A Madeline Christmas

For Christmas 2013, Madeline and her friends temporarily took up residence in an old house in Odessa covered in vines. The classic children’s story of A Madeline’s Christmas was brought to life in the National Historic Landmark Corbit-Sharp House. 

Christmas With Madeline at Historic Odessa

The Christmas exhibit was adapted from the 1956 book written and illustrated by Ludwig Bemelmans (1898-1962). Children and adults have enjoyed repeating the rhymes of the series of six Madeline picture books for generations. At Madeline's Paris Boarding School it was the night before Christmas and, most unfortunately, eleven of the girls and their teacher Miss Clavel were sick in bed. 

The brave little Madeline took great care of them with the help of a magical Rug Merchant whom she thought could have been Santa Claus knocking at the door! She purchased 12 rugs from the Merchant for the girls' cold-in-the-morning feet. Ultimately the rugs were used by the girls to magically fly home for Christmas and then return to their boarding school in time for a New Year’s Eve celebration.

The holiday exhibit included decorated rooms representing the kitchen stacked full of dishes, the dining room set for twelve little girls, a glistening Christmas parlor, and a classic boarding school bedroom with two rows of beds. Thousands of guests joined Madeline and her friends this Christmas for an unforgettable journey that promised to awaken the holiday spirit in everyone.