Jingle Jangle

Another home I've mentioned before in relation to their gardens is the David Davis Mansion, 100 Monroe Drive, Bloomington IL.  They also have Christmas tours until the end of this month 9am to 4 pm daily.   On December 17th, their evening tour of three historic homes (David Davis, Broadview & Mystery Mansions) are from 3-6 pm or 6-9 pm.  Visit the www.ChristmasAtTheMansion.com   for details.  The Davis home is fully restored. 

The interior photo of the Davis Mansion is from their web page.  The Broadview also has other Christmas events www.broadviewmansion.org 

Come see the Mansion dressed up for Christmas-Evening candle light tours! Reservations strongly recommended! Call (815) 224-5892 to reserve your tickets today!

The Hegeler Carus Mansion, 1307 Seventh St., LaSalle  www.hegelecarus.org is beautiful in the winter.  This fantastic photo of the Hegeler Carus Mansion was taken by Kemp Smith of the Newstribune and can be found on their facebook page.  The Holiday Christmas Lights Tours on December 9th - call for specifics.  This mansion isn't restored to original splendor, it is a glimpse at history and the tours and events lend a semblance to walking through a door to another era.

I tend to get a little festive and off "garden based" this time of the year.  I enjoy touring the grand old homes of historically significant families and visualizing their life during those times.

 For a rather different "tour" experience, the Frank Lloyd Wright's Kenneth Laurant home in Rockford, IL is up for auction (December 15th in Chicago).  Many of the original furnishings and a companion 1.2 acres designed landscape will come with the property.  The Laurant's are moving to an assisted living facility and historical preservationists hope to buy the home and turn it into a museum.  This photo is from the realtor's page.       

SATURDAY, DECEMBER 10, 2011 * 3:00 to 8:00 PM

The annual Decatur IL "Historic  Christmas Tour" is all about eleven stops (both homes and other) and includes several events.  Check out www.decaturchristmastour.com

Most central Illinois communities have Christmas celebrations, lighting, and tours.  Pick a town, google Christmas celebrations or tours and hit the road. 

For the garden purist:  Many of the lovely historical homes have beautiful gardens - even in the winter.   A testimony to good design, the winter "bones" are ideas waiting for you to copy.  Most historic home tours will not allow inside photos, but, they do allow photos of the gardens.

Get your jingle jangle on and add a little festive touring to your December fun. 

Side note:  I simply could not get this article to apply facts where I wanted them.  Pardon the odd parts.