Christmas in the Brandywine Valley

From dancing fountains to du Pont mansions and more, a winter wonderland awaits throughout the region.

Most of the year, the Brandywine River Museum in Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania, is acclaimed for exhibiting art by three generations of Wyeths. But during the Christmas season, the museum becomes a place of holiday magic whose centerpiece is a 2,500-square-foot model-train layout with multiple O-gauge trains traversing through mountains, villages and countryside past a quarry, a dairy, a waterfall and a working train yard—with Santa and his reindeer flying above it all.

The art museum is just one example of the holiday décor that transforms the Brandywine Valley into a winter wonderland even Scrooge could not resist. Just down the road from the Brandywine River Museum on Route 1, Longwood Gardens, the horticultural showplace of the du Pont family, heralds the season with fountain and light displays outdoors, thousands of fragrant flowers indoors and more than a month’s worth of musical entertainment. Over the state line in Delaware, three magnificent du Pont mansions are adorned in elegant holiday finery.

Deck the Halls
The train display at the Brandywine River Museum is a decades-long tradition. Other perennial favorites include Ann Wyeth McCoy’s dolls and Victorian dollhouse and nearly a dozen evergreens decorated with whimsical “critter” ornaments made from natural materials. This season’s art exhibition features illustrations from Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland that date back to the mid-19th century. A Brandywine Christmas runs November 27 through January 10.

Inside the heated Conservatory at Longwood Gardens, thousands of tropical poinsettias are accented with the color and scent of amaryllis, narcissi, begonias, cyclamen and tulips. Outdoors, the fountain jets in the Open Air Theatre dance colorfully to seasonal music, and half a million lights adorn trees and bushes. Live entertainment ranges from daily organ sing-alongs to guest performances by choral and instrumental groups. Former and future Olympians join professional ice skaters in day and evening shows at a rink near the Chimes Tower. A Longwood Christmas can be seen November 26 through January 10.

The elegance and opulence of the du Pont family home of Winterthur always impresses visitors but especially so during the Yuletide tour, when holiday finery adorns lavish rooms like the Chinese Parlor, the dining room, the Conservatory and several guest bedrooms. An exhibition of Victorian Christmas ephemera and a variety of special events add to the festivities. Yuletide at Winterthur runs November 21 to January 3.

Eleutherian Mills, the du Pont family ancestral home, hosts Christmas at Hagley November 27 to January 4. In addition to seeing the home decorated in 19th- and early 20th-century style, holiday visitors can tour Workers’ Hill, where they can take part in crafts and games or enjoy a hot drink and freshly baked snack at the Gibbons House.

Across the Brandywine River, the Nemours Mansion is decorated in Alfred I. DuPont style—grand but tasteful trees, garlands and sprays. Reservations are suggested for the holiday exhibit, which runs November 10 through December 31.
—Theresa Gawlas Medoff

If You Go
Brandywine River Museum
U.S. Route 1
Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania
610/388-2700
brandywinemuseum.org

Longwood Gardens
1001 Longwood Road
Kennett Square, Pennsylvania
800/737-5500
longwoodgardens.org

Winterthur
5105 Kennett Pike
Winterthur, Delaware 19735
800/448/3883
winterthur.org

Hagley Museum and Library
298 Buck Road East
Wilmington, Delaware
302/658-2400
hagley.org

Nemours Mansion & Grounds
1600 Rockland Road
Wilmington, Delaware
302/651-6912
nemours.org/mansion.html

The information in this story was accurate when it was published in the November/December 2009 issue of AAA World, but details such as dates, times and prices may have changed since then. We suggest you verify such details directly with the listed establishments before making travel plans.