WORCESTER, Mass. - Decorating a house for Christmas can be difficult in itself, but decorating the Salisbury Mansion is a whole different story.

"It's been a long preparation period, and a lot of work," said site manager Heather Wilder.

Every year, the Worcester Historical Museum covers the Salisbury Mansion in Christmas cheer, providing guests with a time capsule of what the holidays were like between the 1830s and 1850s.

Wilder said if you're a fan of the Charles Dickens' classic, "A Christmas Carol," this time period is very close to then.

"They not only get to see the beautiful trees and the beautiful decorations in a historic setting, but they also get to learn some about history and Worcester history," she said.

Decorating started in early November for the historic Highland Street property. Guests can take a self-guided tour through the home to immerse themselves in the experience. Rooms are filled with lights, gift boxes, Christmas trees and real-life examples of the clothing people wore.

"There's details we use to replicate that, with the lights on the trees, we have candles, things like that," Wilder said. "Handmade ornaments from paper, from wood that really kind of represent what we would have at that time period."

This is Wilder's first year spending the holiday season at the landmark. The mansion, built in 1772, served as the home of gentleman-merchant Stephen Salisbury. It's Worcester's only historic house museum.

"We love that we can draw people in to come see the Christmas decorations and to get a little bit of history about the house, the family and how important they were to Worcester," Wilder said.

Tours are given by candlelight on Fridays and Saturdays from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. throughout the remainder of December.