The holiday season is just around the corner, and we are excited to welcome you back to Brucemore for the holidays! Voted a USA Today Top 10 Best Historic Holiday Home in 2019 and 2021, the holidays at Brucemore are a festive tradition that you don’t want to miss!
During the 2022 season, we will welcome guests to enjoy annual programs such as sparkling mansion tours and holiday-themed “Art at Brucemore” glass and ceramic workshops. Brucemore is excited to announce the return of two favorite programs – Santa, Snacks, and Stories and A Modern Salon featuring SPT Theatre!
Tickets to the general public will go on sale the morning of November 1, 2022. Want earlier access or an invitation to a special donor holiday preview on November 18, 19, or 20? Become a Member of Brucemore today!
Brucemore donors will be invited via email to purchase tickets early during a special pre-sale beginning October 19, 2022. This will include instructions to attend a donor-only holiday preview event on November 18, 19, or 20. Please inquire if you do not receive your access link.
Learn more about the tours and events scheduled this holiday and winter season below!
A Brucemore Christmas: A Self-Guided Holiday Experience
November 25 – December 31, 2022
Thursdays – Saturdays, Timed entry every 30 minutes beginning at 10:00 a.m., with the last entry time at 3:00 p.m.
Sundays, Timed entry every 30 minutes beginning at 10:00 a.m., with the last entry time at 3:00 p.m.
This self-guided tour of the mansion will fill you with holiday cheer! Explore our award-winning holiday experience, complete with over a dozen dazzling Christmas trees, sparkling seasonal décor, and a glimpse into the holiday seasons of yore. Imagine what it was like to live or work at Brucemore more than 100 years ago as you wander through three floors of history decked out with holiday spirit.
Holiday Nights: A Brucemore Christmas Experience
Select evening dates December 1-22, 2022
Timed entry every 30 minutes beginning at 5:00 p.m., with the last entry time at 7:00 p.m.
Enjoy a self-guided tour of the mansion by glow of holiday light! With over a dozen Christmas trees and thousands of twinkling lights, this breathtaking view of Brucemore is sure to bring Christmas alive for you and your family and friends. This tour takes visitors to all four floors of the mansion, including the infamous Tahitian Room and Grizzly Bar, which will only be open this holiday season during this tour. Favorite holiday carols and hymns played on Brucemore’s rare 1920s Skinner Player Pipe Organ will fill the home with music and cheer.
Art at Brucemore: Glass Holiday Tree Workshop
Saturday, November 26, 2022 at 10:30 a.m. and 12:30 p.m.
The Iowa Ceramics Center and Glass Studio will return for this very popular hands-on workshop again this season! Their instructors will provide all materials and instruction to guide participants’ creativity in creating a beautiful tree from glass using warm glass techniques – no previous experience necessary! The 3×6” project includes a wooden stand to display it at your home or gift it to a loved one. Following the workshop, ICCGS will take the projects to fire them in their kilns and they will be available for pick-up at their studio three weeks later.
Santa, Snacks, and Stories
Monday, November 28 and Tuesday, November 29
Timed entry at 5:00 pm, 5:30 pm, 6:00 pm, and 6:30 pm
Returning to Brucemore for the 2022 holiday season is our family-favorite event, Santa, Snacks, and Stories! Santa Clause is coming to Brucemore, and he wants to meet all the little ones to make sure they made the Nice List this year. So, kids, make sure to bring your wish list to share with Santa, and adults, have that camera ready for the perfect snapshot! Before or after visiting Santa, check-out the other holiday activities inside the Brucemore mansion, including a snack, craft, and story time. This event has limited capacity to keep the evening intimate and special.
Art at Brucemore: Clay Holiday Gnome Workshop
Sunday, December 4, 2022 at 10:30 a.m.
The Iowa Ceramics Center and Glass Studio will return for this very popular hands-on workshop series again this season! Their instructors will provide all materials and instruction to guide participants’ creativity in crafting a fun holiday elf using clay hand-building and glazing techniques – no previous experience necessary! The 4×4” projects will make festive décor for your home or to gift to a loved one. Following the workshop, ICCGS will take the projects to fire in their kilns and they will available for pick-up at their studio three weeks later.
Art at Brucemore: Ceramic Holiday Tree Luminary Workshop
Sunday, December 18, 2022 at 10:30 a.m.
The Iowa Ceramics Center and Glass Studio will return for this very popular hands-on workshop series again this season! Their instructors will provide all materials and instruction to guide participants’ creativity in decorating a tree luminary. The 8-10” tall trees will be uniquely pre-made by ICCGS artists – no two are the same! Following the workshop, ICCGS will take the projects to fire in their kilns and they will available for pick-up at ICCGS beginning Thursday, December 22. Once at home, add your own light to watch it glow for the holiday season.
A Modern Salon at Brucemore featuring SPT Theatre
Fridays and Saturdays, January 13, 14, 20, 21, 27, and 28, 2022
Doors open at 7:00 p.m. and the performance begins at 7:30 p.m.
Brucemore and SPT Theatre are excited to bring A Modern Salon back to the Great Hall of the mansion for the first time since 2020! This year’s show theme, reunion, will bring us together for an evening of music and stories with SPT Founders – Janelle Lauer, Jane Pini, and Gerard Estella – and special guests, Lindsay Prince and Tim Arnold. Emulating the Parisian salons at the turn of the 20th century, guests can experience an evening of entertainment with the bonus of wine tasting, hors d’oeuvres, and desserts as if they were friends of the Douglas family who called the estate home.
