A taste of a traditional Christmas is on tap through December 23 at a 196-year-old home built in Guadalajara by an Irish railroad scion.
The huge garden, stables and house of the “Clover Lawn Mansion,” never before open to the public, have been decked out with “Expo Navideño,” and local families, paying 25 pesos per adult, 15 per child or donating one Christmas toy per person, are coming in droves.
On a recent Tuesday at 10 p.m., parents and children were still entering — the Expo is open from 2 p.m. to 11 p.m. daily — and organizer Andrea Mariscal said that after only four days, they have already collected 930 of their goal of 1,500 toys, which will be given to children in state orphanages.
Whether it is the exuberant Christmas music, the breathtaking display of strung Christmas lights (measuring 14 kilometers in total length, says Mariscal), the chance to see the well-appointed interior of the home (most of it original, organizers explain), the great location two blocks east of regal Avenida Chapultepec, the variety of food, clothes, crafts and even TVs on sale in the garden, something has transformed this normally rather scary, uninhabited house into a fun factory.
Mariscal explains that while Irish railroad builder John Keeps was the mansion’s builder and original owner, Clover Lawn Mansion’s current owners are Mexican, but don’t live in the house. Instead it is used for events such as weddings, Halloween parties, video shoots and, now, Christmas Expo.
Inside the house, at 5 p.m. every day, guided tours and Santa visits and photos are offered to groups for 100 pesos per five people. At 7 p.m., visitors are treated to traditional Mexican pastorelas (Christmas skits) in the garden. John Keeps’ stable has been converted into a restaurant and shops for purchasing Mexican and Spanish food, candy and ice cream.
Clover Lawn Mansion and Christmas Expo, Avenida de la La Paz 1811, east of Avenida Chapultepec and near the U.S. Consulate. (33) 3825-7027. Open daily 2–11 p.m. through December 23.