A yuletide tradition in Virginia Beach: Celebrating Christmas at the Whitehurst-Buffington House

Over the past decade, the annual holiday open house has become a welcome yuletide tradition at the Whitehurst-Buffington House on North Landing Road in Virginia Beach.

Natural decorations, live music and tasty refreshments make the December event a particularly festive seasonal occasion. The gathering offers the Whitehurst-Buffington House Foundation and the Council of Garden Clubs of Virginia Beach an opportunity to allow the historic home to welcome the public in a celebratory style.

“We show this as a family’s home. The property was a land grant from the king of England. Generations of Whitehursts have lived here,” said Phyllis Sawyer, president of the Whitehurst-Buffington House Foundation. “Continually families have lived here. The Bratton family lived here. They sold their home to the Buffingtons and they lived here.”

“When people come for our open house we want to see them have fun and enjoy themselves,” said Sawyer. “For those who have not seen the house before, we do take tours. We answer questions. If they want to go upstairs, we try to have a tour guide up there to help them. We want people to see what we have and appreciate it.”

The Whitehurst-Buffington House traces the site’s holiday decoration tradition back to the Historic Preservation Commission’s Holiday Homes Tour that was designed to pique interest in sustaining the historic homes in Virginia Beach.

Members of the Council of Garden Clubs provided Christmas decorations for the tour, which was discontinued some years later. But the council adopted the Whitehurst-Buffington House and has continued to provide fresh seasonal decorations.

“We support the Whitehurst-Buffington House. We decorate for their Christmas open house. Weekly arrangements are provided by garden clubs. We have a signup sheet. They come in every week,” said Kay Slover Eckhardt. “The garden clubs can decorate as they want, but we do have caveats. They have to be fresh materials, and the decorations have to be period appropriate.”

Holiday decorations include a host of natural items that would have been readily available to Virginians of yesteryear: oyster shells, cotton, pine, cedar and pinecones.

“Christmas is a special time of the year for this house. We work very hard to make it extra special,” said Eckhardt. “We keep the temperature down in the house to help the natural greens stay fresh.”

Refreshments during the holiday open house have traditionally become part of the celebration.

Phyllis Sawyer personally prepares a traditional wassail from an old Virginia recipe. The hot beverage combines the flavors of apple cider and orange with a tasty blend of spices.

“It’s as easy as a recipe can be, and people really like it. It has cloves, nutmeg, cinnamon and allspice,” said Sawyer. “It’s not really spicy. You could add rum and make it into a hot toddy, but I’ve never done that. If you have a good thing going, it’s good to stick to it.”

Silver trays full of a variety tempting cookies – from pfeffernὕsse to pizzelles – offer open house visitors an opportunity to sample a few delectable treats.

“We have hot cider with orange slices and spices and hot coffee. We have various seasonal cookies available,” said Mickey Moore. “We have some German pfeffernὕsse, Italian pizzelles, and ginger cookies, all with the Christmas spirit.”

Of course, music has been a part of the open house over the years. For the last two years, violinist Summer Cozzens has provided live traditional music to enliven the atmosphere in the historic house.

Cozzens pulled her first book of songs, a childhood gift from her mother, from her personal musical archives to select some of the traditional carols and music for the event.

“The first song I ever played was Away in a Manger. I played it in church when I was 7 years old,” recalled Cozzens.

In days past, Virginians of Princess Anne County (now Virginia Beach) decorated for the holidays more simply than today. The tasteful, natural decorations at the Whitehurst-Buffington House and the gracious hospitality of the staff during the festive open house evoke the joyful spirit of Christmases past.