Ginny - I saw this posting and thought it may interest you:

Historic Salem's 29th Annual "Christmas in Salem" house tour is this coming weekend- Saturday 12/1 from 10-4 and Sunday 12/2 from 11:30-4:30. The snow date is 12/8, however the extended weekend forecast is calling for clear and mid- to upper-30s. Further info may be found at the link below.

We are going to Blithwold House and Gardens in Bristol, RI this Saturday to see the decorations.

Sue

Here is a link that might be useful: Salem House Tour

Another tour in Newburyport MA on December 8th.

Here is a link that might be useful: Newburyport MA House Tour

Thanks, Sue. I have been on Christmas tours in Salem and Newburyport a number of times--two of my favorite places in the Commonwealth. The Salem tour looks particularly enticing this year and I'm glad you let me know about it. It features the work of Samuel McIntyre, I assume because of the current exhibit of his work at the Peabody Essex Museum. He did the 1790s summerhouse in the garden at Glen Magna, perhaps the most beautiful summerhouse in this country, IMHO.

Have fun at Blithewold, so beautiful throughout the year. I was there in June and they have really done a lot in the gardens over the last ten years. Have been there at Christmas but not in a long time so I hope you'll give a report.

The tours of Salem and Newburyport do look enticing. Have to save the idea for next year! We are also going to try to get to the Holly Days at Tower Hill Botanic Gardens. So my digital camera is on the fritz so unless I can borrow one for Blithewold I am going to have to go without photos...

Here is another tour I saw:
Holiday Open House at the Great House: ÂTwas the Night Before Christmas
Date: Sunday, December 9, 2007
Time: 12:00 PM to 4:00 PM
Location: Castle Hill -- Ipswich
Tour the decorated rooms of the Great House with the family and rediscover the magical anticipation of Christmas Day. Music, decorations, cookies, and cider add to the holiday splendor.

Also Gore Place in Waltham has some Christmas lunch/teas with tour being offered. They are kind of pricey ($30 range).
http://www.goreplace.org/events/events.htm

Here is a link that might be useful: XMas Tours at Castle Hill

I am going to the Osborne Kellogg House xmas tour in Derby, CT this friday night. It really is a pleasnat surprise in this area. I was shocked the 1st time we went and now it's been a tradition for a few years. Richie

Here is a link that might be useful: Osborne Homestead Museum

Vanderbilt Mansion in Hyde Park, NY is having their annual open house this Friday, Nov. 30, from 6-9. The house has been decorated for Christmas for a couple of weeks now, and Friday they will have live music. The Roosevelt house and Val-Kill will be open 6-9 on Dec. 7. Admission is free.

Here is a link that might be useful: Historic Hyde Park

Speaking of Vanderbilts, the Newport RI mansions always put on a fabulous, eye-popping show at Christmas time. The Breakers is the Vanderbilt "cottage" in Newport but there are others to visit. Website is www.newportmansions.org Sorry I am too dumb to directly post the link!

Ginny yes the Newport Mansions decorated for Christmas are a great idea. I have a few photos from last year's visit (they only let you take photos in the main hall of the Breakers). We toured the Breakers and Marble House decorated for Christmas.

Ginny to post a link, just put the web address with the http:// in the "Optional Link URL" box then you can type a name for your link in "Name of the Link" box both are at the bottom of the posting area. It is easy to do it!

See I've put the link to my Newport Christmas photos here...

Here is a link that might be useful: Newport Decorated for Christmas Photos 2006

Test of Newport RI mansions link

Here is a link that might be useful http://www.newportmansions.org

Guess you don't have to cut and paste?

Here is a link that might be useful: Newport RI mansions

Good Ginny... it is useful to link. If you have to post more than one link in a message you have to put the HTML in yourself to do this. But most times people want only to post one link. Also if you create a new topic, you need to do a Preview before you actually see the place to put the link in. Next time you post a topic see this. It is funny how they have it!

If we are including other parts of New England, I could also recommend the Webb-Deane-Stevens Houses decorated for Christmas in Wethersfield, CT:

Here is a link that might be useful: Webb-Deane-Stevens in Wethersfield, CT

I should have said thank you to you, Sue, in my last post. I was so dazzled by my technical wizardry--:)--that I forgot. This was a very helpful tip, and thanks again.

Just a brief report on the Salem house tour. I have been on this one many times and it is always different because Salem is one of New England's greatest treasures in terms of old houses and history.

This year's tour was low on Christmas decorations and ideas but high on architectural interest. Re Christmas, the best was the house decorated by a local florist called Fiddleheads--great use of flowers and other natural material.

The emphasis this year was on Samuel McIntyre, late 18c architect and woodcarver, and true American genius. There's a wonderful exhibit of his career at the Peabody Essex Musem in Salem right now--ends sometime in Feb. So most of the open houses had some kind of McIntyre connection, including one with the only extant McIntyre fence left in Salem.

For anyone interested in landscape, the fences and finials, gates and breathtaking front entrances, either done or inspired by McIntyre, are gorgeous to see. Even if you missed the tour, next summer, take a walk around the McIntyre Historic District and take a look at these. There's a lot to see from the sidewalk.

Salem was also the birthplace of many important aspects of early American horticulture. You can see where the gardens used to be--sad. Some gardens exist but I don't know of any that once made Salem famous. I hope I'm wrong.

Ginny thanks for the great report on the Salem Christmas tour. Definitely going to keep this in mind for other years. It is nice how they tied in the theme with the exhibits at Peabody and Esssex Museum.

So we went to Blithewold this past Saturday. The mansion was decorated with lovely Christmas decorations. I would recommend that anyone going plan to attend the tea or one of the musical performances (we didn't) as it will take only an hour to tour the mansion. We did go to a neat pub for dinner in Bristol downtown called Aidan's Irish Pub. The Thames Street area a short drive from Blithwold had several interesting restaurants: Persimmons, JG Geoff Restaurant and some cute shops to browse.

My mother has informed me that the Acton Garden Club is having a Christmas House Tour this Tuesday (Dec 11th) from 10-4...

Here is a link that might be useful: Click on

That does sound really interesting--wish I could go. Tours of private homes are usually full of good ideas. I hope they get a good turnout despite all this ice.

One to keep in mind for next year. A little bit of a drive in Portland Maine but you can combine it with a trip to LLBean in Freeport or the outlet stores in southern Maine.

Victoria Mansion is lavishly decorated for the holidays by professional designers, decorators, and florists, making this a festive time of year to plan a tour. Visitors go through the house at their own pace, on self-guided tours using a printed program. Room stewards are available to answer questions. Guided tours are available for groups of ten or more, and can be arranged by calling the office.

Here is a link that might be useful: Victoria Mansion Portland, Main

Funny you mentioned this, Sue. I had never heard of this place til I saw it in a magazine article just last week. I checked their website but I don't see anything about a garden. Did you notice any indications of a garden under the snow when you were there?

It's surprising how few Victorian gardens there are, considering how many Victorian houses there are around the entire country. I think their garden tastes were just too different from ours and no one really wants one. Sonnenberg Gardens in Canandaigua NY is really the only high Victorian garden I have seen--and the few bits at the Smithsonian.

Ginny I also so the article in the Sunday Globe. Thought it looked interesting for next year. Didn't actually go this year but earlier in December had thought of driving to LLBean in Freeport but couldn't justify the drive for shopping only... but to include a trip to a house decorated for Christmas would make the trip to LLBean more fun! So thought I'd post here to remind me next year (if this post stays on Gardenweb for that time).

I guess your comment about Victorian gardens seems appropriate. I have seen more colonial style gardens around then Victorian ones. This past fall we went to the WEBB-DEANE-STEVENS houses in Wetherfield CT and they had such a nice restored colonial garden they were quite proud of. I imagine keeping them up and looking good is also another burden for all the work to keep up the interior and exteriors of these houses must be.

Sue