New Hampshire is in a mood this holiday season -- pick one!
Dec. 9—What kind of mood are you in this holiday season?
We took an unscientific poll — one admittedly skewed toward goodwill and goodies — to find out.
We found Granite Staters feeling downright jolly, nostalgic, merry and bright. Here's a sampling.
Jolly
Ebenezer Scrooge is famous as a miserly Christmas grump, so it's no surprise that in many depictions he wasn't spending much money on razors to keep those whiskers under control, either.
In tribute to the eventually redeemed character in the classic tale "A Christmas Carol," the Park Theatre in Jaffrey is in the midst of its New England Dickens Fest, which included a Best Whiskers Contest earlier this weekend.
Categories included best beard, best mustache and best sideburns, according to Steve Jackson, the theater's CEO and managing director. Participants got inspiration from Jackson's collage of men's sporting styles that would have been in fashion back in Scrooge's day.
Suffice it to say, it reflects an exuberant range from pointy waxed mustaches to sideburns that form a triangle from chin to the ear lobe.
The festival continues today with the Miss Havisham's Brass Bed Race at M&T Bank on Peterborough Street at noon.
Registered entries can be made of metal or any other material and need not sport actual mattresses. But each bed must have a team to push it. (There's no word on whether a special vehicular license is needed to push a four-poster down the street.)
There's also a craft and food fair with a Fezziwig flair in honor of the good-hearted boss of young Scrooge. The event runs from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.
If you've got some time to spare, the "Filibuster Reading" of Charles Dickens' stories of "David Copperfield" starts at 11 a.m.
There's no telling when it will end.
Nostalgic
There are few spots in the Granite State that rival Portsmouth for Dickensian appeal — the brick sidewalks, the steeple of the North Church, the glowing street lanterns and the grand Christmas tree in Market Square.
It's all part of revelry spearheaded by the Chamber Collaborative of Greater Portsmouth, along with the Music Hall, the Portsmouth Historical Society and the city of Portsmouth.
Vintage Christmas in this port city involves area venues, businesses and eateries, including Fezziwig's Food and Fountain on State Street. Take a step inside this vintage-looking State Street "brasserie" and you'll find a cozy nook with a handful of tables served by women in old-fashioned, floor-skimming skirts.
The menu includes teas, pastries, desserts, fountain drinks, milkshakes and ice cream, soups, sandwiches and main dishes.
That vibe is on full display at the centerpiece of Vintage Christmas: the Candlelight Stroll at the 10-acre Strawbery Banke Museum, where the time-worn dirt walkways lead people through 350 years of holiday traditions in the museum's historic houses. Along the way, costumed role players portray the many people who once lived in the neighborhood.
Last year about 11,000 guests came through the gates, said Veronica Lester, the site's director of marketing.
One new feature this year is at the Shapley-Drisco-Pridham House. Though originally constructed as a single-family home with a first-floor shop, it later was converted into a duplex. One half of the structure reflects the 1700s, when the Shapley family lived on this tidal inlet of Puddle Dock, while the other half is a snapshot of the Pridham family in the 1950s, with an Elvis Presley album playing on the record player and a Christmas tree dripping with tinsel.
Area resident Sherm Pridham, who grew up in the house, has shared many memories with chief curator Elizabeth Farish. A museum photo captured the pair decorating the Christmas tree in the living room of the house in 2022.
Event manager Alex Cave said one element missing over the past few years has been concerts at the Cider Shed, but musicians are heading back to play two sessions each this year.
"We've gotten such great responses and feedback from visitors. It's a favorite for a lot of people," she said. "One visitor said it was the heartbeat of the stroll."
The Candlelight Stroll continues Friday, Dec. 15, from 5 to 9 p.m.; Saturday, Dec. 16, from 5 to 9 p.m., and Sundays, Dec. 10 and 17, from 4 to 8 p.m.
Merry
The Goat Bar and Grill has several locations in the Granite State, but just one is experiencing a miracle this December.
The Congress Street gathering spot in Portsmouth normally sports a country vibe leaning more toward burgers, beer and whiskey, but a recent transformation is showing extreme holiday spirit.
"Miracle at the Goat," which runs through Jan. 1, is like a pop-up bar within a bar. A blast of kitschy decorations go from floor to ceiling, Christmas tunes are playing and specialty cocktails are being served.
"It's an immersive experience from the moment you walk in to the drinks and the decor. There will be (Christmas) movies playing on the screen ... unless there's a prominent sports game on," said Erica Fleury, the venue's marketing and creative director.
Patrons still can get a Tito's and soda or a Jack and Coke, but there also will be craft drinks, including an Old Fashioned complete with an actual snowball. There's also the Christmapolitan, Rudolph's Replacement and The Krampus.
Since The Goat serves up homestyle fare for brunch, lunch and dinner, it's open to all ages.
In Manchester, 815 Cocktails and Provisions on Elm Street is mixing up the "Snow Bird," described as "Coconut oil fat-washed rum, apple bear brandy, coconut palm sugar and chocolate bitters."
There's a new look inside the place, which is owned and operated by Ryan McCabe and Sarah Mallet, who try to pair food with spirits including vodka, gin, rum, bourbon and tequila.
The renovated 815 location used to sport a speakeasy theme where customers had to convey a password from inside a 1920s-era phone booth to get through a hidden door.
Now it has a more contemporary atmosphere and creative, classic and seasonal cocktails.
In case anyone is looking for a smooch heading into the countdown on New Year's Eve, 815 also is featuring a drink called "Ready to Do Some Kissing."
For a wintertime non-alcoholic option, there's a coffee Kombucha called Coffee Cat.
Bright
Ryan Kalantzis promises that he won't play more than four or five Mariah Carey songs a night to spare visitors from overload.
But the Manchester resident would play them on repeat if left to his own devices, he said in a phone call last month from Denver, where he had just seen Carey, the self-professed "Queen of Christmas" and hitmaker behind "All I Want for Christmas is You," in concert.
Less than 24 hours earlier, he had posted a trio of photos on social media. In front of a festively decorated stage, he beams alongside his fiance Chad Stanton and Chad's mother, Sandy Stanton.
They'll be seeing Carey again at the TD Garden in Boston on Monday, he said.
Kalantzis and Stanton are in their fourth year of transforming their ranch house at 100 Becker St. into an elaborate holiday display. As far as he knows, the neighbors aren't "sick of us" yet, he said.
Timers flick on the lights at 4:30 p.m. and shut them off at 10:30 p.m., with Kalantzis and Stanton waving at passing vehicles and welcoming a steady stream of visitors.
They are hosting a community event on Saturday, Dec. 16, with cookies and cocoa with Santa, reindeer games, prizes for best holiday attire and photo ops with displays.
Families love to see those blow-up lawn characters and shapes at night, but during the day, the view can be pretty deflating — like a giant Bumble has stamped them flat on the lawn.
So this year, Kalantzis says the are moving a bit more toward light-up features, with groupings of Christmas themes, including a winter wonderland with snowmen and penguins, a Grinch area with projected images and decorations, and a Santa's Village, along with assorted candy canes, snowflakes and presents.
"We might need a storage container soon," Kalantzis said. "The bigger it gets, the harder it is to take down."
