Christmas at the Argory

We recently had the pleasure of exploring one of the local manor houses, the Argory, all decked out in Christmas splendor. A manor house seems a most fitting place to appreciate Christmas decor since it truly mimics Christmas as we think of it in our heads from the classic tree with candle lights to the vintage cards decorating the piano--it seems a scene straight out of a Dickens novel. Victorian Christmas cards mimic those today with frilly and gilt cards sent to loved ones and often collected and preserved in albums. Truly, many of our Christmas traditions today from caroling to decorating with holly and mistletoe to our large family feasts find their origins in the Victorian period--so to wander around an old house were time seems frozen from that era feels most apt. We found ourselves here sandwiched between school groups hearing about the history of Boxing Day and listening to the children singing popular carols. I often think of visiting the local manor houses in spring or summer for a wander through the manicured gardens, but it's worth visiting them in the winter as well to see these festive scenes created in each room.