Last week we discussed a holiday weekend in Portsmouth, NH (see that here) and this week I’m writing about a holiday weekend in Brattleboro, Vermont. The holiday season is a great time to plan a girls weekend away. Getting Christmas shopping done without the kids in tow makes the whole season run a lot smoother. My mom’s birthday is in December, therefore we always make plans to get away. Here is how we spent a holiday weekend in Brattleboro, Vermont.

Day One

The first morning starts off bright and early for me, meeting up with some family and hoping in the car to drive from Connecticut up to Vermont. This particular trip, to Brattleboro, allows us to drive through the middle of Massachusetts and therefore includes a stop at the Yankee Candle Village. It is where they make their candles and the shop, more like a little village, is a magical holiday spot. There’s even a room that snows! That’s my favorite spot there ;)

I recommend getting to the village as soon as they open! We were there right before the doors were opened and it’s always less crowded at that time. My mom, sister and I were done and on our way in an hour. Back on the road, we grabbed lunch at a diner off Rt 91 and drove the rest of the way to Vermont. The beauty of Brattleboro is that it is right on the border of Vermont and New Hampshire, allowing you to do things in both states :)

Before checking into our hotel in Brattleboro we drove to Keene, New Hampshire to do some holiday shopping, mostly at Walmart and T.J.Maxx!

We headed to Brattleboro before dinner, checked into our hotel and parked downtown to walk around. There are a few public parking lots tucked behind the buildings along Main St; we parked at the one on Elliot St, where you can find this sign below.

One of my favorite things to do in Brattleboro is window shop at the antique stores. I could walk around them for hours. So many treasures to find!

In years past, the girls and I have eaten dinner at Whetstone Brewery, right on the river, but this year we wanted to do something different and nicer. We made reservations and ate at Peter Havens. It was delicious!

Every time we’ve come up to Brattleboro the family and I have stayed at the Holiday Inn Express on Chickering Dr. and did the same this year too. The rooms have even been remodeled recently and the hotel is even better. It’s quiet and the continental breakfast includes a ton of options, even hot eggs or pancakes.

When on a girls trip we usually like to head back to the hotel early, get on pjs, open a bottle of champagne, put on a Christmas movie and play a game. I think I was asleep well before 10 pm. :)

Day Two

After the breakfast at the hotel, we checked out early and drove to see some sights in Brattleboro and surrounding towns. If there had been snow on the ground we would have absolutely gone snow shoeing! Alas, we had clouds and light rain. Our first stop was to one of the covered bridges in the area, there are many.

From there we checked out the ski jump hill, Harris Hill, which was very cool to see up close, and then drove to Grafton Village Cheese Company. The area there is called Retreat Farm, a great place to snowshoe, according to my sister. We walked around, saw the animals, the storybook trail and soaked in some nature. The Cheese Co wasn’t opened yet and looked like a great place to visit when bustling with people. For another time!

We then drove back into Brattleboro, parked for free on the street (on Sundays) and grabbed some coffee and walked around a little more. From there we hopped back into the car and drove to The Vermont Country Store, slightly north of Brattleboro.

After shopping for about an hour, we drove to the Molly Stark State Park in Wilmington. My sister said the views are stunning and we thought we’d hop into Beer Naked Brewery for lunch. Well, it didn’t go as planned…

This was the view!

And, the brewery was closed! On vacation I guess. Oh well, we had drove past a deli on our way there and noticed it was packed; always a good sign of a good place for lunch. We grabbed soup and sandwiches (and cookies!) at Vermont Country Deli in Brattleboro. It was perfect and yummy!

A huge rain and wind storm was coming in and we decided to head back to Connecticut a bit earlier on Sunday than we normally would have. It was still a fun weekend! We all decided Portsmouth does a better job with Christmas decorations than Brattleboro and maybe we’ll go back there again next year.

Do you have a favorite destination for a weekend away at Christmas time?