Each winter season, Cheekwood puts on an impressive Holiday Lights show. After normal business hours, the grounds are transformed with different displays in every garden. It has become a seasonal must-do, especially when visitors arrive in town (…despite the crowds and the exorbitant ticket price, even with our annual membership discount. Bah humbug.) 

The lights have the glitz, but it’s the glam of the historic mansion that keeps me coming back over and over. The 1930s-era estate built by the Cheek family, creators and brewers of Maxwell House Coffee, has served as a fine arts museum since it opened to the public in 1960. Year-round, exhibits rotate through the upstairs galleries, but each winter, the downstairs rooms are trimmed with trees and décor. The design changes year to year, and I get a thrill discovering what’s in store each holiday season.