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Christmas at Biltmore

Connecting to the Past

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Biltmore photo

Biltmore photo

Biltmore photo

Biltmore photo

Biltmore photo

Each Christmas season, Biltmore, one of the Southeast’s most beloved travel destinations, is decked out in her finest holiday décor. This year, 400,000 visitors are expected to experience this year’s Christmas theme “The Gilded Age,” open through January 5, 2020. The smell of fresh-cut evergreens will fill the air, while glowing lights and luxurious ribbon, bows, wreaths, garland, and bouquets welcome one and all. 

Creating A Biltmore Christmas is a team effort that is researched, planned, and designed up to five years in advance. The Floral Design Department takes the lead, but Lizzie Borchers, the floral displays manager, quickly says, “We could not do this alone. We work very closely with horticulture, housekeeping, museum services, entertainment and events, guest relations, and engineering. Putting this spectacular event together is a team effort. The people in the engineering department are superstars. They do the heavy lifting and are always available to troubleshoot any situation. They may be behind the scenes, but they make the magic happen,” she said. “I’d like visitors to know there is a thoughtfulness behind what they see as they tour the house. Everything we do—the theme, colors, designs, and smallest detail in each room—represent the Vanderbilt family, their interests and life. Don’t expect to see the latest, trendiest trends. We stay in the time period, and each year we offer a new, fresh experience. We research and work with museum services to connect the present experience to the Christmas celebrations of George Vanderbilt and his family over 100 years ago. Even today, we consider what George would do as a filter to decide if something is appropriate. A Biltmore Christmas tells a story. It connects to the past.”

Christmas Past

Biltmore’s archives are full of letters and documents detailing the lives of George and Edith Vanderbilt, their daughter, Cornelia, and many of their friends and family who visited them. Christmas is an especially heartfelt time for visitors, staff, and George’s great-grandchildren, who still own the home. 

In 1895, despite six years of construction, the house was still unfinished, but George seemed to love the holidays, so he invited his family and friends here to celebrate. He moved into the bachelors’ wing on October 26, as his own room was incomplete. With 33 guest bedrooms, an indoor swimming pool, bowling alley, and the latest modern conveniences—plumbing, hot water, electricity, and a telegraph—his home was built to entertain, and that’s exactly what he intended to do, starting with a grand holiday housewarming party. 

George and his property managers searched far and wide for the perfect trees, the best mistletoe, and most desirable holly. He temporarily hired local men and women as domestic staff. A stickler for details, and wanting a perfect atmosphere for his guests, George told estate manager Charles McNamee to prepare firewood in five-foot lengths, and further directed the wood must be perfectly dry, because if the wood sits in the rain, it snaps when it burns. His nursery staff, under the direction of a New York florist, gathered greenery, made garland, and decorated the mansion from top to bottom.

George planned a Yuletide party for estate employees and their families, over 200 people, on Christmas morning. He enlisted the help of Julia McNamee, the estate manager’s wife, to procure gifts for everyone. These gifts, along with a new innovation—electric Christmas lights—were hung on the largest tree, a 40-foot spruce, placed in the Banquet Hall. Archival receipts reveal twelve and a half gallons of ice cream, two boxes of oranges, five large cakes, 40 small cakes, 120 pounds of candy, two bunches of bananas, and 250 cornucopias were provided for this party, thereafter called “The Christmas Tree.” 

In October 1898, George brought his new bride, Edith Dresser Vanderbilt, 25, home to Biltmore. She joyously embraced and continued Biltmore’s Christmas traditions of placing the largest tree in the Banquet Hall and hosting “The Christmas Tree” for estate employees and their families. Edith kept a book listing each person on the estate and personally selected, wrapped, and labeled gifts for each one. She shopped locally, but also purchased select items for the children from FAO Schwartz in New York City. Adults received items such as comforters, scarves, shawls, ties, and gloves. Each year, Edith went from house to house gathering names and ages, ensuring no one was overlooked. She then checked the book to insure no one received the same gift as the year before. 

In 1900, George and Edith excitedly announced the birth of their daughter, Cornelia. As a child, one of her favorite things was flipping the switch to light the towering Banquet Hall tree, signaling the start of the party. Throughout the years, friends and family were always welcomed with open arms and entertained with Biltmore’s gracious hospitality. Edith and Cornelia continued the employee Christmas party even after George died in 1914. 

Christmas Present

Today, George and Edith’s great-grandchildren honor his love of the holidays, and keep his legacy and traditions alive for visitors and staff alike. Nearly 125 years after the first “Christmas Tree,” they continue to host an annual party for employees. In 1975, they opened Biltmore for its first public Christmas. Since that time, A Biltmore Christmas has become a tradition of its own, with many guests returning year after year.

It takes well over 100 people to prepare and present the enduring holiday tradition. Behind the scenes, Borchers is like Santa Claus, but with a calendar and spread sheet. A coordinator extraordinaire, she orders, shops, tracks, plans, and keeps everything moving forward, in addition to designing Biltmore weddings and other events. Six members of the floral design department work on Christmas full-time, and 12 others work part-time to make each holiday season spectacular. 

Their efforts extend well beyond the main house, adding holiday flair to The Inn, The Cottage, Village Hotel, Antler Hill Village & Winery, estate restaurants and shops, and the Biltmore building and Chamber of Commerce in Asheville. Despite working on the holiday 365 days a year, they still love Christmas.

Inside their workshop, lavish ribbon, immense bows, vibrant flowers, hand-made garland and sparkling ornaments cover tables, fill boxes, and occupy shelves awaiting their Christmas destiny. Happy chatter and music fill the air, along with the unmistakable smell of hot glue. 

Michele Warren, Cristy Leonard, Jo Langevin, Terry Willis, Joslyn Kelly, Kyla Dana, and Lucinda Ledford stay busy gluing, painting, arranging, and organizing projects for each room’s master plan. Each designer develops sketches, creates arrangements, garland, bows, wreaths, and anything necessary for the specific Biltmore rooms and outlying area she is assigned. On “box” or moving day, each designer begins the actual installation, ensuring each ornament hangs perfectly straight, tree lights are perfectly spaced, and each item, no matter how small, is perfectly placed. There’s a lot of emphasis on making everything perfect, because that’s the way George Vanderbilt would have wanted it. Attention to detail, no matter how big or small, is a tradition and hallmark at Biltmore. 

“I’ve only been here six months, and I still can’t believe I get paid to do this. It’s like a dream come true,” Warren said. Her Music Room sample box is filled with burgundy and gold ornaments, and rich white ribbon adorned with gold, pearls, and jewels. “In keeping with ‘The Gilded Age’ theme, I focused on gold, of course; these items just say Biltmore to me. By mid-summer we were well into crafting and creating.”

Leonard is marking her seventh Biltmore Christmas this year. “Here in the floral department, it’s Christmas year-round. This summer we worked on this Christmas, but we’re already planning and designing for next year.” This year’s Tapestry Gallery has eight trees. Part of her inspiration for this year’s design came from a piece of furniture in the room, she said. “This one piece is very gothic-looking, and with the beautiful tapestries that cover the walls, I thought a 12th century gothic design would work here.” She selected rich, jewel-toned ornaments and ribbon, gilded tree toppers and handcrafted special garland. 

“I’ve worked part-time for two years,” Langevin said. “My favorite thing is designing, and I love working on fresh arrangements.”

Willis, with five months under her belt, is the newest team member and is helping everyone else. She says this is her “dream job.”

Kelly glues a gilded pear into place. “For me, everything is about attention to detail and adding the Biltmore touch and additional elegance to what I do. George was so detail-oriented; look what he did with the architecture. I try to do that, too. George also loved nature, so by adding pine cones and berries to my design, I try to connect visitors to that side of him.”

After seven Christmases, Dana’s favorite part is the group walk-though. “When every room is finished, our team walks through the house and gets to see, as visitors do, the beauty of the season. That’s what I really enjoy.” 

Ledford is equally passionate about her work. Celebrating her seventh Christmas this year, she said, “I’m all about texture. I love gathering everything based on a story, like the Vanderbilt family traditions. We’re not just decorating a house, we pay homage to, and through our designs, connect visitors today to the people who lived here over 100 years ago.”

Borchers loves seeing the range of interpretation and creativity in each designer. “They are so dedicated and love what they do. My favorite day is ‘Tree Raising Day,’ when the 35-foot Fraser fir, the centerpiece of A Biltmore Christmas, is brought in on a wagon, carried to the Banquet Hall, and lifted into place. Maneuvering a massive tree past treasured artifacts and invaluable chandeliers is a remarkable feat in itself. It’s exciting.”

Since 1975, Andrews Nursery in Newland, North Carolina, has provided two large trees for the Banquet Hall each year. Halfway through the season, for safety purposes and so guests can enjoy a fresh tree, the first tree is replaced. About 3 a.m., decorations are removed, the branches cut and the trunk removed, cut into boards and donated to Habitat for Humanity. Just before 4 a.m. the new tree arrives, is hoisted into place and decorated before the first guests arrive at 9 a.m.  

The Biltmore staff puts thoughtful creativeness, passion, and love into their work. With fresh eyes and new appreciation, it’s easy to see a ribbon is not just a ribbon, but a carefully chosen reflection of a tapestry, window, or person. Dutch wooden shoes, a railroad lantern, and a small ship are not just objects, but symbols connecting us to the past and the people who lived here.

Biltmore by the Numbers

Visitors always want to know how many trees, lights, bows, etc. So, in case you were wondering, here’s A Biltmore Christmas by the numbers for 2019.

Trees:

Lights and Candles

Luminaries: 

Ornaments:

Poinsettias & Blooming Plants:

Wreaths:

Garland:

Bows:

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