Special to Times
Explore the beautiful neighborhood of Beacon Hill on the Nichols House Museum’s annual Beacon Hill Holiday House Tour.
The tour takes place on Sunday, Dec. 8, from noon to 4 p.m., with a reception from 3 to 5 p.m. It showcases outstanding examples of historic preservation, as well as creative modern interpretations and adaptations and is the primary annual fundraising event for the museum.
The tour will be a day full of beauty, music, and cheer, offering a rare opportunity to experience a select group of private residences at their festive best. In addition, the Nichols House Museum will be open for self-guided tours for guests to experience historically inspired holiday traditions of the Nichols family at the turn of the 20th Century.
This year the William Hickling Prescott House, headquarters of the National Society of Colonial Dames of America in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, will also be open as part of the Tour.
In honor of Arthur Nichols and his youngest daughter, Margaret Homer Shurcliff, who shared a passion for bell ringing and introduced handbell ringing to the U.S., there will be handbell performances by Boston’s community handbell ensemble, the Back Bay Ringers.
Included in the tour ticket is a reception at the King’s Chapel Parish House. There will be light refreshments and festive jazz from 3 to 5 p.m. The Alex Minasian Jazz Duo will present an afternoon of jazz honoring the legends of jazz music, including Charlie Parker and Thelonious Monk, as well as music from the Great American Songbook, including a few holiday favorites.
Pianist Alex Minasian has performed in many of the country’s most famous jazz rooms. He was the last pianist for legendary vocalists Little Jimmy Scott and Mark Murphy. Minasian will be joined by John Sullivan on bass.
Join the Nichols House Museum for its kick-off event, the Eggnog Pre-Party, on Thursday, Dec. 5. Enjoy a frothy cup of traditional Beacon Hill eggnog from the recipe of Rose Standish Nichols and her live-in cook and housekeeper, Mary King.
The Nichols House Museum extends its gratitude to this year’s business sponsors of the Holiday House Tour: Cort Petrocelli Coopersmith, Eastern Bank, Gibson Sotheby’s International Realty, and Rusticator. Wisteria and Rose have donated outdoor decorations at the Nichols House Museum.
For tickets to the Eggnog Pre-Party and the Holiday House Tour, visit https://www.nicholshousemuseum.org/events/holiday-house-tour-2024/.