Historic Downtown Milford Delaware Holiday Stroll

"I am beginning to learn that it is the sweet, simple things of life which are the real ones after all." ~ Laura Ingalls Wilder

The charming posters for Historic Milford Delaware's Ninth Annual Holiday Stroll are all around town at places like the library, city hall, riverwalk and most of the local shops and the posters contain one of the most beautiful four letter words in the English language- free. Everyone, whether they live in Milford or not, is invited to an old-fashioned celebration of the yuletide season to enjoy free horse-drawn carriage rides, costumed strolling carolers and the Milford Community Band playing Christmas music. Visitors can stroll the three-block downtown district and enter the decorated shops, restaurants, bakery and art galleries. Some shops will have complimentary seasonal treats including hot cider and chocolates, giveaways and raffles. All will have hard to find gifts or gift cards that can be purchased for that special someone or even for your special pet. Entertainment will be going on inside the shops and on the sidewalks including bell ringers, barbershop quartets, bands and faculty/student performances at the Music School of Delaware. Even if you can't come in person you can take this pictorial tour of previous strolls and enjoy some of the sights and sounds of this most wonderful time of year.

One of the sweetest stops in town is the Dolce' Bakery, Coffee, Pastries and Ice Cream Shop. Dolce' will be giving away free samples from their Christmas Dessert Menu. All of their pastries are made from scratch by owner/baker George Carroll. Just looking at the display case made my mouth water. If it's cold order some hot coffee, tea or chocolate and sit down and rest for awhile and don't forget to take some goodies home or place an order for your own upcoming holiday celebration.

The Fur-Baby Boutique invites pet owners to bring their pets in to say hi to their dog mascot who will be dressed as Alfie the Elf- providing of course, that Alfie is co-operative and good natured about wearing his costume the night of the stroll. Free wheat treats will be given to visiting pets and of course more treats can be purchased to bring home. The Fur-Baby Boutique sells many novelty gifts for pets and their yummy holiday treats come in snowman, snowflake and other holiday styles that look so good they make even a human's salivary glands kick into overdrive.

The Milford Museum will be open during the holiday stroll and the display changes every year. Visitors of all ages are encouraged to come in and learn more about Milford's history. The town was built around the Mispillion River which was home to two centuries of shipbuilding that made Milford a center of the maritime industry. Model ships celebrating that history can be seen in the museum.

Those unable to visit in person can take an online tour of historic Milford post cards at: http://www.milforddemuseum.org/Postcards/ .

The Milford Riverfront Theatre invites strollers to stop in for hot drinks and tours of the theatre during the holiday stroll.

Each year, the theatre presents a different holiday performance that features classic shows. Contact the Milford Riverfront Theatre directly for information about this year's schedule.

Milford City Hall will host a holiday open house that includes free refreshments. The Milford Band usually gives a free holiday performance during the stroll.

The horse drawn carriage rides can be taken from the circular drive in front of city hall.

I hope you have enjoyed a few of the delights that can be experienced during the Milford Downtown Holiday Stroll. Many more businesses will be participating in order to make this event a success. To view a short video about Downtown Milford click on the link below.

The photos in this hub were of the 2011 & 2012 Milford Holiday Strolls.