Today’s Blithewold finds our volunteer decorators echoing the spirit of the past by transforming the house for our visitors. Every year we choose a theme that explores the interests of the Van Wickle/McKee family during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Then our decorators translate that theme into a dazzling display celebrating the magic of Christmas.
This Year’s Theme:
“The Early Years: The Bristol Community and Blithewold, 1896–1914.”
Rooms in the Manor will focus on the Bristol residents who visited, worked with, and participated in activities with the Blithewold family.
The “big tree” will celebrate Bristol’s Fourth of July parade and the picnic that the family hosted after the parade on the Great Lawn. The living and telephone rooms will feature Bristolians who came to call, with photos of their homes and the original guest book. The billiard and dining rooms will highlight the Herreshoffs’ friendship with the family, centering around the steam yacht, Marjorie, their sailboats, and the America’s Cup race. The second floor rooms will feature the gentlemen’s golf and tennis activities, as well as early gardening activities with John DeWolf and, later, the Bristol Garden Club.
Everywhere you look, you’ll be filled with the joy of the holiday season past and present.
Come join us this Christmas at Blithewold.
Visit our program and events page to join us for some seasonal fun.
Learn about our opening hours here.
