Williamsburg is a large and well-organized tourist attraction with accommodations of all sorts at a wide range of prices, and if you want to spend time there during the Christmas fortnight, it is wise to make your plans well in advance. Start by writing or calling for complete information about accommodations and special Christmas packages that are offered each year. The address is: Colonial Williamsburg, P.O. Box C, Williamsburg, Virginia 23187, and the number, a nice touch, is 1-800-HISTORY. Also ask for a listing of the special Christmas festivities, because you may want; to make reservations for some of those before you go. I am told that some people sign up for events such as the Baron’s Feast as early as October.

The Williamsburg Inn offers the most elegant—and most expensive—accommodations at the restoration; it also administers twenty-four restored colonial houses where you can stay if you want to experience an eighteenth-century setting. There are also many modern places to stay.

There is a Visitor Center, where you should start your visit to get your bearings and to get tickets for the day’s events. The Official Guide to Colonial Williamsburg , on sale there, is informative. The maps in the guide aren’t very helpful, though, and you should pick up a map called the Visitor’s Companion, an essential. Buses circle the historic area constantly, and your ticket entitles you to ride all you want. Sometime while you’re there, do eat in one of the colonial taverns —Christiana Campbell’s Tavern, one that George Washington “supped” in frequently, as noted in his diary; Josiah Chowning’s Tavern; or the King’s Arms Tavern. All these serve fine food in authentic settings. A pleasant book put out by the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation is called A Williamsburg Christmas , and stores in the historic district carry books about every aspect of the restoration.