The holiday season is set to kick off early at the Brandywine Museum of Art in Chadds Ford, Pa., with the return of the Brandywine railroad model train display, plus a new exhibition featuring a selection of miniature dollhouse displays and original artworks that were created as designs for holiday greeting cards. Both exhibitions will be on view daily beginning Saturday, Nov. 15, through Sunday, Jan. 4, 2026. The museums atrium will also be decked out with towering trees adorned with Brandywines signature handmade critter ornaments, and a variety of holiday events and programs for the whole family will be offered throughout the season. Since its debut in 1972, the Brandywine railroads iconic O-gauge model train display has captivated generations of museum visitors. The expansive display features trains running on 2,000 feet of track and includes more than 1,000 pieces, such as locomotives, passenger and freight trains, and trolleys that pass through a small village, a farm, factories, a drive-in movie theater, and even a carnival. A dazzling array of both toy and scale model trains can be seen chugging through the varied scenery, including those made by Lionel, Williams, Atlas, Mikes Train House, K-line, and others. Interactive components are incorporated throughout the display, operated by buttons and foot pedals that allow for further visitor engagement. New this year, visitors can also enjoy Home for the Holidays: Cards and Hearths from the Collection, a special exhibition featuring a selection of Brandywines dollhouses, including two rooms from a 9-foot dollhouse designed by Ann Wyeth McCoy and built by her husband, artist John McCoy. Filled with handmade furnishings and miniature paintings contributed by Wyeth McCoys famously artistic siblings and in-laws, these dollhouse rooms were a communal, family endeavor that paid tribute to the Wyeths close-knit holiday gatherings. These two rooms will be accompanied by the debut of the Peters-Herdeg dollhouse, a detailed replica of an 18th-century Brandywine Valley house and a recent addition to the museums collection. Home for the Holidays will also feature original artworks that were created as designs for holiday cards by members of the Wyeth family of artists, as well as those by other prominent American illustrators, all drawn from the collections of the Brandywine Museum of Art and the Wyeth Foundation for American Art. Adding to the festivities, the Brandywines annual Holiday Critter Sale will return. Each year since 1971, these distinctive ornaments have been carefully handcrafted by a dedicated group of Brandywine volunteers using only natural materials such as teasel, pinecones, acorns, eggshells, flowers and seed pods. Thousands of classic critter favorites and fanciful new creations will be available for purchase during the annual sale, including a new limited-edition series of critters inspired by Philadelphias favorite sports teams. This years sale will be held in person in the museums Waterview Room on the second floor. Beginning Monday, Nov. 24, the remaining inventory of critters will be available for purchase in the Museum Shop. All proceeds benefit the Museums Art Education and Public Programming. A smaller selection of critter ornaments is also available for purchase online and can be shipped across the country by visiting www.brandywine.org/critters. Also, beginning Nov. 15 through Jan. 4, 2026, the museum will be open seven days a week throughout the holiday season, from 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. (closed Thanksgiving and Christmas Day and closing early on Christmas Eve at 1 p.m.). Between Friday, Dec. 26, and Tuesday, Dec. 30, the museum will be open later for extended holiday hours from 9:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. The museum is located on Route 1 in Chadds Ford, Pa. For more information, call 610-388-2700 or visit www.brandywine.org/museum.