Get into the old-time Christmas spirit with the annual Christmas open houses held at the historic Bryant House and McLendon Cabin the first Sunday in December, followed the next weekend by the traditional three day Open House at the Shaw House  in Southern Pines.

The Moore County Historical Association hosts the public without admission charge every Yule so visitors can get a little taste of how early settlers of Southern Pines and the northern part of Moore County celebrated Christmas in these dwellings in the  1700s and 1800s.

Decorations are based on old-timey materials and traditions, there will be refreshments, and live music at the Bryant House event on Sunday, Dec. 4, 1-4 p.m.. The following weekend, enjoy warm apple cider with homemade cookies and tours of three house museums at the Shaw House on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, Dec. 9, 10, and 11. The Open houses are all 1-4 p.m.

The Bryant House and McLendon Cabin are at 3361 Mt. Carmel Road in Carthage. The cabin is the oldest dwelling remaining on its original site, where it was built in the 1760s. Next door on the same lot is the Bryant House, a bigger dwelling dating back to the 1820s. Along with decorations and refreshments, there is customarily an historical interpretation and tours. The cabin’s huge fireplace has been used for a roaring fire as a small but cozy island of Yule cheer and  decorations.

The Shaw House, also  a home dating from the 1820s at 110 Morganton Road, corner of SW Broad St. in Southern Pines, has two other settler dwellings, the Garner House and the Sanders cabin, behind it, dating from the 1700s and relocated from northern Moore County by the MCHA, which acquired the structures beginning in 1946 when the non-profit organization was founded.

Visitors can tour all three house museums on the Southern Pines site.

For more information visit www.moorehistory.com, call 910-692-2051 or visit the MCHA office at the Shaw House Tuesday through Friday, 1-4.