Without fail, I visit Portsmouth, New Hampshire during each of the four seasons, but if I had to choose, I would make visiting Portsmouth, New Hampshire at Christmas an absolute must.

In the summertime, downtown Portsmouth is busy, especially with tourists, but in the winter, storefront windows are decorated with holiday finery, shoppers enjoy popping in and out of quaint boutiques, and the Christmas decorations on many of the antique homes is simply magical.

At the time of these photos, there was no snow, but I remember it was a very cold and brisk day. I made sure to pass a few coffee shops during my stroll up and down the side streets of downtown Portsmouth. A warm cup of coffee while walking does wonders for not only warming your insides, but your hands as well.

This is somewhat of a backwards posting. I’m first sharing photos of downtown Portsmouth as evening started to creep in so the you can get an idea of the beautiful lights at night, but at this point, I was heading back to my car after a very long day of enjoying this bit of Christmas in New England.

If you have a chance to visit Pickwick’s, it is such a treat! Small in size once inside, it is large in character and charm of days gone by.

Christmas wreaths and Christmas swags, adorn many of the antique homes in Portsmouth, NH

For your enjoyment, I am sharing photos of many of the antique homes I passed during my walk(s). These photos were taken in December 2016 and 2017 and if I have time, I will add more photos to this post once I visit in a few months.

A wreath of herb leaves was seen on a home within Strawberry Banke Museum as was the Christmas wreath below adorned with lichen and mini pinecones

Magnolia leaves tucked into a green wreath makes for a simple yet stunning Christmas wreath on this New England home.

I just had to go into this chocolate shop due to its Christmas swag and wreath (do you believe that excuse? :-) )

I’m thinking of using fruit in at least one of our Christmas wreaths this year, but I am searching for faux fruit since in years past, during warm days, I have had issues with the fruit falling from the picks or wires and of course…. it become part of the daily menu for some cute critters.

Modern silver Christmas accents flank the doors of this antique home in Portsmouth, NH