Christmas Tours & Special Events

Friday, November 17th

A Clemens Christmas Preview Evening

Be one of the first people to see the Mark Twain House newly-decorated for Christmas with our exclusive sneak preview evening!

Explore the entire first floor of the historic home at your leisure, with our trained historic interpreters available in each room to answer questions and tell you all about how this family prepared for and celebrated Christmas. Then craft the same Gilded Age Christmas ornaments and decorations the Clemenses made to adorn their own home and tree.
Our museum store will be open all evening so you can get a jump on your holiday shopping–with a special 20% discount only available to attendees. Festive beverages and snacks will be available to purchase at our museum café. Donate a winter coat to our coat drive and receive a free hot chocolate or soft drink!
Tickets for the evening are $50, or $40 if you’re a museum member. Choose the start time that works for you–four options between 5:30 and 6:45–but feel free to spend as much time as you want enjoying all we have to offer that evening.

 

Purchase tickets now!

Sunday November 26

Museum Store Sunday

Forget Black Friday–Museum Store Sunday has everything you need!

Tours of the historic Mark Twain House all decorated for the season.

Get started on your holiday shopping with some free festive food and drink to fuel your retail journey! We’ll also have a trunk show with local jewelry designer Amy Kahn Russell and 30% discounts for museum members. Enjoy live music and visits from Santa and Mrs. Claus!

Make the same decorations the Clemens family did with one of our Gilded Age ornament craft workshops.

Learn about the Clemens family’s traditions of giving at Christmas Charity in the Gilded Age. Donate a winter coat to our drive for MAAC charities and attend for free!

Attend the premiere of “Home For The Holidays,“ an immersive living history experience in the historic home.

 

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Sunday November 26

Christmas Charity In The Gilded Age

“Great baskets with the feet of turkeys protruding below blankets of flowers and fruit.”

As Clara Clemens recalled years later, one of the most important Christmas traditions for the Clemens family was assembling and delivering baskets of food and gifts to poor families in Hartford. Join us Sunday November 26 at 2 PM for a program that explores the family’s charitable efforts in historic context: increasing prosperity for some, increasing poverty for many more, and a society torn over what to do about it.

Tickets are $5, but donate a winter coat or become a museum member to attend for free!

Click here to register!

Saturday December 16

Clemens Christmases At Home & Abroad

“Livy my darling, I sent you a cable telegram from here last night to say ‘Merry Christmas!'”

While the family loved to celebrate Christmas together in their Hartford home, that wasn’t always possible. Join us Saturday December 16 at 2 PM to learn how the Clemenses celebrated as a family while traveling abroad and how they celebrated even when family members were separated by oceans and continents.

Tickets are $5, but donate a winter coat or become a museum member to attend for free!

Click here to register!