We are so pleased to announce our Holiday House Tour was honored as the top choice in the Northeast and fourth place nationwide in USA Today 10Best Reader’s Choice award. The list included such well-known sites as Graceland, the Breakers in Newport, the Biltmore, Mount Vernon, and Monticello.

We’re beyond excited to be among the top five nationally. For the Crane House and Historic YWCA to be recognized is a real honor, especially when you look at the caliber of the other museums on the list.

The Crane House and Historic YWCA was one of 18 museums in the United States nominated for this award by a panel of nationally-recognized travel experts for the USA Today travel award series, which celebrates outstanding destinations, attractions and experiences.

Each year, the Montclair History Center’s historic houses are trimmed with period decorations by the Garden Club of Montclair. This year, due to COVID, there were restrictions on how many people could enter the Crane House and Historic YWCA at the same time. The Garden Club of Montclair still did an amazing job from afar. They created wreaths, garlands, and centerpieces in their own homes and handed them off to staff stationed outside the house. Our staff took them from there, placing the decorations in the period rooms.

The houses usually open for the Essex County Holiday House weekend and remain open for self-guided public and private tours throughout December. The Montclair History Center also offers evening Candlelight Tours that explore the evolution of Christmas and end around a hearth fire with wassail, hot apple cider, and other refreshments.

In 2020, we offered limited tours with safety and social distancing protocols in place. The Garden Club of Montclair’s decorations were featured in one of the museum’s History at Home virtual programs. You can see the decorations in a 7-minute video on our website and our YouTube Channel.

We hope you can join us, in person, in 2021.