WEST SPRINGFIELD – For decades Storrowton Village has been offering families a variety of ways to celebrate the holiday season.

Two of the events being offered this year include their Yuletide Weekend and Yuletide Lantern Lighting.

Director of the Storrowton Village Museum, Jessica Fontaine, told Reminder Publishing they’ve been hosting Yuletide Weekend since 1980, making this year’s weekend the 40th they’ve hosted.

The Storrowton Village website describes the annual event as a “winter festival [that] brings the community together to celebrate the season with traditional Yuletide activities, entertainment and shopping in the historic Village.”

The two-day event will take place on Dec. 7 and 8 beginning when the village opens at 11 a.m. and ending when the village closes at 4 p.m.

In addition to time-honored favorites returning to the festival, Fontaine noted there will also be some new features added. “People can expect to see gorgeous decorations, craft demonstrators, and a variety of entertainment,” Fontaine said.

She said new activities this year includes the following, “[The] free family craft is tree ornament making, Three of Cups is a musical duo joining us on Dec. 7, Dennis Picard will be speaking on the history of the American Christmas Tree on Dec. 7, and our Yankee Candle pop-up shop in the Greenwich Barn is also new this year. Additionally, “Guys, Gals, & Goats 4H Club” is joining us with their goats, chickens, and rabbits on both Saturday and Sunday.”

Each year Fontaine said hundreds of people turn up for the free event. She noted the weather has cooperated each year except one in the event’s 40-year run. “We’ve been lucky to have wonderful sunny, brisk weather and only have had one day we had to cancel in 40 years,” she said.

The Yuletide weekend offers something for everyone, Fontaine said. “Whether their interest is historic trades, holiday décor, shopping, or family-friendly activities, there’s plenty to fill the day or just a short trip,” she said.

Fontaine also mentioned that for many attending the event, this is the way they begin their holiday season and gather ideas for how to decorate their own homes.

Storrowton Village is also encouraging guests to give back while attending the Yuletide Weekend by hosting a toy drive for Baystate Children’s Hospital. During the weekend, collection boxes will be placed in Greenwich Barn and Gift Shop for visitors to donate new, unused and unwrapped toys. The toys collected during the weekend will then be donated to children and teenagers at Baystate Children’s Hospital in Springfield.

Gift suggestions for those interested in donating and more information on the toy drive can be found online at https://www.baystatehealth.org/giving/how-to-support/bch-toy-donation.

Another longstanding tradition at the Storrowton Village is their Yuletide Lantern Lighting. Fontaine said the event, which has been taking place for more than 30 years, “has steadily grown in recent years with nearly 150 attending in 2018.”

During the event, the buildings in the village are lit with candles and lanterns to give visitors “a completely different view” and “a feel of what it would have looked like to settle in for the evening in the 19th century.”

In addition to the unique lighting display, the event also offers guests a variety of entertainment and activities.

“Entertainment and fun includes musical storytelling of Stan Svec in the Union Meeting House, free with admission self-serve cocoa and tea, and to decorate your own holiday cookies in the Potter Mansion, shopping in the Museum Gift Shop and the Christmas Shop,” Fontaine said.

The lantern lighting will take place on Dec. 11 from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the Storrowton Village. Admission for the Yuletide Lantern Lighting is $8 if tickets are purchased before the event, and $10 the day of the event. Children 6-years-old and younger get into the lantern lighting for free.

For a full list of Yuletide events and other information about Storrowton Village visit https://www.storrowtonvillage.com/p/events/storrowtonyuletide.