilton-Wenham Garden Club and the Wenham Museum for their second-ever Winter Family Festival! Celebrate the season with hot cocoa and crafts inspired by nature and classic New England holiday traditions.
Festival Activities
– Make a birdfeeder with pinecones, sun butter, and bird seed
– Create a clothespin reindeer
– Cut and decorate some snowflake to decorate your home for the season
– Take your photo in our DIY Winter Wonderland photo booth
– Enjoy hot cocoa with mini marshmallows and candy canes
TICKETS
$8.00 Wenham Museum Member Child
FREE Wenham Museum Member Adult/Senior
$13.00 Nonmember Child
$10.00 Nonmember Adult
$8.00 Nonmember Senior
Advanced reservations for the Winter Family Festival are not required but are encouraged. Register online here >>
The proceeds from this event support the nonprofit Hamilton-Wenham Garden Club and the nonprofit Wenham Museum. Thank You!

HW Garden Club Winter Family Festival
2023-12-03 12:00 - 16:00
Join the Hamilton-Wenham Garden Club and the Wenham Museum for their second-ever Winter Family Festival! Celebrate the season with hot cocoa and crafts inspired by nature and classic New England holiday traditions.
Festival Activities
– Make a birdfeeder with pinecones, sun butter, and bird seed
– Create a clothespin reindeer
– Cut and decorate some snowflake to decorate your home for the season
– Take your photo in our DIY Winter Wonderland photo booth
– Enjoy hot cocoa with mini marshmallows and candy canes
TICKETS
$8.00 Wenham Museum Member Child
FREE Wenham Museum Member Adult/Senior
$13.00 Nonmember Child
$10.00 Nonmember Adult
$8.00 Nonmember Senior
Advanced reservations for the Winter Family Festival are not required but are encouraged.
The Winter Family Festival is also part of Holidays in the Village! Enjoy the beauty of Wenham’s historic downtown with an afternoon full of holiday events, shopping, and fun! Support our local businesses and organizations this season while getting in the holiday spirit.
The proceeds from this event support the nonprofit Hamilton-Wenham Garden Club and the nonprofit Wenham Museum. Thank You!

Icelandic Book Flood
2023-12-10 12:00 - 16:00
Do you love to read? Do you love meeting local authors? If yes, come and experience the Wenham Museum’s first-ever Jolabokaflod!
Jolabokaflod is the Icelandic Christmas Book Flood, a tradition that started during World War II when paper was not rationed and giving books as gifts became a tradition. Icelanders read their new books on Christmas Eve while sipping hot chocolate.
Local authors will be sharing and selling their work with the local community just in time for the giving season. Members of the public are invited to meet the authors, shop the book flood, enjoy a crafting activity (make a blank book to take home), and purchase hot chocolate to enjoy!
Tickets to this event will be free for Members and included with admission for all other guests. Tickets include museum admission and access to all galleries and exhibitions. Books and hot chocolate will be available for purchase.
Participating Authors & Illustrators (as of December 1, 2023)
Riley Adaris – Queer fiction
Margarita Barresi – Historical fiction
Yash Bolishetti – YA Science fiction
Dianne C. Braley – Women’s fiction
Aime Card – Nonfiction and Memoir
Mary Carvill – Poetry, Religion
Peggy Cook – Memoir
Karin Gertsch – Fiction for adults and children aged 3-8; travel guides; short stories.
Linda Jenkins – Nonfiction, Memoir, Travel
Marci Darling – Mystery (set in New Orleans, LA); Nonfiction
Sue Lovett – Humor
Stella Nahatis – Nonfiction, memoir
Virginia Pye – Historical fiction
G Pa Rhymes – Children’s fiction
Janis Robinson Daly – Historical fiction
Rob Smales – Horror
Stefanie Van Steelandt – Biography and History
Jane Ward – Literary fiction
Tara White – Children’s fiction
