"Open Sleigh" Holiday Lights Tour
Dashing through the Green Mountains with the top off and the heat cranked
- Duration
- 2 hours (evening departures)
- Group size
- Up to 4 guests per Jeep
- Availability
- Thanksgiving weekend through the first week of January
The idea
Our Jeeps come out of the garage in December wrapped in garland, bells and a startling number of lights, and we run an evening circuit of the best-decorated homes, farms and village greens in Southern Vermont. Heated seats, wool blankets and thermoses of hot cocoa make an open-air December night in Vermont not just survivable but genuinely wonderful.
Every December we scout the region for the houses that go completely overboard, and every year the list changes. The route strings together village greens under white lights, farmhouses with a decade-long tradition of outdoing the neighbors, and one barn on a back road that has to be seen to be believed.
The Jeep itself is half the tour. Garland on the roll bar, a wreath on the spare, bells on the bumper and enough warm light that people wave from their porches as you pass. We run with the top down when the weather allows and a soft top when it does not — either way the heaters are on and there is a wool blanket per guest.
Highlights
- Village greens strung in white lights
- The back-road barn that goes completely overboard
- Manchester Center after the shops light up
- Snow-lined lanes with the top down
Good to know
- Dress for the actual temperature — the heaters are good but this is an open vehicle.
- Mid-December weekends are the busiest time of year, so start the conversation by early November if you can.
- Great for small children. Car seats fitted on request at no charge.
Pairs well with
More ideas to combine
Ideas in the same vein — mix and match them into a single custom day or weekend.
