Bosobel Sparkles with 10,000 Lights: KidsOutAndAbout reviews a Hudson Valley tradition | Kids Out and About Westchester <

Bosobel Sparkles with 10,000 Lights: KidsOutAndAbout reviews a Hudson Valley tradition

Ready to get into the holiday spirit? Head to Boscobel in Garrison Fridays & Saturdays in December.

by Anne Siller

Boscobel House and Gardens in Garrison.

Take a twilight tour of the beautiful grounds at Boscobel in Garrison, where everything is beautifully illuminated as part of their “Nights of 10,000 Lights” display, in celebration of the holiday season.

My husband and I brought our 7- and 5-year-old sons and our 4-year-old daughter, arriving at 5pm. We strolled the lighted paths from one garden to the next, each adorned in its own way.

The night we were there, the house within the Herb Garden and Orangery--now transformed into the Sparkle Garden--also featured performer Thaddeus MacGregor, who whistled Christmas Carols.

As we made our way to the Rose Garden, we encountered The Snow Queen (on stilts!), an ethereal creature adorned with lights and fairy wings who granted each of my kids a wish.

After wandering through a Rose Garden which was blanketed in multi colored lights, we roamed around the outside of the house to the (wish granted!) concession stand. The food truck offered lots of goodies, including hot chocolate, which we were able to drink in the heated tent right next to it.

We finished off the tour with a stop at the ice sculpting station, where the Mansion was being recreated from a block of ice.

The tour didn’t take long, probably under an hour, but for my crowd, that’s about right.

Twilight Tours of the Mansion are also offered. Perhaps one day, when I can tell my kids “calm down!” and they will actually calm down, I will get a glimpse inside the mansion. I am sure it is fascinating to see how Christmas looked in the 1800s. But the hour we spent on traipsing the grounds was a most welcome one at this time of year. It was a peaceful walk through all the lights, and we all emerged thoroughly in the holiday spirit.

Boscobel's Night of 10,000 Lights: Children 3 and under are free, $15 ages 4 through adult. Pre-purchasing tickets are definitely recommended; the Twilight Tours of the Mansion in particular sell out in advance.

© 2013, KidsOutAndAbout.com

Anne Siller is editor of KidsOutAndAbout - Westchester.