Tis the season for all that sparkles and shines brightly. It’s the time
for the city streets to be beautifully decorated, for the shop windows
to glisten with the holiday fun, for the Carolers to sing our favorite
Christmas carols, for the trees in our homes to be decorated with our
favorite bulbs, and the parties to be in full swing. This is the time of
year that we try to fit in as much as we can around town to celebrate
the holidays and all that goes with it. I just want to show some of the
photos I took of Christmas in the City.

The Conservatory on Belle Isle celebrating the holidays.

Inside the Conservatory with a Christmas program of Carolers singing
our favorite songs.

The Belle Isle Aquarium beautifully decorated in these luscious blue lights.

Approaching the downtown Detroit area from Belle Isle. The area was
decorated beautifully for the holidays.

Driving down Woodward with the Fox Theater in the distance. Detroit
really dressed up the city for the holidays this year. The beginning of
the city’s revitalization.

Somerset Mall in Troy, Michigan

The Great Hall at Meadow Brook Hall

One of the many beautifully decorated fireplaces at Meadow Brook Hall.

Downtown Rochester always dazzles us with their lights shining brightly
and their store windows aglow with the Christmas spirit. They even have
a Santa mailbox ready for all those letters to the North Pole.

Isn’t that the Leg Lamp from the movie, The Christmas Story?

The streets of Birmingham, Mi were lit with white lights throughout the
downtown area. This is a beautiful white Nativity scene set amongst
white lights adorning this Park.

So many beautiful windows all decked out for the holidays.

Nothing is as lovely as the Edsel Ford House in Grosse Pte, Mich, home
of Edsel and Eleanor Ford, and Christmas time only makes it so much
more special.

Because you were not allowed to take photos in the home, I thought I
would show you pictures of their daughter, Josephine’s playhouse, every
little girls dream.

These were just a few photos of Christmas around the city that I wanted
to share with you. Christmas is drawing near and with all the festivities
in full swing, let’s take time to remember the real meaning of this holiday
and give thanks for all we have. Be safe, enjoy, and HAPPY HOLIDAYS.

Willkommen, in German means Welcome. Frankenmuth is all things
welcome, from family time, playtime, a famous chicken dinner, a ride
in a horse-drawn carriage, a cruise down a river and most importantly,
Christmas time all year round.

Frankenmuth is one of my favorite places to visit no matter what time of
the year, but it’s especially beautiful around the holidays. The city is
all decked out for the Holidays and with a little snow it turns into a magical
Christmas Bavarian Wonderland. Probably the number one attraction
is Bronner’s Christmas Wonderland. It truly is a wonderland of over 7
acres of all that is Christmas. Founded in 1945, by Wally Bronner, it is
visited by over two million people and is known for the “World’s Largest
Christmas Store”.

This Chapel is an exact replica of the Silent Night chapel in Oberndorf,
Austria, and was built for Bronners in 1976 with the blessing of the
Oberndorf Mayor and the Austrian Government, who also attended the
dedication.

Decorations inside the Frankenmuth chapel include replicas of the
Oberndorf hand-crocheted alter cloth, an 1818 crucifix, pews, stained glass
windows, and information about the original chapel and composer of the
most favorite Christmas song, Silent Night.

These pictures were taken this summer on one of my visits to Frankenmuth.
I had never before taken the time to go in the chapel and fell in love with it.
I think I need to visit Oberndorf real soon to see the original chapel in
the setting that made the Christmas Carol, Silent Night, so special.

Frankenmuth has always been known for their famous chicken dinners.
Whether it is Zehenders or the Bavarian Inn, both are pretty good. It’s
just part of the experience of Frankenmuth, a chicken dinner and a visit
to Bronners.

The Bavarian Inn Lodge is huge with an indoor water-park.

Another view of the Bavarian Inn along the River.

Frankenmuth is a city with many festivals that include a Holiday Candlewalk,
a Zehnder’s Snowfest, Bavarian Easter Celebration, Bringing back the
80’s, Beer fest, several Summer fest, a Bavarian fest, Music fest, Old
Auto fest, Oktoberfest, a Crabby Clam and Lobster fest, and several
more, but to me the Christmas Holiday fest is my favorite.

What could be more lovely than touring Meadow Brook Hall at
Christmas time. It’s been several years since I have toured this
magnificent Tudor style home of Matilda Dodge Wilson, heiress to
her first husband, John Dodge, automotive mogul, and always
remembered how beautifully decorated it was at Christmas time.
So with my camera packed and the sun brightly shining on this cold
crisp day in Michigan, I would spend an afternoon walking from room
to room, admiring the beautiful festive decorations that Meadow Brook
does so superbly.

Meadow Brook Hall is a Tudor style mansion, in Rochester Hills, Mi.
built between 1926 and 1929 by Matilda Dodge Wilson and her second
husband, lumber broker, Alfred G. Wilson. In 1957 it was donated to
the state of Michigan, in order to found Oakland University. In 2012,
it was named a National Historic Landmark. It is often referred to
as one on America’s “castles”, with 88,000 square foot it is ranked the
sixth Largest Historic Home in the United States.

Photo essay on Christmas at Meadow Brook

This Solarium was one of my favorite rooms. I could only imagine
me sitting in this beautiful room in the early morning maybe drinking
a cup of coffee, reading a book, and just enjoying the bright sunlight
shining through this room.

This was the room of Francis Dodge, daughter of the Matilda and
John Dodge. Frances was described as the belle of the ball and was
always followed in the society pages as to her fashion, hairstyles and
social life.

If I recall correctly there is a fireplace in every single room.

This was a portion of Matilda Dodge’s bedroom.

Her dressing room and below her bath, which was lovely.

There were many more rooms in the mansion that are not in this article.
Every room was decorated beautifully and just bursting with the colors
of the season.

Knole Cottage is a 3/4 scale playhouse that was built for Francis Dodge in
1926 when she was 12 years old. Furnished with small furniture,
textiles, art and fully functioning appliances, this enchanting six-room
cottage was intended to teach her the art of homemaking.
What Frances loved most was hosting tea parties for friends and family.
Unfortunately, I was not able to take pictures inside.

Back inside the Mansion is the Living Room, where Francis Dodge married
James B. Johnson, Jr. in front of the fireplace on July 1, 1938. That is
her wedding gown on the right side near the fireplace.

This is the lovely staircase where the bride would walk down accompanied
by her brother, Daniel, where 800 guest, including Henry Ford, would
celebrate her happiest days.

Meadow Brook Hall is just another wonderful example of all that the
Detroit area has to offer. Because we are the Automotive Capital, we
have been lucky to have these magnificent treasures in Michigan to always
remember the Dodges, the Fords, and the Fishers. Although some have
closed, we can still remember their magnificence.