Looking for meaningful gifts this holiday season? Delight your loved ones by giving a gift that makes a difference: a Present from the Past from Colonial Williamsburg.
Our mission to preserve and impart the story of our past is vital, now more than ever.
Whether your passion is our beautiful gardens, Fifes and Drums, or Rare Breeds Program, there are wonderful options for supporting your favorite part of Colonial Williamsburg, and the efforts to maintain the programs you love while helping to share our Nation’s history with the world.
When you support the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation with a Present from the Past, we’ll send the recipient a note with a description of the program you selected, a personalized message, and your choice of a “Mary Foal” plush animal, a Colonial Williamsburg Patriotic Cap, or a Patriotic Market Bag for your designate or yourself.
But hurry! December 1 is the deadline for getting the gift shipped to arrive by December 24.
The following gift opportunities represent examples of the work that is required to make this remarkable place come to life each day:
Feed a Horse
Our Cleveland Bay horses are not only beautiful and authentic 18th-century breeds; they have exceptional dispositions, the strength to complete hard work and hearty appetites! Your gift of $35 can supply a week’s worth of hay for one of our horses during the cold winter months while waiting to return to summer pastures.
Shrubs for the Palace Maze
The Governor’s Palace maze is among a complex of gardens that represent the best of English country estates of the 18th century. Help preserve this iconic and beloved space with a gift of $75 that can purchase a shrub to keep this popular site thriving.
Preserve textiles with an Archival Box
Colonial Williamsburg’s textile collections include clothing, needlework, quilts, carpets and textiles from several continents. Your gift of $50 can help buy an archival storage box to preserve our irreplaceable 250 year-old-textiles—of which many are masterpieces of workmanship and design.
Bricks to continue the preservation
Even bricks and mortar don’t last forever. With your $50 gift, you can help fund the production of 100 historically accurate bricks for use in the Historic Area to continue the preservation of the 603 buildings—88 of which are original to the 18th century—of Colonial Williamsburg.
Indigo for the Weavers
Nature provided the colors used in dyeing textiles of the 18th century. Your gift of $50 can purchase enough indigo—which renders the brilliant blue shade—to supply our weavers for over a year.
Feed a Lamb
The Spring lambing season is one of the most wondrous things to see, with the newcomers scampering and skipping all over the pastures. A $50 gift can feed a newly-weaned Leicester Longwool lamb for a whole month.
Flower bulbs for the Historic Area
Visitors can find themselves on pathways lined with flowers—or find themselves in the center if a living maze. Your gift of $35 can supply 25 flower bulbs to be planted throughout the Historic area.
A Fife for a young member of the Corps
When the Fife and Drum Corps marches down Duke of Gloucester Street, they always draw a crowd. You can keep the music playing with a gift of $150, which pays for a regulation-issue fife for a young member of the Corps.
Silk for a Ladies Gown
In the 18th century, milliners would hand make everything—from shirts to aprons to hats and ladies gowns. Keep our mantua-makers supplied with enough silk to properly attire a lady of stature with your gift of $80.
If you still can’t decide because you love everything about Colonial Williamsburg equally, you can also check the box to symbolically allocate your donation to wherever the need is greatest.
From all of us at the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, thank you in advance for supporting this special place. Colonial Williamsburg endures thanks to the generosity of the many friends who donate to support its operations and upkeep.
Thank you for helping us to feed the human spirit by sharing America’s enduring story. Happy Holidays!
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