Every year Stan Hywet amazes my family with new displays, a gorgeously decorated mansion, the largest Christmas light display in NE Ohio, and exciting surprises. 2016 does not disappoint! Be sure to arrive by 5:30 to enjoy the Christmas Tree Lighting with Santa.
Enter the magical world of animated holiday window displays! New this year is the bakery featuring four bakers in perpetual motion. Smiles like this is what Christmas is all about.
I received tickets to facilitate this post.
Enjoy pictures with Santa and a life-sized animatronic Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer. Rudolph is a hoot! He likes to get into the conversation that kids are having with Santa and the kids love him!
Also in the courtyard is a snack station with Stan Hywet’s famous freshly baked gingerbread cookies and hot chocolate. (Be sure to stop by Molly’s Shop at the end for beautiful one-of-a-kind gifts and a box of gingerbread cookies to bake at home!
The Manor House is decorated in Christmas splendor. It’s gorgeous! This year’s theme is A STORYBOOK CHRISTMAS with 20 rooms decorated to the theme of Christmas stories. Your kids may recognize Eric Carle’s DREAM CHRISTMAS in one of the very first rooms as you enter the house.
There is live entertainment in the Music Room, just as the family enjoyed years ago. Choirs, musicians, and dancers from throughout Northeast Ohio will provide a musical backdrop to your tour.
If you have visited Stan Hywet Hall & Gardens other times of the year but not at Christmas, you are in for such a treat. The Manor House is always beautiful but it is absolutely stunning during Christmas! My kids really enjoy seeing how each room is decorated from year to year. We are always excited to see new rooms opened and new themes revealed.
Visiting Stan Hywet during Christmas has become a Christmas tradition that my family looks forward to every year. It is what really starts the Christmas season for us.
We found several Christmas books that we were not familiar with and the STORYBOOK CHRISTMAS theme has sparked an interest in my family to read more of the book. The Gift of the Magi really intrigued my kids, we’ll be checking it out at the library this week.
Who can forget Frosty? We loved this room, especially when we noticed the book. My husband has this exact replica of this Frosty book from his childhood. We read it to our kids when they were little. This theme has really taken us down memory lane.
Outside, the grounds are laden with more than 800,000 lights – the largest Christmas light display in Northeast Ohio!! DAZZLE is their outdoor light show spectacular animated to music. The 25 foot Christmas tree in the center is layered in lights and ornaments with dozens of flowers, butterflies, bees, and globes as well. The lights are animated to songs like “We Need a Little Christmas,”Frosty the Snowman,” and “Santa Claus Is Coming To Town.” It is amazing! (Sorry, no photos, it is hard to photograph after dark!)
The new Playgarden is transformed into Gingerbread Land too!
Kids will especially enjoy this Christmas light display!
Another favorite place to visit is the Corbin Conservatory to warm up and enjoy the tropical “Garden under Glass” with pretty LED “candles” and lighting throughout. There are even call-outs for fun family photos.
Be sure to purchase a beautiful poinsettia or Christmas catcus for your home or for gift-giving. They have a beautiful assortment of unique colors and are priced very reasonably.
We are so fortunate to have Stan Hywet Hall & Gardens here in Akron, Ohio. They offer many delightful family-friendly programs all year long. My kids loved this year’s theme so much that they want to go back with friends and family again.
Stan Hywet Deck the Hall Dates
November 25-27, and December 1-4, December 8-23, and December 26-30, 2016
5-8pm
Stan Hywet Deck the Hall Pricing
Tickets may be purchased on the Stan Hywet website or upon arrival. Tickets include a self-guided tour of the Manor House, grounds, DAZZLE, and Gingerbread Land.
Adults: $22
Children (6-17): $9
Kids 5 & under: FREE
Discounts available on Sunday – Thursday, for groups of 10+, and for college students with ID.
Stan Hywet
714 North Portage Path
Akron, Ohio
