Hawthorne House to host festive Christmas Party

The beloved annual “Hawthorne House Christmas Party” will be held at 6 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 10 at Nathaniel Hawthorne’s boyhood home, located at 40 Hawthorne Road in Raymond.

The popular annual Hawthorne House Christmas Party starts
at 6 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 10 at 40 Hawthorne Road in
Raymond. The festivities include cocktails and dinner.
FILE PHOTO

A donation of $5 per adult is requested. Although walk-ins are welcome, reservations are encouraged for planning. You may make a reservation by emailing hawthorne@maine.rr.com or calling or texting Becky Tracy at 207-329-0537.

The festivities will begin with cocktails at 6 p.m., followed by dinner at 7 p.m. Attendees are asked to please bring a favorite culinary creation: an appetizer, main dish, bread, rolls, or dessert, along with serving spoons. They are also asked to please put their name on dishes and utensils.

The cocktail hour and dinner will be BYOB, with guests asked to bring any alcoholic beverages or special mixers they might like. The Hawthorne House will provide setups of ice and standard mixers. The festive evening will conclude with the singing of all-time favorite Christmas carols.

The Hawthorne House is the boyhood home of the legendary author of The Scarlet Letter and The House of the Seven Gables in Raymond and has been listed in the National Register of Historic Places since 1969.

Author Nathaniel Hawthorne was born on July 4, 1804, in Salem, Massachusetts, a descendant of William Hathorne, a Puritan who emigrated with his family from England to the Massachusetts Bay Colony. Hawthorne’s grandfather John Hathorne was a judge who presided over some of the Salem Witch Trials.

Hawthorne’s mother was widowed when he was age 4 and after living for 10 years with relatives in Salem, the family moved to a home near Sebago Lake in Raymond built for them by Hawthorne’s uncles Richard and Robert Manning in 1816. He lived there with his family for three years until being sent to boarding school in 1819, but later in life, said the time he spent at that home was indeed the happiest period of his life.

Fundraising Campaign

Nathaniel Hawthorne’s Boyhood Home in Raymond has launched Phase 2 of its major fundraising effort to help fully repair and restore the National Register historic home. Donations may be made by sending a much-appreciated check or online donation. Please make checks payable to “Hawthorne Community Association” / PO Box 185 / South Casco, ME 04077. Credit card, debit card, and/or Paypal donations may be made online at: https://www.hawthorneassoc.com.

For more information, please contact Abel Bates at 207-318-7131 or by email at jbates4@maine.rr.com. <