I don’t follow a lot of blogs, and the ones I DO follow are quite different. I rarely read them daily, but try to browse around to see what’s cooking, at least a couple of times per week. One of the really entertaining blogs is Marc’s London By Gaslight.
Marc just posted a reference on how Victorians wrapped their Christmas gifts, but I could not load the video, so I looked it up directly on Youtube, and stumbled across a whole BBC-series on how to create a Victorian Christmas:
Click on the playlist above, and choose from 26 little snippets, approx. 2 minutes each, or lean back and watch the whole series in one sitting (57 minutes).
First there are loads of fun crafts:
- Victorian Tree Ornaments
- Victorian Christmas Tree
- Victorian Ivy Ribbons (I am sooo making those, but will exchange sewing with my glue gun!)
- Victorian Wreath
- Victorian Holly Berries (Yes, how city Victorians would make faux berries!)
- Victorian Mistletoe Ball
- Victorian Gift Bags
- Victorian Keep Sake Box
- Victorian Pixture Frame
- Victorian Scrapbook
- Victorian Wrapping Paper
- Victorian Christmas Crackers
- Victorian Paper Flowers
- Victorian Table Mats (I figure those can be made with a glue gun too!)
Then there are loads of typical Christmas dishes, like Mulled Wine, Mince Pies, Sugar Plums, Turkey and stuffing, Christmas Pudding… YUM!!
And finally there’s some Victorian Christmas activities, including making a Toy Theatre, Christmas Caroling, reading a Christmas Carol (Dickens) and How to play Victorian Parlour Games 🙂
Poking around a little more in the BBC-archives finally payed off, and I found the section where you can download instructions, templates and printables for ALL the crafts, including the complete Toy Theatre 😀 Of course The Toy Theatre was the only activity listed as hard, and indeed the one I’m planning to do with my girls during the Christmas days 😀 😀 😀
I can’t believe what a lucky find this was, and could not wait to share it with all you vintage lovers 😀
Click HERE to see the BBC-site, and get access to all these wonderful FREE crafts.
Thank you Marc for pointing me towards these, I want to try many of the crafts for sure!!!
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Wings of Whimsy 
I can hardly wait to do a few of the crafts on this site, especially love the book reading set. Thank you for sharing
Hiya Hunny! The book reading set is amazing 🙂 And I love the little lady in the snippets, it’s almost worth seeing them over and over just because of her! lol Enjoy! xoxoxo
Gunnvor:
Thank you so much for this link to the BBC. I am downloading the directions as I write. I have always loved the Victorian age of course I love the time period from the time that the Pilgrims came to America up to 1949. People always ask me what I have against 1950 and later and I tell them I lived through that time period. I’m not interested in learning about what I lived through. 0), Thank you for all the historical ephemera that you use in your work.
Love
Jackie
Enjoy my Dear 🙂 xoxoxo
I am quite disappointed to find that the videos will not play fr me. I am guessing it is because I am in the US and my comp is not compatible with the system used. I did look at the explanations and found several that I wish to try. Thanks for sharing
Oh no! I had the same problem with the original link on London by Gaslight, I suggest you try opening it in youtube directly (there is a button for that in the bottom right corner of the window. If that also doesn’t work, it might help to try another browser…? Are you also in the US? I think other peeps “over there” have been able to open it, so that is less likely to be the problem… but keep troubleshooting, cause it’s really worth seeing, if you are into the Victorian style 😉 xoxoxo
SuZi:
I am in New Mexico and I was able to open the videos. What browser are you using? I am using Windows. I don’t know if that is part of the problem but some programs will work with things and others won’t. Try another browser and see if that will help.
Your crackers digital Christmas collage I would like to make these but how do I get the printable
Thank you for leaving a comment Torri 🙂 Find the original BBC site with instructions for the crackers here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/victorianchristmas/activity/christmas-crackers.shtml
They have also provided a printable for decorating the crackers here: http://downloads.bbc.co.uk/victorianchristmas/christmas-crackers.pdf
Good luck 🙂 xoxoxo
I did see the BBC sight but the image you used looked different I was trying to find the images you used. I love all your images by when I print them they don’t seem to be as sharp or clear Ive tried card stock and photo paper. Could you tell me best paper to use
I’m not sure what image you are referring to? The image used in this post, is the image from youtube, I believe from the first snippet in the series.
As for my printables, I’m sorry to hear that they are printing unsharp! I use Canon Matte Photo Paper (160g), but it might not be the best one if you have another brand of printer. Make sure you choose the “high” setting on quality, and print as close to 100% on A4 paper as your printer will let you! My printer allows me to print all the way to the edges (with checking the right settings), so all my printables are sized to do that too. But if your printer does not print to the edges, you might need to print at 98 or 97%. Also, if you are using letter paper, you might have to adjust further. Good luck 🙂 xoxoxo