Belair Mansion in Bowie, MD was built in the mid 1700’s and expanded in the early 1900’s. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Its address is 12207 Tulip Grove Drive, Bowie, MD 20715. I am a history buff, and love exploring historic sites. My kids, though, not so much! Therefore, I was thrilled to find out that this site was embracing the holiday spirit by having an elf hunt! The concept was simple… Christmas elves had been spotted at the Mansion, and they were urgently needed back at the North Pole to help make Christmas presents for kids around the world. Official elf spotters were needed!
I loaded Stormy and Rainbow up into the van on a Sunday afternoon, and we drove to the Mansion. Pebble stayed at home as she was too tired to go. There was a small parking lot to park in once we pulled into and up the Mansion’s driveway. It was pretty packed when we arrived, but we found a spot as did my friend who’d brought her two kids to join us. We followed a brick walkway back to a plain red door near a sign that said Tours. Upon entering the building, we had our temperatures checked, and masks were required. Then we passed into a small hallway where the kids picked up their official Elf Spotting kits from one of the friendly guides.
The kits were actually booklets with a page for each room of the house. The kids needed to write down how many elves they spotted, and where they saw the elves. It was a genius idea as the kids learned which each room was, a kitchen, the nursery, a conservatory, etc., while looking for the elves. If one was lucky, maybe a kiddo would even pick up a little history, too…maybe.
We started our hunt on the lowest level in the kitchen, and worked our way upward. The home was beautifully decorated for the season, and our scavenger hunt was entirely self-guided so we went at our pace. Our crew of four kids were fascinated by the different rooms, although not so fascinated that I was able to read all of the signs that talked about the history of each room.
When the very last elf had been tracked down and counted, we returned to the lower level so that the guide could check each child’s elf tally. As a reward for their hard work, each kid received a goody bag, which my kids were tickled pink about! Candy! When we got back outside, my friend and I turned the kids loose to explore the lawn at the back of the house. The lawn was broken up into different levels, and the kids ran, cartwheeled, and rolled all over the place!
It was the perfect afternoon, and what a great way to introduce children to these historic sites. I hope the Mansion does this event next year, and then we can bring Pebble! Happy trails!
