What It Takes: Decorating Biltmore for Christmas

As you get tangled and slightly frustrated attempting to unravel your holiday lights, imagine if you had thousands of lights to get sparkling and nearly 100 trees to decorate. Those are some of the challenges Biltmore staff excitedly face when it comes to making the season bright. But the end result is breathtaking. There's no better place to get in the holiday season than Biltmore, except maybe the North Pole.

Christmas at Biltmore Estate Fun Facts

Christmas Trees
The preferred trees at the turn of the century were fresh cut Fraser firs because of their fragrance and artificial trees for safety reasons. The same is true today at Biltmore. Biltmore also uses some live ball and burlap Holly trees. 41 decorated trees inside Biltmore House range in size from 4-35 feet tall. 58 more decorated trees at other estate facilities such as the Winery, Inn on Biltmore Estate, restaurants, offices, etc.

Poinsettias
The poinsettias are primarily red with some white, and a few marbled. 1,500 are used through the season inside Biltmore House, about 750 at any given time. Several hundred more poinsettias are found in the other estate facilities.

Wreaths
This year, Biltmore's wreaths are made of fresh white pine, Fraser fir, boxwood, holly, or artificial bases decorated with dried flowers, silk flowers, or much ornamentation. 450 fresh wreaths are used through the season inside Biltmore House, along with 36 artificial or silk. Around 100 more wreaths are found in other facilities.

Garlands
Biltmore's garlands are made of white pine, Fraser fir, boxwood, and some artificial, or dried and silk. 9,000 feet of fresh garlands are used during the season. Silk, dried, and artificial garlands add another 900 feet in Biltmore House and around 900 feet in other areas.

Ribbons and bows
From narrow cording to 8" wide, Biltmore's ribbons and bows come in velvet, metallic, satin, burlap, and printed cotton. 500 are used inside Biltmore House with an equivalent amount used in the ancillary areas.

Ornaments
Biltmore's ornaments vary from cardboard and paper, to tinsel and glitter, dried and silk flowers, to crystal or German blown glass. They are homemade and store-bought. The legendary 35-foot Banquet Hall tree includes 500 gift boxes, 500 ornaments and 500 electric lights. The four 14-foot trees in the Tapestry Gallery glitter with 400 German-blown glass ornaments, 600 mini white lights, and 80 feet of dried and silk garland decorate.