A VICTORIAN CHRISTMAS

We all had a lovely time at the Victorian Christmas celebration this past weekend. 

The girls got to do a lot of fun things.  They made ornaments out of pine cones. 

They got to visit with Santa and those that wanted, told him what they wanted for Christmas.

They got to make their own silly hats.

This man showed them how to make hats out of paper bags.  Very clever and they all had fun wearing them too.

I had to put a time limit on how long they could stay to decorate because these girls are very crafty and would have hung out here for hours, if they were allowed.

Each hat looked so different but they were all super cute!

We got to go inside a real church that was built in 1891.  It was a darling church and furnished with pews, alters and windows that were restored from the original location.

Then it was on to the school house that was built in 1890.  The girls really loved seeing the way the schools were over 100 years ago.  They were also interested to learn that 1 through 8were taught in the same room/school house. 

I really thought the girls would be happy to see how much more they have at school now days.  But, they all said they wished they their school was like it was in the Victorian days.

I think the "teacher" that was telling everyone what it was like back then, made it sound very fun and really helped them want to relive those days.

The girls all got to do a little shopping.  They had a booth set up where kids could buy anything there for only a quarter. 

It was funny to hear some of the adults (not in our group)  trying to talk their kids into buying for them, but the kids had their eyes on other things.

There was even a native Indian hut that they got to explore.

The girls all took turns making candles.  First they learned to dip candles.  This way took awhile to do.

Yet, it didn't seem to matter because they had fun making their own candle. 

They learned how to dip the wick in the wax, then quickly remove it and dunk it in water.  This had to be done over and over again until they got their candle to the size they wanted. 

They also learned that if they kept the candle to long in the hot wax it would only cause the other layers to melt off and in turn made their candle smaller.  So they had to work quickly in order to make a candle come out right.

The other way they made candles was much easier and faster.  They took sheets of bees wax and wrapped it around the wick.  Then they were done!

I think they had more fun dipping though.

While we were over making candles, a group of men and women dressed in Victorian clothing, came by and sang carols for us.

The girls enjoyed listening to them and some even sang along when they sang songs we will be singing when our troop goes out caroling.

By now, the girls learned that in the Victorian times, most things were made by hand.  Christmas decorations were made, clothes were sewn and a lot of the time, making things turned into a community event.

When we reached the station for the girls to make cards, I thought it was so nice that they remembered their fellow girl scout sister (who was at home getting ready for her birthday party) and made her a card.

This troop really has very thoughtful girls and time after time have shown to be very caring and loving girls.

There was one station that showed how to make simple toys.  One that showed how to make crackers for the holiday table.  They were very popular in the Victorian days.

Churning ice cream is hard work!  No one really wanted to sit there for almost an hour to make ice cream.

 But, they all enjoyed getting to taste what it was like when it was finished!  YUM!

Making butter back then, sure took a lot of time too.  The girls were surprised to find out they could make their own butter with heavy cream at home.

They learned that they could use an electric mixer and make it much faster then the Victorian women could make it. 

They loved how creamy and fresh tasting it was.  Learning that the liquid that remains after the butter is made is actually buttermilk was interesting to them too.

We all enjoyed the tour of the old Bennett House.  Seeing how small the rooms were and how different our kitchens are was fun. 

So many people lived in the one small house.  Even though it was tiny, we all thought it would be fun to live there.  It was very cute.

By now, everyone was getting tired.  The girls said they wanted to sit and watch the puppet show.  So, that's what we did.

It was a darling show.  The story of Thumbalina was acted out by both live humans and puppets.

As we were getting ready to leave, we over heard someone talking about the cookie decorating taking place on the other side of the park.

Even though everyone said they were ready to go home, their minds were quickly changed when they heard they could decorate and eat cookies.

We made our way back to the other side of the park and the girls got to work on making their own masterpieces.

OK, to be honest, they just slapped some icing on the cookies and gobbled them right down.

Since the park was getting ready to close and they had so many left over cookies, they told the girls they could have as many as they wanted.  Oh no!  A sugar high was about to happen!

They somehow refrained from going overboard and only made two. 

It was then time to go home.  Everyone agreed, it was a wonderful day and we would love to come back again next year.