Yuletide at Winterthur Opens

Yuletide at Winterthur Museum north of Wilmington, Delaware, opened last week. It is a guided tour and you are grouped with about 10 people (the max for the tiny old elevator).

Before entering the exhibit, there is a dollhouse and Christmas tree with needlepoint ornaments, all designed by Nancy McDaniel. I especially liked the grouping of Santas she had made.

There is a little more emphasis on table settings, in keeping with the theme of the Dining by Design exhibit in the galleries. The tables were grand, starting with the duPont dining room table. It was centered with topiaries and each place setting had a group of presents wrapped in colored tissue paper (the printed paper later introduced by Mr. Hallmark came later).

As always, the Conservatory centerpiece was a tree decorated by dried flowers conserved by the staff from flowers on the property. Groups of poinsettias bordered the tree. The room is surrounded by glass overhead and on 3 walls. A plastic tarp covered bust reminds us that this 5th largest historic home in the US was begun in 1839 and requires constant repairs, in this case the ceiling leaks above the bust of (I think) Anne Alexandrine de Montchanin, the first P.S. duPont's mother.

A room with Maryland origins houses a loan collection of Santas of all shapes and sizes on the mantel, hearth, floor, and tabletops. Here is one of my favorites, along with the doll house.