Family Trips
Thanksgiving or Christmas in Cincinnati with 20 to 40 relatives
For Thanksgiving or Christmas with 20 to 40 relatives, we'd divide cooking between the apartment kitchens and put households with similar bedtimes together. Our East Walnut Hills houses are booked whole, with private apartments inside. Parents can handle a child's breakfast in their own kitchen while another branch of the family starts the holiday meal.
The Victorian Estate sleeps 32 under one roof. For around 40, the Blue House and Historic Gem are next door and book together for 42 across five apartments. Thanksgiving and Christmas groups are a steady part of our year; our family stays and house comparison show the options for yours.
Choose the sleeping arrangement before planning dinner
The two Francis houses also book together for 42 guests. All three houses sleep 74.
A holiday headcount includes the relatives using beds and the people using living-area queen air mattresses. Those mattresses count in our published sleeping capacities. The large-group sleeping guide gives the full apartments, bedrooms and bathrooms so everyone knows where they will sleep.
Grandparents and families with babies should review the Historic Gem's lower apartment early. Its separation may suit a quieter bedtime while other relatives stay up in their own living spaces. Use the grandparents and kids guide for its exterior entrance steps and interior layout, plus the hill and upper flights at the other houses.
These historic houses are not a fit for guests who cannot manage stairs.
Sue's public review comes from Thanksgiving at the Blue House:
This was our second Thanksgiving at Preston’s place and it was equally as fantastic as last year. Everything was clean and ready for our visit. I love that this house has 3 separate apartments so that different families can have separate spaces as desired. Preston is very responsive to questions and very friendly.
Divide the cooking by kitchen
Every apartment has its own kitchen. For a holiday meal, one household can prepare the main dish while another takes the sides. Breakfast can stay within each apartment, giving an early riser somewhere to eat without moving everybody else's supplies.
Confirm the cooking equipment the menu depends on before buying ingredients. A dish needing a particular pan or oven space should have an assigned kitchen that can handle it. The Blue House has a kitchen in each apartment, including the smaller kitchen arrangement described on its house page; plan the meal around the actual equipment.
We would keep children's food and any dietary essentials in their household's kitchen. That makes a separate meal possible when a child gets hungry before the main dinner. Dessert or another dish that can be prepared ahead can stay with the apartment making it, freeing the main meal's kitchen for the jobs happening at the same time.
Before the grocery trip:
- Give each dish a kitchen and a cook.
- Confirm any pan, appliance or oven space essential to it.
- Keep each household's breakfast supplies in its own apartment.
- Check the dining arrangement for the people sharing the main meal.
- Assign cleanup within each kitchen being used.
The sleeping number does not establish a single dining-table capacity. Confirm the indoor arrangement if the family wants everyone eating in one room. The Victorian Estate has outdoor dining and seating; all three houses have outdoor seating and BBQ areas. Holiday weather needs to be part of any outdoor meal plan.
Leave space for the baby and the early sleepers
Our listings include pack-n-plays, high chairs and stair gates, with room-darkening shades listed at the Victorian Estate. Confirm the gear for the apartment your children will use. Parents depending on a private nap room should check that room before choosing the sleeping arrangement.
A family using an air mattress in a living area will also use that room for sleep. Keep late conversation in the apartment of relatives who are still awake, and agree when the morning meal starts in a space someone used overnight. Quiet hours across the houses are 10 PM to 9 AM.
The lower Historic Gem apartment is a choice to review for grandparents who can manage its exterior steps and want fewer stair trips. If both grandparents and a household with a baby want it, decide that with the relatives involved before filling the upper rooms. The access guide has the route details needed for that conversation.
Kate stayed at the Historic Gem for Christmas with her family:
This was a great spot! My family stayed here for the Christmas Holiday. Easy to get to downtown, the Zoo and the Conservatory. The street was nice and lots of restaurants nearby. The house was great, and having the extra condo space was great. Preston was really responsive and helpful. Would definitely stay here or at one of his other properties again.
Give the cooks an outing too
The Cincinnati Zoo's holiday lights and Krohn Conservatory's holiday show are options away from the kitchens. Check this year's dates on the Zoo's official festival page and Krohn's visitor page before choosing an evening.
| Destination | About how long by car | Why it fits a holiday family stay |
|---|---|---|
| Cincinnati Zoo | about 9 minutes | Holiday lights away from the house |
| Krohn Conservatory | about 2 minutes | Holiday show near the neighborhood |
| Smale Riverfront Park | about 7 minutes | A separate riverfront outing |
The driving estimates are without traffic; holiday outings, rush hour, game days and events can add time. Choose the meal around the outing so the relatives cooking can join it too. A household with a baby may prefer a daytime visit and its usual evening at the apartment.
Our Cincinnati guidebook includes Eden Park, the Art Museum and neighborhood food stops for time downtown or another day out. Relatives who want to stay back have their own living space at the house. An outing can be optional while the meal remains the part of the day the family shares.
Dates, arrivals and the people coming for the meal
Family reunions book about four to five months ahead in our records, and groups taking both Francis houses about four months. Those are reunion and two-house patterns; there is no separate holiday lead-time figure. Once the family has workable dates, the sleeping plan will help you choose a house or pair to inquire about.
Airbnb caps a single booking at 16 guests, even though our individual houses sleep 20, 22 and 32. Larger families and multi-house plans use the inquiry form. Airbnb and VRBO handle individual-house bookings through the links on each house page. Include infants and children in the headcount.
Check-in is 4 PM. On arrival day, choose a meal that can begin after that time or be handled by households arriving later. Early check-in is often possible when no group checks out that morning; a same-day checkout makes it depend on turnover. Checkout is 11 AM.
The Historic Gem has driveway and street parking, while the other two houses have street parking. Confirm larger vehicles and the number of cars before arrival. Registered guests only, no parties or events, no pets and no smoking apply to holiday stays. Relatives sleeping elsewhere need to be included in a visitor discussion before invitations go out.
Questions we hear from groups
Can a family of 40 stay together for Christmas?
The two Francis houses are next door and sleep 42 across five private apartments. Room preferences and the people using air mattresses determine how your family divides them. The full sleeping guide helps you compare the arrangement.
Does sleeping capacity tell us how many people can eat at one table?
It counts sleeping places. Dining depends on the house's actual rooms and setup. Confirm the meal arrangement when the full family needs to eat together, and keep an indoor plan if you hope to use outdoor seating.
Can we start Thanksgiving cooking before regular check-in?
Earlier access needs confirmation and depends on departures and turnover. Plan meal preparation around 4 PM until an earlier arrival is agreed. A kitchen plan spanning several apartments can help divide the work after check-in.
How should we divide the holiday meal between kitchens?
Assign dishes to the apartments cooking them and confirm the equipment each dish needs. Keep breakfast and children's food with their own households. Choose where the main meal will happen before dividing the shopping list.
What baby gear should we confirm for the holiday?
The listings carry pack-n-plays, high chairs and stair gates. Confirm the equipment for the apartment and number of children, with room-darkening shades among the Victorian Estate's amenities.
Can nearby relatives join our booked group for the holiday?
Extra daytime visitors need discussion in advance. The standard rule is registered guests only, with no parties or events. Settle who will be at the house before making meal invitations.
Send us your dates and actual family headcount, with the sleeping and stair needs, planned holiday meal, children's gear, cars and proposed daytime relatives. We can help compare the houses for that stay.
Sources and current visitor information
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