E-News November 2011

All dressed up for the holidays; Hagley Museum, Longwood Gardens, Winterthur, & Nemours

Experience the magic of the holidays in Greater Wilmington and the Brandywine Valley. From November to January, the region celebrates the season! Discover magnificent du Pont mansions decorated for the holidays, fantastic outdoor lighting displays and glorious indoor gardens.

Hagley Museum & Library, where E.I. du Pont settled in 1802 and began harnessing the power of the Brandywine Creek to produce high quality gunpowder, thus laying the foundation for the DuPont Company, begins its Christmas celebration the day after Thanksgiving. Eleutherian Mills, the ancestral home of five generations of the du Pont family, is dressed for the holidays and open for guided tours. Dried flowers, fruits and greenery create a festive ambiance accentuated by soft lights and guided tours.

View the Christmas at Hagley Schedule.


Christmas blooms at Longwood Gardens, Pierre Samuel du Pont's horticultural extravaganza, from November 24 through January 8. Thousands of poinsettias, towering Christmas trees and fragrant flowers transform the indoor gardens. Outside, more than 400,000 decorative LED lights glitter in the trees while colorful fountain displays set to music delight visitors. And this year a Longwood Christmas is even sweeter as the gardens are transformed into a gingerbread fantasy featuring fanciful and imaginative displays.

Longwood Ticket Policy: Tickets are issued for a specific date and time and tickets are available for advance purchase now. There is no admittance to the Gardens without a timed admission ticket if you are not a Garden Pass Member. Purchase your timed tickets now to avoid disappointment! Tickets are limited and sell out quickly!

More information on A Longwood Christmas.

From November 19 to January 8, Winterthur Museum & Country Estate, home of Henry Francis du Pont and his world-class collection of American decorative arts, features The Best of Yuletides Past a magical tour that will transport you to Christmases of old. Experience Winterthur's most beloved holiday displays from past Yuletides, and discover holiday traditions of Americans from the colonial period through World War II, including the introduction of the first Christmas trees decorated with goodies for children by Pennsylvania Germans in the 1800s. Enjoy special displays recalling du Pont family holiday traditions and winter festivities. Be inspired and amazed by an array of fanciful decorated trees throughout the tour-including the magnificent dried-flower tree. Pasttable settings, floral displays, toys and treats set amidst exquisite period furnishings to demonstrate how the du Pont family celebrated the season. Be sure to allow enough time to browse in Winterthur's fabulous gift shop.

For the first time, the Yuletide tour is free to Winterthur Members and is included in general admission for nonmembers!

More information on Yuletide at Winterthur.

Beautiful throughout the year, Nemours Mansion & Gardens is spectacular during the holiday season. Built at the beginning of the twentieth century in the style of a grand Louis XVI chateau and filled with incredible antiques, artwork, sculpture and tapestries, the lush yuletide decorations add an almost magical dimension to A. I. du Pont's 70-room mansion. Nemours offers guided holiday tours from November 12 through December 31. Reservations are a must.

Enjoy a sneak peek of Christmas' past at the Nemours Mansion & Gardens.

Holiday Traditions: Christmas in Odessa, Spirit of Christmas in Historic New Castle, and Holiday Tours of the Historic Houses of Odessa

The area is steeped in history as a visit to Historic New Castle or the Historic Homes of Odessa quickly attests. Located just a few minutes south of the city of Wilmington, Historic New Castle, Delaware's Williamsburg, hosts the Spirit of Christmas on December 10. It's an opportunity to go inside many of the town's historic private homes and museums decorated for a colonial Christmas complete with music, carolers, carriage rides, tree lighting and perhaps meet Santa Claus strolling down a cobblestone path. Later in the evening, the Read House, Amstel House and the Old Dutch House will offer candlelight tours. A little further south is the small residential community of Odessa. Throughout the year, the Historic Houses of Odessa offer a unique and well-documented picture of 18th -and 19th-century lifestyles, but, the first Saturday in December is very special. Experience Christmas in Odessa. The five historic properties and many private homes in the town of Odessa are dressed for the season and open for tours. The day's festivities include a Christmas Craft & Antique Show, Tea in Old St. Paul's Church, Clydesdale drawn carriage rides, caroling, bell ringing, an organ recital, a Fife & Drum performance and a wonderful fresh greens sale.

A Brandywine Christmas at Brandywine River Museum and Holiday Open House at Brandywine Wine Trail

A Brandywine Christmas
November 25 through January 8 (Open until 6 p.m., December 26-30).

The Brandywine River Museum will be all dolled up for the holidays with a "step-in" dollhouse whose rooms are filled with exquisite hand-crafted furnishings, a large display of rare antique dolls, the popular O-gauge model train display covering 2,000 feet of track, and thousands of whimsical "critter" ornaments made from natural materials.

More information on a Brandywine Christmas.


Brandywine Wine Trail Holiday Open House
December 3 & 4, 2011

Complete all your holiday shopping as you relax at the wineries of the Brandywine Wine Trail.  Our wineries on December 3 and 4! We're setting the stage for stress-free holiday shopping. The wineries will be decorated in their holiday finery and will be hosting carolers, holiday musicians, and special holiday sale pricing! Forget fighting the crowds at the malls. Wine always fits, so shop with us!

More information on the Brandywine Wine Trail Holiday Open House.

Located midway between New York City and Washington, DC and less than thirty minutes south of Philadelphia Airport, Wilmington is readily accessible by car, train or air. If you need help planning a visit call (800) 489-6664 or check www.VisitWilmingtonDE.com.