Yuletide at Winterthur

Yesterday we went to see the Yuletide display at Winterthur in Wilmington, DE. Winterthur is a museum that was home to Henry Francis du Pont. He was born there and also died there. In his lifetime he amassed an enormous collection of early American decorative art, furniture and architectural elements (this bored my husband to no end). I've been to the museum part of Winterthur but I had never toured the actual home. For Christmas this year, several rooms were filled with gorgeous holiday trees and were also decorated as if to celebrate Henry's daughter's wedding in 1938.

The first interior room you walk into seems like you are outside. The four walls are actual facades taken from buildings.

Next we took an elevator up several floors to a room filled with three garden themed trees. The smell of the blooming paperwhites was wonderful!

A peony tree, a spring bulb tree and a fairy tree: all three things that Winterthur's gardens are known for.

Next was a formal sitting room complete with

desserts and punch set out for guests of the 1938 wedding celebration.

This stunning tree was decorated entirely with dried flowers.

We moved on to an Asian themed room with wall paper hand painted in 1775 (I kid you not, I asked the tour guide to repeat himself.).

And then a music/entertaining room with a spiral staircase to die for.

Onto a garden room set up with a bar and buffet.

This would be my favorite room if I lived here (and not just because there is a bar here:).

Another dining room for the wedding guests.

And a dining room for the du Pont family.

I had to ask what those two things were on the buffet table... knife urns filled with silver knives with ivory handles. The handles were painted to look like jade (why not get jade handled knives if you're that rich). The painting was by Benjamin West and depicts the American signers of Treaty of Paris, the British signers refused to sit for the painting.

An azalea themed tree. In the spring the gardens are filled with hundreds of blooming azaleas.

The last tree on the tour was a 1950's themed tree complete with bubble lights and vintage toys.

Happy Holidays!

Mount Hope Estate

We made it to the Mount Hope Estate and Winery today for their annual Christmas open house. The mansion is all dressed up for the holiday with ornaments and decorated trees in every room. There are carollers singing and people dressed up like they popped right out of a Dickens story. Around the bar/tasting room were all sorts of delicious cookies, coffee and hot chocolate with marshmallows. All to be enjoyed by a roaring fire. Zoe got to decorate a gingerbread man and make an angel ornament for our tree. If you are in the area and get a chance, they have a wonderful show they put on called A Dickens of a Christmas. Kevin and I used to go when we first met. It's the kind of show that likes audience participation.
Here are a few photos from around the mansion. The one of the fireplace has a painting above that shows the mansion from the outside. During the summer this is the site of the Pennsylvania Renaissance Faire.