Short Hops: Nearby road trips and quick getaways
Fun tracks Pennsylvania. Enjoy toy trains of many gauge types, including American Flyer, Lionel, and Bachmann. Museum features interactive layouts, with model train collections from the 1800s to modern age. National Toy Train Museum, Strasburg, weekends through Dec. 27, Dec. 28-31. www.nttmuseum.org
Fun tracks
Pennsylvania. Enjoy toy trains of many gauge types, including American Flyer, Lionel, and Bachmann. Museum features interactive layouts, with model train collections from the 1800s to modern age. National Toy Train Museum, Strasburg, weekends through Dec. 27, Dec. 28-31. www.nttmuseum.org
Quiet time
Delaware. Discover the restorative power of a contemplative slow walk. Take time out from holiday busyness for quiet reflection in the labyrinth at the Delaware Art Museum. Winter Solstice Labyrinth Walk, Wilmington, Dec. 22. www.delart.org/event/winter-solstice-labyrinth-walk-2/?instance_id=6195
Historic holidays
Connecticut. Three houses, known collectively as the Webb-Deane-Stevens Museum, dress up for a look at celebrations from the 1770s, mid-1800s, and early 1900s. Guides in period dress explain artifacts. Weekends. Holiday House Tours, Wethersfield, Dec. 11-Jan. 3. www.webb-deane-stevens.org
Dazzling drive-through
Maryland. Load everyone into your vehicle and drive through 365 illuminated displays and 65 animated scenes at Seneca Creek State Park. The 3.5-mile route includes Teddy Bear Land, Victorian Village, and, of course, the North Pole. Details at website. Winter Lights Festival, Gaithersburg, through Dec. 31. www.gaithersburgmd.gov/leisure/winter-lights-festival
Last gasp
New Jersey. Step back to 1782 and experience the final documented land battle of the Revolutionary War. Re-enactors don colonial and British garb to fight it out at the site of a historic tavern. The Affair at Cedar Bridge, Barnegat, Dec. 27. www.tuckertonseaport.org/event/the-affair-at-cedar-bridge/
Fine crafts marketplace
Delaware. Juried artists present fiber art, jewelry, weaving, pottery, glass art, and more at the Newark Arts Alliance. Find special gifts. Holiday Art Market, Newark, through Jan. 2. www.newarkartsalliance.org/holiday-art-market-2015/
Hungry caterpillar creator
New Jersey. Author/illustrator Eric Carle mixes color and imagination in notable books for children. Montclair Art Museum exhibit displays his pencil studies, hand-painted tissue paper collages used for illustrations, and other works. Eric Carle: Animals and Friends, Montclair, through Jan. 3. www.montclairartmuseum.org/exhibition/eric-carle-animals-and-friends
Dishing it
Pennsylvania. Exhibit of red clay earthenware pottery and decorations made in central Pennsylvania from 18th to early 20th centuries, using native clay from streams and rivers. Pennsylvania Redware at Packwood House, Lewisburg, through Jan. 9. www.packwoodhousemuseum.com/exhibits/
Haute adventures
New York. Tours and family scavenger hunts highlight December weekends at Locust Grove mansion, an elegant Italianate villa overlooking the Hudson River. Built in the 1850s for inventor Samuel F.B. Morse, the three-story house has 25 rooms with holiday finery. See website for details. Decorated Mansion Tours, Poughkeepsie, through Dec. 31. www.lgny.org/events
Strolling history
Maryland. Savor a colonial evening in front of a roaring fire, with festive outdoor activities, performances. Illuminated London Town, Edgewater, Dec. 11 and 18. www.historiclondontown.com/index.php/events/details/366-illuminated-london-town