Times have changed so much that Long Beach Heritage, an organization that advocates for historic preservation, has found itself doing something it hasn’t in its own 40-year history.

This year, for the first time, LB Heritage has created a Holiday Lights Cruise that provides people with maps and information to take a self-guided tour of a dozen historic homes dressed up in all their holiday finery.

As you can see from the map, it’s a bit of a trek, stretching as far north as Willmore, working its way down through Downtown, then east to Carroll Park and down through Bluff Heights and Bluff Park concluding just short of Belmont Shore.

The tour will not only take you to the Bembridge House, owned by LB Heritage, but allow you to marvel at the newly created Gingerbread Villages, presented by the Willmore City Heritage Assn., at MADE by Millworks and The Pie Bar. Here’s a peek:

 

The dozen houses you’ll be dazzled by on the official cruise—it’s certain you’ll see a bunch more unofficial treats—are listed and illustrated below in a dandy guide that doubles as an art project. Kids can download the images below here, color them and submit their creation in the Heritage Holiday Coloring Contest. The contest is open to all kids, K through 8th grade.

Long Beach Heritage’s Holiday Lights Cruise continues through Jan. 2, for a cruise map, click here. To enter the coloring contest, click here.