At The Elms, the season’s beginning is always marked by the arrival of the mansion’s extensive collection of Christmas decorations, strings of white and colored lights, historic toy collections, and artificial wreaths and pine trees. Boxes and boxes of these priceless treasures would arrive from the Society’s warehouse to be piled carefully in the kitchen area of the great house, staged for the workers and volunteers who annually transform the 60,000 square foot home into a magical wonderland.
The weather this year made it easy to get in the spirit of the season. It was already snowing when the first boxes of Christmas decorations arrived at The Elms.
The visionary leader of this annual construction was a gentle soul named Jim. For as long as anyone could remember, he was the home’s decorator and chief designer of the spectacular décor in these Gilded Age mansions. With a small but devoted corps of volunteer elves, he would appear each morning in The Elm’s grand ballroom to direct the placement of every object in its designated place around the house. As we watched, a half dozen artificial trees were unboxed in the basement staging area Just as quickly they were carried off by the mansion’s elves to be placed in their respective rooms and salons of the great house.
In just a couple busy weeks, they would transform the home’s spectacular first floor rooms and the second-floor bedrooms, filling them with lights, trimming, ornaments, and all the colorful décor of the Christmas season.
The weather this year made it easy to get in the spirit of the season. It was already snowing when the first boxes of Christmas decorations arrived at The Elms.
The visionary leader of this annual construction was a gentle soul named Jim. For as long as anyone could remember, he was the home’s decorator and chief designer of the spectacular décor in these Gilded Age mansions. With a small but devoted corps of volunteer elves, he would appear each morning in The Elm’s grand ballroom to direct the placement of every object in its designated place around the house. As we watched, a half dozen artificial trees were unboxed in the basement staging area Just as quickly they were carried off by the mansion’s elves to be placed in their respective rooms and salons of the great house.
In just a couple busy weeks, they would transform the home’s spectacular first floor rooms and the second-floor bedrooms, filling them with lights, trimming, ornaments, and all the colorful décor of the Christmas season.
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