Dining room, Thomas Macy House, Nantucket Historical Association.

NANTUCKET, MASS. – The Nantucket Historical Association (NHA) is launching Holiday Houses this season at three of its upper Main Street properties: the Hadwen House, the Thomas Macy House and Greater Light.

Holiday Houses will feature each of these historic homes beautifully decorated in festive trimmings for the holiday season. Visitors will be able to take part in the excitement of touring the homes decorated and designed by Donna Elle of Donna Elle Seaside Living, David M. Handy Events, Susu Aylward and Patty Kepenash.

The NHA is delighted to be expanding its holiday offerings, not only at the Whaling Museum but also at its historic properties, during this celebratory year of the 20th anniversary of the Festival of Wreaths and the 25th anniversary of the Festival of Trees.

“The NHA is the proud caretaker of some of Nantucket’s most iconic properties, and the anniversary year of our two festivals is a perfect time to decorate and open the historic houses on upper Main Street for the holiday season,” says Mary Lacoursiere, the Peter M. and Bonnie J. Sacerdote chair of education and community relations. “The Hadwen House, the Thomas Macy House and Greater Light each represent a different period of Nantucket history. They are living environments and it is only natural to have them decorated for the holidays in ways they perhaps once were. The holiday houses are just one more example of the NHA’s mission to utilize its properties by creating more opportunities for the community to enjoy them.”

Hadwen House is at 96 Main Street. It was built in 1846 in the Greek revival style and is an icon of Nantucket’s prosperity during the height of the whaling industry.

The Thomas Macy House is at 99 Main Street. Built around 1800, with expansions and remodeling in 1832, it is a Federal-style home that was bequeathed to the NHA in 1986.

Greater Light is at 8 Howard Street. It was built in 1790, remodeled in 1930 and renovated in 2012. A converted livestock barn, it was made into a summer home and studio by Gertrude and Hanna Monaghan, two Quaker sisters from Philadelphia who were part of the Nantucket Art Colony, which flourished in Nantucket in the 1920s-40s.

For more information about the Holiday Houses, or other programs and events at the Nantucket Historical Association, www.nha.org or 508-228-1894.