New additions this week to Kim's New England Deal Sheet:

• Say "Ciao!" to '10 at a Tuscan Feast in Maine with a two-night Kennebunkport New Year's Eve escape priced from $337.10 per couple;
• Enjoy a wild ride in Vermont with the Rabbit Hill Inn's Truck Safari package this winter; and
• Receive a free $100 dining gift card when you purchase $500 in Newport Restaurant Group gift cards by December 31.

_{Photo of dinner at the Newport Restaurant Group's Castle Hill Inn & Resort © 2003 Kim Knox Beckius.}

The Yankee Candle flagship store in South Deerfield, Massachusetts, is the Disney World of candles and one of New England's most popular shopping destinations as the holidays approach. In addition to finding the largest imaginable selection of Yankee candles in an endless array of fragrances and colors, you'll find kitchen and home accessories, New England crafts, collectibles, a toy shop, gifts galore, a restaurant and even the Black Forest room where it snows year round!

More of New England's Top Shopping Destinations

• L.L. Bean Flagship Store in Freeport, Maine
• Simon Pearce in Quechee, Vermont
• Antiquing in Essex, Massachusetts
• Vermont Teddy Bear Factory in Shelburne, Vermont

_{Yankee Candle flagship store photo © 1999 Kim Knox Beckius.}

Carl Bozenski's Christmas Village in Torrington, Connecticut, has been a holiday tradition since 1947. This free holiday attraction, which is open daily now through Christmas Eve, enchants visitors young and old. Enjoy these pictures and tips for planning your own visit.

Are you dreaming of... sleigh rides, deer tracks in the snow, ice skating on a frozen pond, cuddling in front of a crackling fire with someone you love and all of the magical merriment of old-fashioned seasonal celebrations? There's no place quite like New England for the holidays. Here is your one-stop holiday guide to events, recipes, festivities and more.

_{Christmas Village photo © 2006 Kim Knox Beckius.}

I'm no Scrooge, but I wasn't in the holiday spirit until this past Sunday evening, when I spent time with ghosts from Christmas past in Portsmouth, New Hampshire.

Actually, they weren't ghosts. They were very knowledgeable and personable interpreters, who bring holiday traditions from the 1790s through the 1950s to life at Portsmouth, New Hampshire's Strawbery Banke: a living history museum on the site of the Seacoast region's oldest neighborhood. I'll take you to Strawbery Banke for the 30th annual Candlelight Stroll in this video and tell you how you can enjoy your own step back in time this holiday season.

More Old-Fashioned Holiday Fun!

• Christmas Nostalgia on Cape Cod
• Add a Victorian Touch to Your Holiday Decorating
• Christmas at Old Sturbridge Village

In a holiday baking rut? Add some old-fashioned cookie recipes from New England to your repertoire. My collection of dozens of cookie recipes from New England inns will provide inspiration. I'll highlight a great recipe every week, but don't wait to try them all!

_{Snowball cookie photo submitted by Karen Lawson.}

New additions this week to Kim's New England Deal Sheet:

• Celebrate a Vintage Christmas in Portsmouth without spending a lot for a hotel with eBreak rates from $79 this weekend at Marriott hotels in Portsmouth, New Hampshire;
• Print and wrap a Six Flags New England season pass, sale priced at $54.99 this holiday season; and
• Stay free Sunday through Thursday at New Hampshire's Royalty Inn when each member of your party purchases a Wildcat Mountain lift ticket.

_{Vintage Christmas at Portsmouth's Strawbery Banke photo © 2009 Kim Knox Beckius.}

The old-fashioned tradition of bringing home the Christmas tree is alive and well here in New England. Everywhere you drive these days, you see prized pines tied tightly to car roofs. There's something about the sight and scent of a fresh-cut New England evergreen that just can't be duplicated by any artificial means. If you're in search of the perfect pine, here's your guide to Christmas tree farms in all six New England states, plus neighboring New York State.

I'll even tell you about a farm where you can drive right up and select a Christmas tree to cut, and, if you can't get to New England, you can still enjoy fresh pine direct from the Maine Woods to your home.

_{Bringing home the Christmas tree photo © 2007 Kim Knox Beckius.}

Bethlehem, Connecticut, that is! Each December, the petite post office in Bethlehem becomes one of Connecticut's busiest postal facilities. I'll tell you how to head to Bethelehem to decorate your holiday mail. Or, if you can't get to Connecticut, you can still send your cards to the post office for cancellation.

The Country Inns in the White Mountains' 13th annual Inn to Inn Cookie Tour is just over a week away, and once again, these New Hampshire inns have shared recipes for some of their guests' favorite treats with us. Chocolate Bark may be more candy than cookie, but I don't think you'll hear anyone complaining if you bring this decadent treat to a cookie swap or holiday tea.

If you're in a holiday baking rut, my collection of dozens of cookie recipes from New England inns will provide inspiration. I'll highlight a great recipe every week, but don't wait to try them all!

When the holidays roll around, you can be sure you'll never hear: "I wish you hadn't bought me another lobster" or "I'm afraid I'll have to return this lobster; it's not my size."

Delight someone on your list with lobsters. Here's your guide to ordering New England lobsters online.

More for Lobster Lovers

• How to Eat a Lobster
• The Best Place to Buy Live Maine Lobster
• I Scream, You Scream... Why? Lobster Ice Cream!
• Make Lobster Nachos for Your Holiday Party

_{Lobster photo © Kim Knox Beckius.}