For three weeks each winter, the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection’s Osborne Homestead Museum is transformed into a holiday showcase.

Originally a farmhouse built around 1840, the Osborne Homestead Museum is now one of fifteen distinctive historic sites in Connecticut.  Frances Eliza Osborne (1876-1956) was the last of the Osborne family children and deeded the 350-acre property to Connecticut to preserve it as a state park for future generations.

Every December for more than 30 years, local garden clubs have prepared lavish holiday decorations following an annually chosen theme.  The theme for the 2022 Holiday Season is “A Holiday Feast.”  The Olde Ripton Garden Club decorated the Milk Room, Porch and Ice Box Pantry in the spirit of “Puerto Rico.”

The holiday menu in Puerto Rico includes local favorites like pernil, arroz con gandules, pasteles, tembleque, and arroz con dulce.

At the stroke of midnight, local tradition demands that you eat 12 grapes for luck.

The citizens of Puerto Rico celebrate Three Kings Day, the feast of the Epiphany, a tradition that is repeated and reflected in present day with the belief that on this eve the Three Kings will visit every good child to deliver them gifts.

The Holiday is not complete without Coquito, Puerto Rico’s version of Eggnog, but without the egg-y flavor. Coquito is made with egg yolks, rum, coconut milk, coconut cream, sweetened condensed milk, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves.

Through mid-December, the Osborne Homestead Museum features special holiday twilight tours in additional to its regular daytime hours.  For more information on the “A Holiday Feast” program, museum hours, and guided tours, please visit the Osborne Homestead Museum Holiday Tours and Programs webpage.