Chester County offers seasonal settings for holiday lights, culture, shopping

It's easy to make a day of a visit to Chester County, with holiday museum tours, shopping, and dining.

Yuletide at Winterthur is an annual tradition at this historic home, museum, and garden where displays are decorated throughout the former home of H.F. du Pont.

The gift shop has multiple rooms that could be a museum in itself, and there is a cafe onsite.

At the Brandywine Museum of Art, the galleries are a draw year-round, but every December since 1971, they have held a fundraiser selling 'critters'.

The ornaments are handmade by museum and conservancy volunteers, consisting only of natural materials -- like pine cones, grasses, and a plant called 'teasel'. They have been on display in The Smithsonian and decorated the White House tree in 1984.

In Exton, the Wellington Square Bookshop is the dream shop for proprietor Sam Hankin, a lifelong reader.

The space is created to browse books, find eclectic gifts, and have a drink or a snack. Atlas Obscura voted the shop one of the best bookstores in the world.

This shop and others are in Exton's Eagle View Shopping Center, with restaurants and a courtyard decorated with a lit tree for the holidays.

Yuletide at Winterthur | Facebook | Instagram

5105 Kennett Pike, Wilmington, DE 19735

302-888-4600

Yuletide at Winterthur ends Jan 8th, 2023

The Brandywine Museum | Facebook | Instagram

One Hoffmans Mill Road, Chadds Ford, PA 19317

610-388-2700

Wellington Square Books Facebook | Instagram

549 Wellington Square, Exton, PA 19341

610-458-1144