The Queens County Museum is celebrating Christmas like it’s 1999, or thereabouts.

For the past couple of decades, the museum has marked the holiday season with the Festival of Trees and Dickensville displays.

The Festival of Trees showcases over 35 trees, each with different decorations or themes and placed around the museum while Dickensville features scale model recreations of the people and places from Charles Dickens’ novels.

Director Linda Rafuse says after being unable to welcome visitors in during the pandemic they’re excited to continue the tradition once again.

“We’ve been doing this exhibit for so long now, with our two learning trees that we’re now having some of the children that we told this story to many years ago are now bringing their children in to hear the story of the Legend of the Christmas Spider,” said Rafuse. “That’s just so heartwarming.”

Rafuse says the local elementary school classes will be filing in over the course of a week in December to experience the stories and displays for themselves.

The displays are open to the public seven days a week for no charge, but the museum gladly accepts donations.

In fact, for the first time the Queens County Museum is hosting a Christmas wreath auction as a fundraiser.

Wreaths are posted online at the Queens Museum Christmas Wreath Auction Facebook page and people can bid in the comments.

Winners can pick up their wreaths after bidding closes at 4pm on December 4.

The Festival of Trees and Dickensville will be on display until 5pm everyday until the museum closes for Christmas on December 23.

Rafuse says anyone looking to jumpstart their Christmas joy should make a point to drop by.

“If you’re not in the spirit of Christmas yet, come into the Queens County Museum because when you leave, you will be.”

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