Step in to a White Christmas at Tatton Park!

In keeping with tradition Tatton Park's mansion will be spectacularly dressed and open to visitors this Christmas. This year the team at Tatton have chosen to bedeck the mansion in glittering shades of white and silver, reminiscent of Tatton's beautiful parkland and the Alpine and wintry scenes which the Egerton family would have enjoyed in their travels.

Generations of the Egerton family were widely travelled. In the 19th century Wilbraham and Mary Egerton visited the Südtirol and the alpine regions of Austria, Germany and Italy. Mary, a talented amateur watercolourist, painted a series of scenes which are still in the collection to this day. Many years later, in the early 20th century, Maurice Egerton travelled to Alaska and Canada, visiting the Yukon and acquiring ranches in British Columbia. He also visited Iceland in 1930. So this Christmas Tatton felt that they would like to reflect the snowy wildernesses they encountered both at home and abroad.

Silver, frosty landscapes will be created with the assistance of Springbank Flowers design team who joined Tatton two years ago and created a hugely successful Venetian Christmas display in 2011 and Dickensian Christmas in 2012. The outcome this year will be a magical world frozen in time where deer roam freely across the icicled, snowflaked landscape.

One of the most popular aspects of Tatton's Christmas Mansion is the beautiful natural material from the parkland and gardens used in some of the displays. During the months of November and December the rangers and gardeners work tirelessly to source the very best greenery from specially selected plantations. Western red cedar, variegated holly, ivy, laurel, pine cones and yew are cut, transported in trailers and delivered directly to the cellar doors where the Mansion team work their magic! Wood, antlers, cones and other natural materials will be key features of this year's display reflecting wooded mountain scenery.

In addition to the decorations and displays, visitors will be entertained with a changing live music programme including a harpist, string quartet, harpsichordist and choirs.

Christmas is not only evident in the grand staterooms; the bustling servants' quarters will also be getting into the festive spirit. In the scullery costumed still room and kitchen maids will be cooking Christmas delicacies. Count on some lively banter with the below-stairs staff.

Visitors can also learn how to create beautiful decorations for their own home during free demonstrations in the servants' quarters.

Mansion and collections manager Caroline Schofield said: "We wanted this year's displays to be a contrast to what we have done before. Still in keeping with the history of Tatton, but a refreshing theme of landscape and natural materials'.