Many restored homes in the Nauvoo area have been decorated for the 1994 Christmas holiday season in an 1840s pioneer style.
The homes are decorated in a special theme with six of them displaying decorations of national origin. The Lyon Drug Store shows decorations that depict a Scandinavian origin, while the Brigham Young home has been decorated with a Dutch theme. The Lucy Mack Smith home has a French display, and John Taylor's home has an English Christmas display. The Pendleton Schoolhouse contains prairie decorations, and the Jonathan Browning home and gun shop have a German-Swiss display.Springerie cookies are part of the display in the Browning home this year. They are made by Durell Nelson, whose family makes them from a pattern that is a reproduction of a Swiss cookie mold dating back to 1654. It has become a family tradition for them. He has also made clear candy toys for the display this year.
Other restored homes contain traditional decorations also.
The Church Visitors Center has been decorated with a Nativity scene and a 14-foot Christmas tree, which contains more than 9,500 miniature lights. The tree is also decorated with lace angels, wreaths and stars that were made by the Monument Park 2nd Ward in Salt Lake City.
This year, Nauvoo Restoration Inc., an organization formed in 1962 to restore and preserve significant sites in Nauvoo, has made its 5-foot, steel-formed snowflakes available to Nauvoo businesses and residents as decorations. More than 200 snowflakes have been decorated with lights and displayed by the city's residents. Many tourists and local residents have enjoyed the beautiful display this year already, and plans are for it to be a yearly event.