I returned to Waddesdon Manor this Christmas to visit the house decorated for the holidays. This is the first time that the house has been decorated for Christmas since my visit in 2019. This year, there is a new route with the East Wing being open for festive displays with Christmas trees in the rooms. Visitors can see the house decorated for Christmas until (and including) 2 January, and tickets must be purchased in advance to limit numbers. Visitors to the house can also stay in the grounds for the light trails. Waddesdon is a property managed by National Trust in Buckinghamshire, England.
In the past, Waddesdon's Christmas rooms have followed a theme, but there doesn't seem to be an overall theme this year. Some of the trees contain birds. Another contains DIY tools. Another contained butterflies, and another contained elephants. There was not an overall theme like there was in 2019, but each room had a theme.
Instead of turning left in the entrance porch, we went straight ahead to some new rooms that I had no visited before. Overall, there were less rooms decorated than there were in 2019, and I enjoyed 2019 far more than this year's display. However, I guess it's a start since this is the first time that they have decorated since 2019. The Red Drawing Room was the first room, and the tree contains ornaments designed as fashion accessories (fans, hats, mirrors, etc), mimicking the Thomas Gainsborough paintings in the room.
The Dining Room has a bird theme. A peacock has been crafted from paper, and there are birds and eggs around the room and on the Christmas tree. Peacock was a main dish in the 19th century.
The conservatory room has been turned into a rainforest, and it did contain exotic tropical plants in the later 1800s. The room is inspired by the Rothschilds (who owned the house), and it contains butterflies and bug collections, inspired by their collections. The beetles and butterflies in the room were created by schoolchildren.
The Breakfast Room was next, and it contained a cornucopia on the table and mirrored trees on either side of the fireplace.
The East Gallery's Christmas tree contains elephants, which are inspired by the elephant clockwork item on display. These were amongst the Rothchilds prized possessions.
Up the stairs was a small tree in the hallway before leading into the two smaller rooms.
The White Drawing Room is inspired by Alice de Rothchild's maintenance of the mansion. DIY and cleaning tools are ornaments on the Christmas tree in the room.
Next door to the room is a red room with its own Christmas tree.
The Blue Dining Room was the final room to visit.
The stairs down from the servant's area had various information boards to read about the servants and their Christmas experiences at Waddesdon.
Afterwards, we visited the food market to have a bite of lunch. I had a grilled cheese sandwich.
I also visited the Christmas light trail on my visit, so come back to see photographs of it.
For more posts about Waddesdon on this blog, see the below:
Halloween Afternoon Tea at Waddesdon
Morning at Waddesdon (National Trust, Buckinghamshire): Lockdown Edition
Christmas and Winter Light at Waddesdon Manor (Bucks, England)
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