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Tanner House Museum to sparkle with holiday decor at December open houses

Visitors to the free open houses at the William Tanner House Museum in Aurora will find a variety of holiday decor this December.

In addition to colorful traditional decorations throughout, the 1857 home itself will be featured as an authentically-built, to-scale gingerbread house in the kitchen, and in the library, tiny elf-aliens will be delivering gifts from a spaceship parked outside a dollhouse.

Also new this year will be the "photo booth" concept used in the parlor.

Visitors interested in taking selfies can dress up in vintage style with items provided by the Aurora Historical Society.

Docents will be available to snap the shutter. A century-old view camera will be on display.

The open houses begin Sunday, Dec. 9. Openings are from 1 to 4 p.m. Sundays and Wednesdays and 4 to 7 p.m. Fridays.

Admission is free, but donations are appreciated. The museum is at 304 Oak Ave., the corner of Oak and Cedar, in Aurora.

The last day of the program is Sunday, Dec. 30.

There is more information online at aurorahistory.net or www.facebook.com/AuroraHistory/.

Built in 1857, this Italianate-style house was the home to prominent merchant William Tanner and his family. The family owned the home until 1936 when it was donated to the Aurora Historical Society. The house was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1976.

The house features high ceilings, oak grained woodwork, ornate plaster decoration, and antique furnishings.

The Aurora Historical Society is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization. Donations are tax deductible to the extent allowable by law.

A child and her grandmother admire the tree in a children's bedroom at a 2014 holiday open house. The Tanner House Museum will be open Sundays, Wednesdays and Fridays, starting Dec. 9. Courtesy of Aurora Historical Society
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