Holidays at the Museums… It’s All About Tradition

Museums are all about tradition.  Enjoy an array of festive programs all while experiencing the beauty of locally created and based art.  See how these exhibits capture the holiday spirit while preserving the essence of time.  Enjoy the living history art provides, especially during this joyous season.

Holidays at Hagley

For centuries, girls and women have handmade lace and whitework embroidered items for clothing and other household uses.  The 2015 holiday display incorporates lace into decorations, giving it that decidedly feminine touch.  All Christmas trees on display feature lace decorations, including the Terrace Room tree with ornaments made from dried Queen Anne’s lace.  Well-loved displays returning include the elaborate Twelfth Night celebration in the dining room and the Victorian library’s Christmas for children with its table-top tree surrounded by toys and games.  Of course, there will be warm glowing lights and poinsettias.  This year’s holiday exhibition runs from Nov. 27 through Jan. 3.  For more information, visit Holidays at Hagley.

Holiday Open House at Rockwood

Bring your family out for refreshments, children’s activities, entertainment, and FREE photos with Santa!  The event also includes the Youth Entrepreneur’s Secret Santa Shoppe selling gifts for the whole family, tours of the holiday display in the museum, and a festive light display in the gardens surrounding the Mansion and Carriage House.  This special event only runs from December 4th through the 6th.  The event is free, but we ask that you please bring a canned food item or warm hats, gloves, or scarves to be donated to those in need this holiday season.  For more information, visit Holiday Open House at Rockwood.

A Longwood Christmas

The spirit of the holiday season overflows during A Longwood Christmas with a fountain-inspired display.  Lights, whirling fountain features, thousands of seasonal plants, and a bounty of trees with icicles and fountain-inspired glass ornaments fill the Conservatory.  Outside, a magical world awaits.  From our Italian Water Garden illuminated with a 20-foot tree form, to a maple tree with its roots aglow near our Meadow Boardwalk, to the colorful fountains of our Open Air Theatre, there is holiday magic everywhere!  The special holiday event runs from November 26 through January 10.  For more information, visit A Longwood Christmas.

Woodland Winter Wonderland

Celebrate nature and the winter season with some simple old-fashioned fun that will get your family in the true spirit of the holiday season.  Take a family photo in the beautiful antique sleigh (perfect for your holiday card!).  Enjoy creating unique crafts, including natural ornaments using materials gathered at Tyler Arboretum.  The kids will love the Reindeer Scavenger Hunt and visiting the discovery stations.  Historic Lachford Hall will be decorated for the holidays and open for tours.  Take a festive hayride through the Arboretum meadows and warm up afterwards with hot beverages and holiday cookies.  A cheerful bonfire will keep you warm throughout the event.  While you are here, be sure to take advantage of the annual Country Gardeners Greens Sale to get some shopping done.  For more information on this one day (Dec. 5) event, visit Woodland Winter Wonderland

Winter Arts Festival at the Delaware Art Museum

Celebrate the holiday season at the Delaware Art Museum during this family-friendly weekend event!  Shop for holiday gifts from 16 regional artisans, listen to festive music performed by local choirs, and enjoy floral arrangements from Celebrations Design Group, Flowers by Yukie, Wild Thyme, and Elkton Floris.  Special holiday-themed art projects will also be available for children and their families and winter-themed beverages and treats will be available for sale.  For more information, visit Winter Arts Festival.

A Brandywine Christmas

From the spectacular O-gauge model train display with trains running on nearly 2,000 feet of track, to a collection of rare antique dolls dressed in beautiful period clothing, plus thousands of whimsical Critters (ornaments and decorations handcrafted by Brandywine volunteers from natural materials) displayed on towering trees soaring up through the museum’s three-story atrium, A Brandywine Christmas promises delightful family fun.  The holiday exhibit runs from November 27 through January 3 at the Brandywine River Museum of Art.  For more information, visit Brandywine Christmas.

Spirit of Christmas & A Dickens Experience

The 15th annual celebration of the Spirit of Christmas is on Saturday December 12 and includes tours of historic homes and gardens decorated for the season.  There will also be events at the New Castle Court House and musical performances throughout the town.  An all-day sale of handmade crafts, jewelry, notecards, used books, breads and soups will take place at the church, making it easy to gather last-minute Christmas gifts.  “Each year, hundreds of visitors fill the town to enjoy the festivities and help support a worthy mission – 100% of the proceeds generated from Spirit of Christmas are donated to the Friendship House, Inc. of Wilmington, Delaware, ministry to the homeless.”  For more information, visit Spirit of Christmas & A Dickens Experience.

Old-Fashioned Holiday

Celebrate an Old-Fashioned Holiday at the Marshall Steam Museum at Auburn Heights on Sundays December 6th and 13th from 12-3 p.m.  The museum will be decorated and full of holiday cheer, and there will be something for everybody regardless of age!  For more information, visit Old-Fashioned Holiday.

Candlelight Tours at Rockwood

The Candlelight Tour at Rockwood Museum is a unique opportunity to see the entire museum holiday display by the warm light of the evening.  Featuring museum tours, and the holiday light display in the gardens.  The tours are on Friday and Saturday nights from December 11-19.  For more information, visit Candlelight Tours at Rockwood.

Yuletide at Winterthur

Enjoy visions of holidays past, including those of the Gilded Age, at Henry Francis du Pont’s home decorated in holiday style!  In addition to the Yuletide Tour, you can partake in one of our many related programming opportunities including family-friendly garden workshops and a live performance of A Christmas Carol as well as nighttime events such as Yuletide Jazz & Wine and University of Delaware Chorale performing Carols by Candlelight.  Relish the holiday spirit and come for a Christmastime tour at Winterthur between Nov. 21 and Jan. 3.  For more information, visit Yuletide at Winterthur.