Join Bernardsville and Basking Ridge as they kick off the holiday season with our Mr. Local History Holiday cards representing the best of the season for the villages of Bernardsville and Basking Ridge. Designed by our local Liberty Corner resident artisan, Linda Arnold, each card honors the area’s traditions.

Get yours today! Click Here
Printed locally by Bernardsville Print Center’s Rich Steinberg, there are two versions of the Mr. Local History Project holiday card: one for Basking Ridge and one for Bernardsville. The card symbolizes the local holidays in the area, offering a chance to share a bit of the two towns’ culture and history, according to Brooks Betz, founder of the Mr. Local History Project, based in Basking Ridge, New Jersey.
Being from Basking Ridge, there is nothing that speaks the holidays more than the Christmas Eve sing in Basking Ridge. But these cards have taken parents by storm, as they use them annually to share a coloring activity with their children and preserve memories by having them place their Santa’s list in the card. Then on Dec. 24th, they take them to the Christmas Eve sing and it all gets tied together.”
Over the years, the cards have come to symbolize the start of the holiday season, as it is the only set of cards that represent everything local in Basking Ridge and Bernardsville. The cards were introduced in 2017 and have become a holiday classic. Linda Arnold, a dear local friend of the Mr. Local History Project, from Liberty Corner, created the original renderings of the villages of Basking Ridge and Bernardsville.

For the holiday season, the cards are again available as a fundraiser (Available Online via the Holiday Boutique), both showcasing the beauty of Bernardsville and Basking Ridge during the holidays.

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