The short answer: The week between Christmas and New Year's is the one week of the year when nobody has to be anywhere. At Edgecamp, four homes and a small hotel share a quiet stretch of shoreline on Hatteras Island, with beds for 78. Your whole family can spend the holidays together, and no one has to sleep on a pullout. The big house has a kitchen made for Christmas dinner and plenty of room to gather afterward, still in your slippers.
The island is peaceful in late December. The light is low and golden, and the evenings belong to the firepit. Bring the family cooks, or bring a chef. And if someone in the family gets engaged over Christmas, as so many couples do, they'll be standing in the place where a lot of Outer Banks weddings begin.
Here's how a holiday week comes together.
Why the holidays, and why here
Most families spend Christmas in shifts: Christmas Eve at one house, Christmas Day at another, a long drive in between, and New Year's somewhere else entirely. By January 2nd, everyone needs a vacation from the vacation.
It can be simpler. Put everyone in one place for the whole week. Our flagship home at Edgecamp sits right on the water, with fourteen bedrooms, a kitchen that has cooked for 150, a table for the whole group, and decks with two hot tubs overlooking the sound. The Sound House next door is a nice fit for the branch of the family that likes its own front door. The Oceanfront House is a five-minute walk away, and Pamlico Station is a five-minute drive, with room for the rest. Everyone gets a real bed, and everyone is close to dinner.
Hatteras in late December is a different island from the one people know in July. The beaches are empty, the sea grass has turned gold, and the oysters are in season. Days are usually in the 50s, nights are cool, and the sun sets over the sound a little before five, early enough that the whole family can watch it together.
How the week unfolds
Arrival, around the 26th. Most families arrive the day after Christmas, or on Christmas Eve if they want the whole holiday here. The first night is easy: something simple on the stove, a soak in the hot tubs, and an early bedtime.
The quiet days. These days have no plan, and that's what people love about them. Walk the beach for miles without passing anyone, paddle the sound on a calm morning, drive down to the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse, read the book you've been dying to crack open, or take a nap while the light on the sound turns colors. Organize a family ping pong tournament, and play cards at the big table as the day fades.
New Year's Eve. Dinner at the long table, a fire on the lawn, and a midnight toast on the dock under more stars than most of the family has seen all year. The grandparents can turn in by ten. Nobody has to drive.
New Year's Day. A slow brunch, a cold walk on the beach for anyone feeling brave, and an unhurried goodbye.
The cooking question
It's worth settling this before you book, because it shapes the whole week. Families here usually choose one of three ways:
The family cooks. The kitchen is made for it, with two ovens, a big island, and room for six cooks at once. Send us your list and we'll have the staples stocked before you arrive.
A chef does the big nights. A private chef cooks Christmas dinner, New Year's Eve dinner, or both, and the rest of the week is yours. This is the most popular choice.
A chef does the whole week. This one suits the family that would rather spend its days outside. The chef can cook breakfast and dinner, or just dinner.
Whichever you choose, we're glad to introduce you to the chefs who have cooked in this house. They already know the kitchen well.
A small winter wedding
Every year, a few couples choose this week on purpose. The family is already together, the island is quiet, and no one has to take extra days off work. A small ceremony in the great room, or on the dock in the late-afternoon light, can turn the holiday into the one your family talks about for years. New Year's Eve is the obvious date, but the quieter days in between are just as lovely.
A winter wedding here is small and cozy, and it happens indoors. The house does the work a tent does in summer. It's priced as a wedding weekend at our winter rate, with the holiday nights included.
And if the ring comes out over Christmas instead, our month-by-month guide is a good place to start thinking about dates.
What it costs, and how families pay
A holiday week works as a group buyout. You book the houses you need, at our winter rate, for the nights you want. Most families come for four or five nights around New Year's, and if yours is a bigger crowd, you can take the whole estate.
We also make paying easy. We can split the total into shares and send you one payment link to forward around the family, so each household pays its own part. That's how most of our reunions handle it.
The holiday week fills early. If you're hoping to gather this year, we'd encourage you to reach out now, while there's still room to choose the houses and nights that suit you best. If you're thinking about next year, the fall before is the right time to ask, and Thanksgiving week works the same way.
Three things to settle first
The guest list. Who's really coming, and for how many nights? The estate sleeps 78, so even a big family fits with room to spare.
Who's cooking, and which nights. Christmas dinner and New Year's Eve are the two that matter. Decide those and the rest of the week sorts itself out.
Who needs what. Think of the grandparent who needs a ground-floor room, the cousin with a newborn, or the teenagers who'd be happiest with their own house. Tell Erica, and she'll find the right spot for everyone.
Send us your dates, your headcount, and whether there's a wedding (or a proposal) in the plans. Erica will get back to you with what's open for the holidays and an honest picture of how your week would look. We'd love to host you.