Physick Family Christmas House Tour (Physick Estate)

They say that visiting the Physick Estate in Cape May, NJ in December is always a big highlight because it is full of glittering holiday decorations, - Victorian style!

The Emlen Physick Estate is an 1879 Victorian house museum that sparkles for the holidays with authentic Victorian decorations that invite you to step back into the Christmas past with a unique living history experience. During the tour, there are people who act as members of the family household and they will be welcoming you as their visitors in their home :).

The tour guide will tell more about the Physick family and their lifestyles, careers, etc. during their time, including the life of Emlen Physick Jr.

Take note that during the tour, taking photos are strictly prohibited while inside the mansion. 

The mansion has 15 rooms that will be visited giving you a glimpse about the Victorian lifestyle era of the Physick family.

The Physick house has a stick-style architecture, designed by Frank Furness, making it quite unique and different from other houses in Cape May which were built in gothic, Italianate and Mansard styles in a more conservative design.

This guided tour lasts about 45 minutes, and you will end the tour at the Carriage House (also a gift shop). Be sure to take a glimpse at their holiday decorations in the gallery area of the shop...photos are allowed! ;)

Wheaton Arts & Cultural Center Tour (formerly Wheaton Village)

Wheaton Arts is located in Millville, New Jersey, - one unique location to watch how world class glass arts are created in the Glass Studio.

There are several buildings inside Wheaton Arts & Cultural Center that are constantly visited by tourists including students and art aficionados. These include studios like flameworking and ceramics studios, the glass studio, the Museum of American Glass, boutiques and crafts studios, the stained glass studio and unique museum stores and gift shops.

The Museum of American Glass is worth visiting. It has more than 6,000 glass display objects placed in sunlit galleries ranging from old bottle collections from the old American era, various shapes and colors of flasks, Mason jars, and paperweights, to the present contemporary artistic glass arts.

Displays are changed at certain times with some special exhibits being organized throughout the year, thereby making visitors particularly art collectors to keep going back for a visit.

The Glass Studio is the most highly visited where visitors can watch a master glass artist while at work shaping molten glass into beautiful creative designs. You will surely enjoy watching their glass blowing and artist demonstrations as well.

All studios that are open depending on the season are all worth visiting. So, never skip any of it. In the winter, some studios are closed, but all studios are usually opened during warmer months such as summer.

Boutiques and stores are ideal places to go when you want to buy gift items or just for personal keepsakes.

Enjoy Nature & Wildlife at Sylvan Heights Bird Park

(Scotland Neck, NC)

Do you want to witness the beauty of more than 2,000 exotic birds from all around the world in just one place?

The Sylvan Heights Bird Park is an 18-acre wildlife sanctuary for birds with different species that you would surely enjoy seeing and can even interact with them. The park doesn't only showcase these birds and other wildlife but also educates the public about the importance of conserving our wetlands and letting them know how important it is to care for these wildlife as well.

There is an admission fee for the park. ($10-adults; $6-child as of this writing).

Guided walking tour is also available by appointment with a tour fee for at least 10 people or more. This tour is ideal for students and those who love to learn more about birds, exhibits and their history.

There is also a guided golf cart tour with a maximum of 5 guests and a tour guide, but advance reservations are highly recommended.

One good thing about this park is that they offer education programs to help the students learn further more by giving them the chance to explore through wetland adventures, scavenger hunts and animal presentations.

The park is easy to navigate, thus you can easily find your way easily back to the visitor center in any case you want to.

The park has also a landing zone, - one enjoyable place the kids would love!

The Landing Zone is where you can actively interact with colorful birds by feeding them through a seed stick that is available for purchase right at the entrance area as well as at the gift shop.

The birds are tamed and they come to you for a perch, while eating their food from the seed stick. These colorful parakeets have their own colors that make them so unique, - like  colored moving objects when they are in groups. :)

There are also American (pink) flamingos inside the zone that you can feed.

Other bird species are also available in other park areas such as doves, pigeons and pheasants.

For sure, an experience in the landing zone would be your kid's highlight on your visit! :)