‘Tis The Season

A brief look at Glensheen’s preparations for the holiday season.

Nothing like the smell of Balsam wreath in the morning, especially at Glensheen Mansion during Christmas. All hands are on deck when we decorate for the holidays in a seven day process that takes place between November 17–21 and November 24–28. The mansion remains closed while we decorate.

Decorating at any given moment over the next couple of weeks, you will find twenty Glensheen employees and tour guides carefully adorning the beautiful spaces throughout the home. Decorations include collections of original Congdon family ornaments, ranging from lead tinsel to one of many Clara Congdon’s personally collected nativity scenes. We match decorative displays to each room, highlighting the room’s original look and design, providing a uniquely Congdon Christmas feel.

While the Congdon’s Christmas celebration was a low-key affair and not overly extravagant, we make sure to honor the prestigious look of the home while still maintaining the coziness the Congdon’s had during the Christmas season.

The Congdons decorated Glensheen with heavy use of wreaths and pinecones over the Christmas season. Included in the decorations today, is a wonderful use of wreaths and garland that is purchased from a local Duluth company. When the family still lived in the home, it is known that Gardener, Bob Wyness, and the Chaffeur, Rob Roper, would make the Christmas wreaths for the home from plant material on site. There is a good chance that many of the Christmas decorations in the original home were made on site as well.

Even though the decorating has just gone underway, tickets for the self-guided Christmas Tours are now available. To learn more and purchase tickets, go to https://glensheen.wp.d.umn.edu/tours/christmas-tour/.