Christmas at Blithewold

Christmas at Blithewold echoes the holidays of the Van Wickle/McKee family, whose staff once gathered evergreens and cut a tall tree from the Bristol estate before the family arrived. Today volunteer decorators transform the Manor around a theme drawn from the family's interests; the current theme, Gifts of Nature, fills the rooms with birds, butterflies, woodland creatures, mushrooms, flowers, stars and storybook scenes made from handmade decorations and natural materials. The Arts and Crafts gardens and the ten-acre Great Lawn overlook Narragansett Bay.

Our take: Go late in the day: the Manor stays open into the evening during the Christmas season.