Explore the founding of our nation through the complex stories preserved within the architecture of the original thirteen colonies. Discover the history of the Charleston Dining Room, from its origins as the William Burrows House to its transformation under free Black entrepreneur Jehu Jones in the early 1800s, and its later years as a boarding house. Reservations required. For ages 8 and up. $15 with admission; $5 for Members.
Special notice regarding tour accessibility: Our elevators are undergoing an upgrade and accessibility is impacted for some house tours. This tour includes areas that can only be accessed by stairs and therefore are not accessible to visitors who are unable to use stairs. We apologize for the inconvenience.
Tuesday-Sunday, through November 20 | 2:00–3:15 pm
See the house presented as a home, entertaining space, and historic collection. This tour visits multiple rooms and floors of the house exploring beyond what is included in the general admission tour. Reservations required; capacity limited. For ages 8 and up. $15 with admission; $5 for Members.
Special notice regarding tour accessibility: Our elevators are undergoing an upgrade and accessibility is impacted for some house tours. This tour can be adapted for visitors who are unable to use stairs. Although some areas may not be accessible, visitors will still be able to experience the majority of the spaces included in the tour.
Tuesday–Sunday, through January 3 | 11:00 am–12:15 pm and 3:00-4:15 pm
We hope you enjoy all the special touches in this year’s Yuletide Tour. In addition to all the stunning trees and beautifully decorated rooms, numerous delightful or unexpected details are artfully tucked into our literature-themed displays. See how many you find!
1. “Tri-Sarah-Tops” dinosaur figurine named by one of our staff members. Yes, she’s hard to spot!
2. A tiny yeti (Hint: it’s hidden inside a wooden log)
3. Two vases with illustrations from the book Les Fleurs Animées, on loan from a private collector
4. A Cheshire Cat tree inspired by the mysterious grinning feline in Alice in Wonderland
5. A baby doll in a handbag representing Jack, a major character from Oscar Wilde’s The Importance of Being Earnest, A Trivial Comedy for Serious People. Jack was found in a handbag at a train station, an incident that may affect his marital prospects.
Photo by Holden Barnes.
6. A sailboat on a tree, inspired by the ships in Herman Melville’s novel Moby Dick
7. The 11th edition of A Christmas Carol. Released in 1843, Dickens’s classic tale was such a bestseller that by 1846 publishers had to release an 11th edition.
8. The Tardis from the popular television series Doctor Who. Hint: it’s on a tree
9. The Grinch from How the Grinch Stole Christmas by Dr. Seuss
10. Winterthur Farms milk bottles and a canister, a tribute to our historic dairy farm
11. The Winterthur guest book signed by H. F. du Pont’s guests, highlighting the social life at Winterthur
Photo by Holden Barnes.
Answers
By room name and theme.
1. Montmorenci Stair Hall — The one with the grand staircase where you start your tour
2. Marlboro Room — The one about MacBeth
3. Empire Parlor — The one with Flowery mannequin
4. The fifth floor to sixth floor staircase — The one about Alice in Wonderland
5. Baltimore Drawing Room — The one . . . with the babydoll in a handbag!
6. Chestertown Room — The one about Moby Dick
7. Du Pont Dining Room — The one about Fezziwig’s Christmas party in A Christmas Carol
8. Georgia Dining Room — The one about “A Visit from St. Nicholas”
9. Latimeria Room — The one about Humpty Dumpty and Through the Looking Glass
10. Port Royal Entrance — The one with the purple cow
11. Port Royal Parlor — The one about The Great Gatsby
Photo by Holden Barnes.
Experience the Yuletide Tour
Our self-paced Yuletide house tour is offered Tuesdays–Sundays, 10:00 am–5:00 pm (last tour at 4:15 pm). Plus, on select Friday and Saturday nights we’re open until 8:00 pm (last tour at 7:15 pm) through January 4.
The Winterthur Library is home to more than a million objects, books, and ephemera. Contained within this vast treasure trove are seven sketchbooks in watercolor, pencil, and pen and ink kept by German-born genre artist John Lewis Krimmel (1786–1821). The son of a confectioner in Württemberg, Krimmel emigrated to the United States in 1809 and began painting portraits, street scenes, and miniatures.
Special to the Yuletide season, one of Krimmel’s sketchbooks contains some of the earliest known depictions of Christmas trees in American art. His two Christmas Eve watercolor sketches show a multi-generational family gathered around tabletop trees (two trees in the first sketch, one in the second). Drawn between 1812 and 1820, they feature broadleaf evergreens, perhaps holly bushes, decorated with springerle cookies. The table holds plates filled with cookies and paper cornucopias stuffed with tiny treats which were left for the children by the Belsnickel, a Germanic gift giver, as their Christmas gifts.
John Lewis Krimmel, Sketchbook 2, 1812–13. Watercolor, pencil, and pen-and-ink drawings. Winterthur Library 308 59×5.7, ll. 7, 8 Krimmel’s first of two sketches, more symmetrical in nature.
Until the mid-1800s, Christmas trees in America were usually placed on tabletops. As in Krimmel’s sketches, the edible ornaments doubled as gifts, making the tree a one-day wonder. The trees were decorated in secret to surprise the children, who immediately devoured the goodies when they spotted them on Christmas Eve. Around the time of the American Civil War, people started combining gifts on the Christmas tree with purely decorative ornaments, heralding its transformation into an icon of the season.
Krimmel’s two Christmas Eve sketches are similar in scope but have some variations, especially with the young child and dog interactions. The first sketch features two small Christmas trees flanking a tiny house, while the second features one larger, taller tree, with many of the family members positioned differently. Each shows Krimmel’s penchant for capturing a special moment in time.
There are many early holiday traditions, and for people of Pennsylvania German descent, John Lewis Krimmel’s sketches display a staple of their holiday practices—a tabletop tree decorated with ornaments made of traditional sweets for an edible extravaganza. And family members of all ages enjoying the season and each other’s company in a delightfully festive setting.
John Lewis Krimmel, Sketchbook 2, 1812–13. Watercolor, pencil, and pen-and-ink drawings. Winterthur Library 308 59×5.7, ll. 7, 8 More complete than the previous sketch, with some characters repositioned. The dog claiming a treat from the child is a top-notch detail; my dog is jealous when I eat cookies too.
Discover the many lives of Winterthur and explore the estate as a place of home, community, and inspiration. From a country landscape that supported hunting, gathering, and farming to its evolution into a renowned museum, garden, library, and center for conservation and academic study, Winterthur has been shaped by the people who called it home and work and by the community of visitors and friends who have come to experience its beauty. Through personal stories, rarely seen objects, and rich historical context, At Home at Winterthur invites you to reflect on what it means to create a place, to belong to a place, and to share in its legacy. Get additional insights on a guided gallery walk, available Tuesday–Sunday, 1:15–1:45 pm.
Meet the first family of American artists who depicted the dawn of the nation and forged a lasting cultural legacy.
The enduring influence of the Peale family of artists on the nation’s art, innovation, and cultural identity is revealed in this groundbreaking exhibition bringing together the museum’s collection of Peale art and archival treasures for the first time.
Enhance Your Visit
Get the most of your visit to Winterthur with these activities, included with your General Admission ticket, which is good for two consecutive days!
Take the Self-Paced House Tour. Explore American history through the spaces, stories, and objects that shaped the nation. Discover the enduring influence of colonial American architecture, an unparalleled collection of decorative arts, and the transformation of a private estate into a museum devoted to preserving and interpreting the American experience.
Explore the galleries and garden. Take a stroll in the world-renowned 60-acre garden or explore one of our walking trails throughout the 1,000-acre estate. And, no visit is complete without our garden tram tour. Our guides share highlights of the garden and the history of Winterthur on this 30-minute narrated tour. Then, head inside to be inspired by the galleries, featuring two floors of the finest examples of American decorative arts.
The Edward Lloyd Family, 1771. Charles Willson Peale (1741–1827), Talbot, Maryland oil on canvas. Museum purchase 1964.0124
The scent catches you first. It’s rich and velvety, full of ginger, cinnamon, and molasses. Then, as you walk from the Galleries Reception Area into the Montgomery Room, you catch sight of it—a panorama of gingerbread trees, a train station, a train, and more, all in brown and white and vibrant red and green. This year’s gingerbread “house” is the historic train station at Winterthur.*
Photo by Winterthur Museum, Garden & Library
“Winterthur is full of stories—and each year I get to create a new one,” said Diana Anello, who made the gingerbread display for Yuletide. She headed up a team of six from Bredenbeck’s Bakery & Ice Cream Parlor, who spent more than 100 hours mixing, baking, and decorating the massive gingerbread creation. Made with 18 pounds of butter and 62 pounds of sugar, the finished creation, including a special support board, weighs almost 200 pounds. For the fourth year in a row, the bakery has collaborated with Winterthur to create a custom creation inspired by the estate.
Photo by Winterthur Museum, Garden & Library
Anello loves the fun as well as the challenge and frustration of trying to outdo herself each year. She started in early July, planning the design and figuring out the logistics. The display includes overpasses, plus extra lights powered by battery packs, hidden under the coal in a train and under a rock candy “puddle.” Some of the trees were made using snowflake cookie cutters and tilted on their sides, and others, across the display, are frosted in deep or bright green, flecked with white sprinkles. Snowflakes are scattered throughout.
Photo by Winterthur Museum, Garden & Library
Making a train from gingerbread was a first for Anello. She incorporated the Polar Express and added the W from the Winterthur logo to a train car, filling it with confectionery milk bottles and crates as a link back to Winterthur’s history as an award-winning dairy farm.
In one corner of the display, she crafted an illusion of an open book cover. Peering through, you can view the scene in a glance, like “a book that was opening up with the story coming out of it,” said Anello. “You’ll get my first impression of when we came to look at the railroad station.”
Photo by Holden Barnes
She wanted to create little moments and pay homage to the gingerbread houses of previous years, so there are elements from each. When you come to see it, look for seven hidden fairies with golden wings (Enchanted Woods), a vintage car (the mansion), and milk containers (dairy barn complex).
“I want to inspire other people to create gingerbread houses,” said Diana Anello. Come during Yuletide and see her wonderful, whimsical creation. You just might be inspired to craft a gingerbread display of your own.
Photo by Holden Barnes
*The Winterthur train station, situated at the back of the property near Route 100, served as a stop on the Wilmington and Northern Railroad and as Winterthur’s post office from 1900 to 1967. While freight trains still traverse Winterthur’s rails, they no longer stop at the station, which is now a private home for a Winterthur employee.
Recipes by our talented partners at Restaurant Associates.
Sip into the season with one of Winterthur’s signature seasonal cocktails—Peanut Butter Cup Hot Chocolate, Chambord and Prosecco, or our cheerful Mistletoe Kiss.
Whether you treat yourself while strolling the Holiday Market or indulge from the comfort of home, each sip is an invitation to celebrate, slow down, and toast to the flavors, moments, and beauty that make this season so special.
Peanut Butter Cup Hot Chocolate
A cozy, indulgent mug of velvety chocolate infused with peanut-butter whiskey and crowned with whipped cream — holiday comfort in every sip.
Ingredients
6 ounces chopped semi-sweet chocolate or chocolate chips
2 cups of milk
1½ ounces peanut butter whiskey
Whipped cream for garnish
Instructions
Melt the chocolate in a double boiler.
Heat the milk in a saucepan over low heat.
Add the chocolate to the warmed milk.
Stir until completely mixed.
Warm a mug, then carefully pour hot chocolate into the warmed glass.
Mix the hot chocolate and peanut butter whiskey.
Garnish with the whipped cream. Serve and enjoy!
Chambord and Prosecco
A sparkling, rosy-hued toast: red raspberry liqueur sweetened with agave, topped with crisp, effervescent prosecco.
Ingredients
1 (1.5 fluid ounce) jigger raspberry-flavored liqueur (such as Chambord)
1 ½ fluid ounces agave nectar
4 fluid ounces champagne, or as needed
Instructions
Stir raspberry-flavored liqueur and agave nectar together in a tall, thin-sided glass using a spoon.
Tilt the glass at an angle and pour in champagne. Serve and enjoy!
Mistletoe Kiss
A bright and elegant blend of citrus vodka, elderflower, and white cranberry, garnished with sugar-dusted cranberries — light, festive, and perfectly romantic.
Ingredients
1 1/2 ounces citrus vodka
1/2 ounce elderflower liqueur
1 ounce white cranberry juice
1/4 ounce freshly squeezed lemon juice
3 cranberries, for garnish
1/2 tablespoon white granulated sugar, for garnish
Instructions
Skewer 3 cranberries and dust them with 1/2 tablespoon white granulated sugar. Gently tap off any excess sugar and set aside.
In a cocktail shaker filled with ice, pour 1 1/2 ounces citrus vodka, 1/2 ounce elderflower liqueur, 1 ounce white cranberry, and 1/4 ounce freshly squeezed lemon juice. Shake well.
Strain into a chilled cocktail glass and garnish with the cranberry skewer. Serve and enjoy!
Experience Yuletide at Winterthur
November 22, 2025–January 4, 2026
Step into a storybook setting, where holiday magic, rich history, and beloved literature come to life. The Yuletide Tour features artful displays and beautifully adorned trees throughout the historic home, celebrating timeless tales such as A Christmas Carol,Alice in Wonderland,A Visit from St. Nicholas, and more. Whimsical treasures like a grand gingerbread replica of the train station, a magical dollhouse, and a toy train display add to the fun. Plus, join us for evening hours on select Fridays and Saturdays for candlelit tours, live music, cozy firepits, workshops, specialty cocktails, and seasonal fare in the café.
