The Carriage House Restaurant at Castle in the Clouds will anchor the food-and-beverage programming during this year's Christmas at the Castle series, a six-day holiday event spanning three consecutive weekends at the National Historic Landmark Lucknow Estate in Moultonborough, N.H. The public events run every Saturday and Sunday from November 21 through December 6, 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., with the restaurant open for holiday lunch service throughout.
Complimentary hot cocoa and cookies are included in the general visitor experience, and local artisan vendors will occupy the Carriage House during the event's Artisan Fair. The "Old-Fashioned New England Christmas" theme this year frames the food, décor, and activities around the estate's historic identity — a positioning that ties the culinary offering directly to the venue's museum programming and current exhibit on the history of the property.
The Preview Party
The series kicks off Friday, November 20, with an exclusive ticketed Preview Party beginning at 4:00 p.m. — giving invited guests first access to Lucknow Mansion ahead of the public opening. The evening includes cocktails, hors d'oeuvres, and carolers, with proceeds benefiting the Castle Preservation Society's nonprofit mission. Ticket availability is limited, making it a rare private-dining-adjacent experience inside a working historic museum — a format that operators in destination hospitality and event-venue dining have increasingly embraced to drive both revenue and donor engagement.
Twilight Tours Add an Experiential Layer
Returning for its second year, the Christmas at the Castle Twilight Tour offers a dusk walkthrough of the illuminated Lucknow Mansion, beginning at 3:00 p.m. on each public event date. Tickets are intentionally limited to preserve an intimate atmosphere. The addition of a timed, ticketed experiential tour alongside the restaurant and Artisan Fair gives the property a multi-revenue-stream event model that heritage hospitality venues have found effective for driving off-peak visitation.
"Christmas at the Castle is a beloved tradition at Castle in the Clouds, and we are delighted to host this time-honored event again this year," said Charles Clark, Executive Director of Castle in the Clouds. "With exclusive opportunities for viewing like the Preview Party and Twilight Tours, we are excited to offer unique ways for new and returning visitors to experience Christmas at the Castle."
For venue and food-service operators tracking event-driven hospitality revenue, Castle in the Clouds' layered ticketing approach — free general admission activities paired with premium ticketed experiences and full restaurant service — illustrates how historic properties are engineering multiple guest touchpoints within a single event footprint. The Castle Preservation Society, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, is celebrating its 20th anniversary in 2026, giving this year's series added institutional weight. Full ticket and event information is available at castleintheclouds.org/christmas-at-the-castle.
Written by Michael Politz, Author of Guide to Restaurant Success: The Proven Process for Starting Any Restaurant Business From Scratch to Success (ISBN: 978-1-119-66896-1), Founder of Food & Beverage Magazine, the leading online magazine and resource in the industry. Designer of the Bluetooth logo and recognized in Entrepreneur Magazine's "Top 40 Under 40" for founding American Wholesale Floral, Politz is also the Co-founder of the Proof Awards and the CPG Awards and a partner in numerous consumer brands across the food and beverage sector.
