The Biltmore

Christmas 2020 is like no other we’ve ever encountered. There’s an overarching sadness and we all know why. Rather than lamenting on what we can and cannot do, I choose to think about the reason for the season and past Christmases where happiness abounded. Unlike Ebenezer Scrooge, we’ll take a trip to a Christmas past and relive a fond memory.

Every year, my husband and I travel to Northeast Ohio where my entire family gathers for Christmas and we return to North Carolina before New Year’s.  My two children and grandchildren fly or drive to visit my mother, my sibling’s family, and of course, us. Three years ago, it was no different.

Without telling me, my husband had invited his older sister for a visit to North Carolina for her birthday in January, My husband wanted to do something special for her and take her (and me) to see the Christmas decorations at The Biltmore in Asheville, North Carolina. (We had visited one summer a few years before, but wanted to see it at Christmas time).

While the sentiment was lovely and his sister deserved it for all she had done for his family over the years, it was December. I was knee-deep in cleaning, decorating, baking, wrapping, and last-minute year-end work stuff. I told him he had to plan the entire trip because I couldn’t possibly put one more thing on my plate. So he did.

Of course, anything my husband does, it’s always the last minute. Tickets for Christmas at the Biltmore (not to mention hotel rooms) would have been impossible to get, not to mention ultra-expensive if he’d wanted to go in December. But, thankfully, The Biltmore keeps the Christmas decorations until around the tenth of January. So, he could get tickets and make hotel reservations.

The day his sister arrived, it snowed. It delighted not only my husband, but his sister as well. Since they grew up in the Los Angeles area, snow was a big deal. Except for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, snow had lost its luster for me since I lived in it growing up. The rest of the time, I could do without it. For the three years we had lived in North Carolina, that year was the coldest we’d experienced.

We had dinner and planned for the four-hour trip to Asheville, North Carolina, the next day. The day we left, the sun shone and but the air was frigid as we traveled to the estate, which is in the northwest mountains of North Carolina. When we arrived, we checked into the smaller of the two Biltmore hotels. To date, with all our travels, it remains my husband’s favorite hotel.

We had tickets for the Candlelight Christmas tour that evening. The hotel and exterior decorations were spectacular, but being in the mountains, arctic-like temperatures prevailed, which curtailed our ability to walk the estate. Shopping was a must, though, and the quaint shops on the Biltmore estate still had Christmas themed items.

The carriage house next to The Biltmore has quaint gift shops year-round, but at Christmas, they transform into a unique Christmas shopping experience. Since ornaments are my favorite item to purchase during the holiday season, I bought several not only for myself but for my children for the following year. Interestingly, the sales clerk who sold his sister the delightful Santa she shipped back to California, grew up in the same little town where my husband grew up. What a small world! Neither my husband nor his sister could get over it.

The intense cold bit through several layers of clothing, but after our shopping expedition, it was finally time to see the interior of the house. Every fireplace and lamp was lit and made the enormous rooms look cozy and inviting. Words cannot do justice to the grandiose beauty of the Biltmore at Christmas, so I won’t even try. Instead, here’s a look at just a few of the photos we took and I hope someday you too, may see the wonder of The Biltmore at Christmas… Enjoy!

 

 

 

 

 

Merry Christmas from our house to yours!  May you have peaceful and blessed Christmas, remembering the reason for the season.