In 2024, the West Milford Messenger reported that the 49th annual Victorian Christmas at Ringwood Manor ran on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays through Dec. 15. This year the Manor is calling it the 50th anniversary, and the open house runs four Friday-to-Sunday weekends. The last one ends Dec. 20.
The daytime visit is now easier to fit into a December calendar than it has been in years. The evening programs in the Great Hall are where space runs out. The newest one, an actor performing Charles Dickens reading A Christmas Carol, was listed as sold out for both nights at the end of October, nearly a month before opening weekend.
So the 50th season splits by time of day. If you go during the day, you can just show up. If you want an evening, you need to book now.
The whole season on one page
Everything below takes place at Ringwood Manor, 1304 Sloatsburg Road.
| Program | 2026 dates | Hours | Price | Capacity | How to get in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Victorian Christmas open house | Nov. 27–29, Dec. 4–6, Dec. 11–13, Dec. 18–20 | 10 a.m.–4 p.m. | $10 adults, $8 seniors 62+, $5 ages 6–12, free 5 and under | Walk-in | Tickets at the door, cash or check only |
| Holiday Fine Arts & Crafts Sale, Carriage Barn | Same four weekends | 11 a.m.–4 p.m. | Varies by item | Walk-in | Cash and credit cards accepted |
| Charles Dickens Reads A Christmas Carol | Nov. 27 and 28 | 7–9 p.m. | $25 | 30 per night | Listed sold out |
| Victorian Christmas Concert Evenings | Dec. 4, 5, 11 and 12 | 7–9 p.m. | $45 plus Eventbrite fee | 55 per night | Advance tickets through Eventbrite |
| Group Tour Day | Dec. 9 | 10 a.m.–4 p.m. | Special group pricing | Groups of 10 or more | Arrange with the Women's Club of West Milford |
Add up the evening programs and the season has 280 Great Hall seats, all fitting into the same three-and-a-half-week stretch as the twelve open-house days. Sixty of those seats were for Dickens, and they went first.
Sixty Dickens seats, already spoken for
The Ringwood Manor Association of the Arts announced the 2026 holiday lineup on Oct. 2. It said the 50th anniversary was the reason for adding more holiday programs, and it billed the Dickens reading, performed by actor Frank Farrell in the Great Hall, as new this year. The announcement also explained the idea behind it. Dickens promoted his work with public and private readings, performing every character himself.
Two performances at 30 tickets each come to 60 seats. Both nights fall on opening weekend, Friday, Nov. 27, and Saturday, Nov. 28. Doors open at 7 p.m. and the reading starts at 7:30. At the end of October, the Manor's Dickens page listed both dates as sold out.
The concerts: four nights, 55 seats each
The Great Hall's other evening program has more room. Ridley & Anne Enslow return to play historic holiday music on Dec. 4, 5, 11 and 12. Doors open at 7 p.m. and the music starts at 7:30. The Association of the Arts describes the concerts as a returning favorite, played for small groups of ticket holders who get to feel like guests of the Hewitt family.
Tickets are $45 each and sold only in advance through Eventbrite, which adds a processing fee. Each performance is capped at 55 people. At the end of October, the Manor's concert page did not show any of the four dates as sold out. The concert page links straight to purchase.
The concerts fall on the second and third weekends, which makes the timing easy. If you visit the open house on Friday, Dec. 4 or Friday, Dec. 11, you can come back the same evening.
The daytime open house is the easy part
The open house is still the event that welcomes everyone. Visitors walk through the decorated first floor of Ringwood Manor at their own pace. No reservations are needed, and brochures, interpretive signs, staff and volunteers fill in the history of the rooms. The Manor's page says the décor changes every year.
A few practical details make for a smoother visit:
- Bring cash or a checkbook. Open-house tickets are sold at the door, and the Manor's page says "Cash or check only, please!"
- Plan around the hours. The open house runs from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. The Carriage Barn sale opens an hour later, at 11 a.m.
- Park in the lots. The Manor's directions page asks visitors to use the designated parking lots, not the driveways, the lawns or the space in front of the Manor.
- Groups have their own day. Groups of 10 or more can book a daytime visit on Wednesday, Dec. 9. To set up pricing and scheduling, contact the Women's Club of West Milford at [email protected] or 201-675-3527.
With twelve open-house days instead of a shorter run, families can move a visit to a later weekend if the schedule fills up. December 18–20 is now an option, and in 2024 the season was already over by then.
The open house also raises money for the four groups that put it on: the Women's Club of West Milford, the North Jersey Highlands Historical Society, the Ringwood Manor Association of the Arts, and Ringwood Manor.
The Carriage Barn sale runs on the same calendar
The Ringwood Manor Association of the Arts holds its Holiday Fine Arts & Crafts Sale in the historic Carriage Barn gallery on all four Victorian Christmas weekends. According to the sale page, it supports local artists and helps pay for restoring and maintaining the carriage barn. Unlike the open house, the sale takes credit cards as well as cash.
So the sale is a reason to stop at the Manor even on a weekend you've already seen the rooms. It's also a way to buy gifts that supports the same property.
November, before the garland goes up
These dates fall between this post's publication and opening weekend:
- Friday, Nov. 6: Senior Harvest Dinner Dance. The dinner dance runs 3:30 to 6:30 p.m. at the Community Center, 112 Erskine Road. It's free for Ringwood seniors and Senior Club members, with dinner, dancing, dessert and live music. Reservations are required.
- Sunday, Nov. 8: Forest Bathing & Foraged Tea at the New Weis Center. This program runs 10 to 11:30 a.m. at 150 Snake Den Road. Weis Center educators lead it, and it's open to ages 13 and up. The same day, the New Jersey Botanical Garden is giving Skyland Manor House tours from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.
- Tuesday, Nov. 10: Annual Veterans Salute. The borough's salute starts at 6:30 p.m. at the Community Center, 112 Erskine Road, and is open to all.
- Sunday, Nov. 15: NJHHS Annual Show & Tell at Ringwood Manor. The North Jersey Highlands Historical Society, one of the four groups behind Victorian Christmas, meets at 1:30 p.m. in the Coffee Shop at Ringwood Manor. The event listing invites people to bring information, historic objects or research about the local area. It's free and open to the public. NJBG also lists Manor House tours and a child-friendly woodland hike that day.
- Saturday, Nov. 21: Holiday Wreath Decorating at NJBG. The workshop meets in the Carriage House at the Botanical Garden, with sessions at 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. The fee is $25, and reservations are required through the garden's event page. Also that day, the New Weis Center hosts a Reiki & Aromatherapy Workshop led by Crystal Eshanov and Chris Campbell from 12:30 to 3:30 p.m., for ages 13 and up.
The Nov. 15 Show & Tell offers something the holiday weekends don't. It's a free afternoon inside Ringwood Manor, hosted by one of the four groups behind Victorian Christmas. Six days later, the wreath workshop requires reservations, so it's the one to book ahead.
The 50th Victorian Christmas opens Friday, Nov. 27. Concert tickets are on Eventbrite now, and open-house tickets are sold at the door, cash or check only.
Ringwood is home base for our team, and we're glad to see the Manor's oldest tradition still growing. If you're thinking about what's next for your home in this part of Passaic County, The Only Orly Group would be glad to sit down with you once the decorations go up. Schedule a Free Consultation and we'll talk it through over a cup of coffee.
