Holidays come alive with fun, entertainment and activities that celebrate the Christmas season in Cleveland, Youngstown, Medina, Dover and Ohio’s Amish Country.
Day 1
• Arrive in Dover
• Christmas tree festival at the Ernest Warther Museum and Gardens
• Tour the Reeves Victorian Home and Carriage House Museum
• Depart for Millersburg
• Shopping at Tis the Season Christmas Store in Millersburg
• Depart for Amish Country
• Traditional Amish dinner and a show at Amish Country Theater in Berlin
• Overnight at the Berlin Encore Hotel
Ernest Warther Museum Christmas Tree Festival
Dover
The Ernest Warther Museum and Gardens explores and honors the legacy of master carver Ernest “Mooney” Warther, who began carving as a child and eventually became one of the most esteemed carvers in the country. Many of his carvings are miniature locomotives, made of ivory and wood. His home became the museum, and it details his life and features many of his impressive carvings. For two weeks in November, the museum becomes a mecca of merriment during the Warther Tree Festival, when over 100 decorated Christmas trees and wreaths adorn the museum as they have annually for nearly 30 years. Each tree has a theme and is for sale, with proceeds benefiting the Cleveland Clinic Union Hospital Auxiliary. Groups can tour the museum, which includes Warther’s home and workshop; wander around the forest of Christmas trees; snap some photos; and take in the holiday scenery.
Day 2
• Depart for Kidron
• Explore Lehman’s Hardware in Kidron
• Lunch at Dutch Kitchen in Dalton
• Depart for Medina
• Tour at Roots Candles in Medina
• Experience Castle Noel
• Depart for Cleveland
• Dinner at Hofbrauhaus Cleveland
• Show at Playhouse Square
• Overnight Drury Plaza Hotel Cleveland Downtown
Amish Country Theater
Holmes County
The Amish Country Theater, nationally recognized for delivering clean comedy, gives groups a good time, guaranteed. The comedy variety shows performed in the 600-seat auditorium range from award-winning ventriloquist acts to re-creations of famous comedy routines, all set on a stage that resembles a barn. This unique Ohio attraction is a treat for groups year-round, but it also offers plenty of special performances for those passing through during the holidays. From Thanksgiving to the New Year, the theater features a number of festive productions, such as Christmas in the Country and the New Year’s Eve Spectacular. These seasonal shows and concerts use the theater’s signature comedy sketches and performances of classic holiday music to delight audiences. Groups can enter the theater directly from the lobby of the new Berlin Encore Hotel, which offers 81 guest rooms and complimentary breakfast.
Castle Noel
Medina
Billed as America’s largest indoor year-round Christmas entertainment attraction, Castle Noel opened in 2013 in Medina, a Cleveland suburb. A haven for Christmas enthusiasts, the museum boasts one of the world’s largest collections of Hollywood Christmas movie props and costumes. Its exhibits of popular toys from decades past and intricately decorated department store windows evoke memories of holidays past, which aligns with the museum’s mission to make every guest feel like a kid again. Groups can take a private tour of the museum’s displays and artifacts, see indoor snow, take a ride on the indoor slide, experience story time with the museum’s owner, and enjoy a luncheon of holiday favorites like turkey, stuffing, cranberry salad and a Christmas cookie. A trip to the museum gift shop allows each visitor to take a piece of the magic home with them.
Day 3
• Tour A Christmas Story House
• Treats at b.a. Sweetie Candy Company
• Depart for Youngstown – Lunch along the way
• Ornament-making workshop at the Arms Family Museum
• Dinner and Christmas performance at Das Dutch Haus Restaurant in Columbiana
• Overnight at Best Western Plus Boardman Inn & Suites in Poland
A Christmas Story House
Cleveland
The holidays are rife with traditions, and one of the most recognizable is the annual round-the-clock Christmas Day television broadcast of the 1983 classic film “A Christmas Story.” The movie’s iconic scenes delight and entertain millions of viewers every year, and with a trip to Cleveland, the movie’s many fans can visit the mustard-yellow clapboard house used in the holiday film. The home looks just as it did in the movie, and its museum directly across the street displays some of its most memorable props, like the family’s 1937 Oldsmobile and Randy’s red snowsuit. Groups can enjoy the novelty and nostalgia of this attraction year-round during tours of the house, where they’ll learn movie trivia and see original movie costumes and memorabilia and behind-the-scenes production photos. They can also purchase their very own leg lamps or leg lamp cookie cutters and other movie-themed souvenirs in Ralphie’s Gift Shop.
Memories of Christmas Past at the Arms Family Museum
Youngstown
Thanks to the Mahoning Valley Historical Society, Greystone, an impressive Youngstown residence built in 1905 for Olive and Wilford Arms, is a repository of local history. On the preserved home’s first floor, stained-glass windows and other arts and crafts architectural features complement period furniture. On other floors, exhibits highlight local history and American life in the century since the home was built. The house museum is renowned for its annual holiday spectacular, Memories of Christmas Past, when it is adorned throughout with lights, trees and décor from different eras and countries. Each room is beautifully and ornately decorated according to its own theme. Many exhibits feature classic or rare holiday items, which groups can learn about on guided tours during the holiday season.
mahoninghistory.org/arms-family-museum
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