Victorian Christmas

Silk ribbons, gold foil, paper scraps, candlelight, velvet: more is more is more.

As this December’s issue of Victoria Magazine puts it: “the Victorian period is when the Christmas we know and love today developed.”

First, some history, from the excellent Mrs. Sharp’s Traditions:

While I recently heard a historian mutter an aside that Victorians are “not known for their good taste in decor,” I beg to differ. To set the scene, some decor-related screenshots from this season’s Christmas movie line-up:

still from The Muppets Christmas Carol, Christian’s favorite

Scrooge’s gifts in brass pails with perfect red ribbon

from Victorian Farm Christmas, the oranges!

adding glass glitter to the edges of holly to give it a frosty glow

from Samantha: An American Girl Holiday, fabric-lined food baskets

And some of my own Victorian-inspired decor:

I got these from the flea market, to be filled with candy and hung on the tree Christmas morning

Some future inspiration: paper and nut decor tutorials originally published in The Delineator, a Victorian-era women’s magazine:

Of course the most essential element of Christmas decor is the tree. I love this passage from Celebrations, particularly the mention of the lost art of the tableau:

I think a good part of my affinity for the Victorians must come from our shared interest in building little worlds: the world of the Christmas tree, the world of the scrapbook, the world of a maximally decorated room.

And under the tree is maybe the best mini world of all, that of the doll: her outfit changes, her accessories, her food and her toys, maybe a doll of her own.

While the toys are for the children, it feels impossible to deny the adults are getting something from all of this too. In fact I wonder if the hardest age to be is the Victorian pre-teen. From Julia Harrington’s account of Christmas 1913:

Papa’s response is much too harsh here. The answer to the disappointment of growing up is to make your own Christmas magic! I think Victorian adults knew this :)

from Victorian Farm Christmas, homemade candies about to go into homemade crackers, another mini world

I made some surprise balls this year