Historic Governors' Mansion encourages people to look back on

CHEYENNE — Tinsel Through Time has been an ongoing tradition at Wyoming’s Historic Governors’ Mansion since 2013, encouraging visitors to remember Christmases past.

This year’s opening reception took place on Nov. 23 and showed off every room on all the floors throughout the house.

This year’s theme for Tinsel Through Time is “A Pop Culture Christmas.” According to Alexis Pratt, the superintendent of the mansion for Wyoming State Parks and Historic Sites, they’ve wanted to do this theme for a while.

The theme is inspired by the history of Christmas pop culture, ranging from movies to radio plays to the NORAD Santa Tracker. They have rooms inspired by “The Polar Express,” “The Nightmare Before Christmas,” “A Christmas Carol” and more.

Although this is a free-roaming exhibit, there are specific events on certain days, including a few holiday teas for children, extended hours and movie nights.

The Children’s Holiday Tea events are on Nov. 30, Dec. 7 and 14 from 1-2 p.m. They’re open for children ages 5 to 10 and their families. For all three Holiday Teas, an RSVP is required, and tickets will be sold by the staff during business hours on a first-come, first-served basis. The cost is $10 a person.

The mansion also offers a movie night on Dec. 14 from 6-8 p.m. for all ages. The event is free but requires an RSVP. The movie they chose is “A Charlie Brown Christmas,” and is the mansion’s first-ever holiday movie night during one of its exhibits.

They’ll also have extended hours on Dec. 11 until 7 p.m.

Since Tinsel Through Time is an annual exhibit, the staff at the Historic Governors’ Mansion usually starts thinking about the theme months in advance. According to Pratt, the decorating process takes about four or five weeks from start to finish. The staff, friends of the staff and volunteers in the community usually gather every year to help decorate and make the exhibit happen.

“I’d say July is when we start thinking about the theme,” Pratt said. “And before our very first Tinsel Through Time exhibit, we always did some sort of Christmas exhibit, but it was never this extravagant or to this extent. Every year, we try to do something a little bit different. We get a lot of returnees and local visitations, so we don’t want it to get repetitive.”

In the past, the staff at the Historic Governors’ Mansion has done themes that focused on specific holiday movies or music, but this is the first time the focus is on pop culture as a whole.

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“(Tinsel Through Time) gives locals and their families something to do, especially with the holiday season (and cold weather) upon us. I think this helps get folks out there, and kind of helps with the downtown areas, as well,” said Pratt.

For years, the Historic Governors’ Mansion staff has been hiding a pickle ornament in a different room every year, and this year is no different. Although there’s no prize for whoever finds the pickle ornament, it’s a fun Easter egg and classic Christmas tradition that can be fun for the whole family.

The exhibit is open Wednesday through Saturday until Dec. 21 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. (with the exception of extended hours). So, if you want to get into the holiday spirit with your loved ones this year, the Tinsel Through Time exhibit is a good place to get some photos and ring in the holiday season.

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