Food is a holiday tradition for many families around the Flathead Valley. One of the region’s most famous families, the Conrads, were no exception.

At the Conrad Mansion Museum in Kalispell, the staff and volunteers keep the Conrad’s traditions alive through special holiday tours and events.

The holiday festivities officially kick off next weekend, but the mansion is already decorated for Christmas — inside and out — for the public to enjoy.

The Christmas season was Alicia Davenport (Stanford) Conrad’s favorite time of year. As wife of Charles Conrad, she took great pleasure in planning and hosting meals and events during this time of year.

One of the most unique traditions that Mrs. Conrad insisted on observing every year was the making of the Christmas Plum Pudding.

It was a laborious process of love, with preparations that began six weeks before Christmas. According to Conrad Mansion Museum tour guide and gift store manager Cindy Conner, the pudding was cooking on the stove top for a minimum of six hours. Mrs. Conrad asked everyone who lived and worked at the estate to participate in making the pudding, taking turns stirring the concoction through the preparation day. As they worked to make the dessert, they would sing songs and tell stories, and thereby “put the Christmas spirit into the pudding.”

Once the cooking was complete, the pudding was wrapped in cloth, tied up and hung in the basement to soak in rum or brandy until the Christmas meal.

The pudding was the grand finale to the family’s Christmas dinner. It was reheated first in the oven, then covered in sugar and lit on fire. The flame created a sweet coating, finished off with more rum or brandy.

Everyone in the family and all the workers received a portion of the pudding.

Conner said the tradition of the pudding was just one thing that made the holidays special for the Conrads in the late 1800s and early 1900s.

“Not only was it the meals, but the place settings and the songs ... Making it an event,” Conner said. “Now we don’t take the time to cook and prepare, and [the Christmas meal] isn’t the event it once was.”

The Conrad Mansion Museum offers events reminiscent of the Conrad family’s history with Christmas Tours, Holiday Teas and Tours, the Children’s Christmas and Christmas Choir events throughout the holiday season.

During the Christmas Tours, guests learn about Conrad Christmas traditions. Tours are at 11 a.m., 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays from Nov. 27 through Dec. 26. Admission is $12 for adults, $11 for seniors, $8 for students, and $6 for children. Reservations are required. From Dec. 27 through Dec. 30, tours are available by appointment only.

In addition to the Christmas Tours, the museum is also hosting Holiday Teas and Tours, focusing on traditional tea and food in the beautiful Conrad Dining Room. The Teas and Tours will be at 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. on Nov. 28, Dec. 5, 12, and 19. Admission is $30 per person, and reservations are required by the Monday prior to the tour. Private teas may also be arranged by calling the museum.

The Children’s Christmas event runs from 4 to 7 p.m. on Thursday, Dec. 10. Children can meet Santa and receive a small gift; $10 for each keepsake photo. Reservations are required.

The Christmas Choir performance takes place at 7 p.m. on Thursday, Dec. 17. Doors will open at 6:30 p.m. Guests can enjoy Christmas music performed in the Great Hall by Valley Voices “Choral Evensong.” Admission is $15 per person and reservations are required.

The mission of the Conrad Mansion Museum is to preserve and exhibit the 1895 Charles Conrad Family Estate through public tours, educational programs and community events. The Conrad Mansion Museum is located on Woodland Avenue between Third and Fourth Streets East, in Kalispell. The 26-room mansion, donated to the city of Kalispell in 1974, by Charles Conrad’s youngest daughter, Alicia Conrad Campbell, was designed by noted Spokane architect Kirtland Cutter.

For more information on the Conrad Mansion Museum and any of the upcoming events, call 406-755-2166 or visit www.conradmansion.com.

Entertainment Editor Stefanie Thompson can be reached at 758-4439 or ThisWeek@dailyinterlake.com.