Victorian Christmas Decorations
Most
people know that it was Prince Albert, husband to Queen Victoria, who
first brought the idea of Christmas trees to Britain. However, a lot of
people don't know that up until the Victorian period Christmas was not
a festival for children or the family!
This was all changed by Queen
Victoria and her large family.
The
Victorians really embraced the idea of Christmas and its function as a
family celebration. The decorations they used demonstrate this. Many of
the decorations were either natural or handmade.
Greenery
such as ivy, holly, laurel and other evergreens were used to decorate
the home. Other items were handmade, which meant they were largely
produced by the women in the family and were therefore very feminine.
Many decorations were sewn or embroidered, using lace and feminine
colours such as pink, burgundy and the festive dark green. Children
would make paper chains and other paper decorations. The Victorians
would also hang small dolls and soldiers on the tree, as well as
pinecones, ribbon and baked decorations.
Why
not have a go at making your own Victorian-inspired Christmas
decorations? To get you started here are some simple ideas!
Make your own Victorian Christmas decorations:
Paper Chains
These
can be used to decorate trees or can be used as garlands.
You
will need:
- Strips of coloured paper
- Glue or sellotape
Step
One
Take
one strip of coloured paper and glue one end to the other, creating a
loop.
Step Two
Take
a second strip of coloured paper and create another loop, but before
you glue it together, thread it through the first loop, so that they
are connected.
Step Three
Repeat
steps 1 and 2 until you have a chain. You can make it as colourful and
long as you want to. Have a go!
Cinnamon bunches
You
will need:
- Cinnamon
sticks
- Ribbon
- String
- Optional: fishing wire
Step One
Depending
on how strong you want the scent of cinnamon to be, take 4 or 5
cinnamon sticks and tie them tightly around the middle using the
string, to create a bunch.
Step Two
Tie
the ribbon around the middle of the bunch, leaving a length of ribbon
to use to hang up the bunch. Alternatively you could turn the ribbon
into a small bow and use the fishing wire to hang it up!
Dove Tree Decoration
You
will need:
- White
card
- White paper / doyley
- Scissors
- Pencil
Step One
Draw
the body of a bird onto the piece of card. Then cut the bird shape out.
Step Two
A)
Doyley: Take the edge of paper doyley and fold it over about
2 cms
wide.
Then turn the doyley over and fold (in the same direction) another 2 cm
wide fold.
Keep
doing this until the whole doyley has been folded and you have created
a
fan effect.
B)
Paper: Firstly draw a circle onto the paper and cut it out,
then follow
the same steps as with the doyley.
Hint:
Draw around a side plate or dinner plate to get the size circle you
need, depending on the size of the bird's body.
Step
Three
In
the side of the bird shape, cut a slit of about 2cm
Then
take the folded doyley/paper and push it through the slit, until half
is
on one side and half on the other.
Step
Four
Fan
out either side of the doyley /paper to create the birds wings.
Now
your bird is ready to hang on the tree.
Garland
You
will need:
- Victorian
print Christmas cards
- Thin ribbon or string
- A thick needle
Step
One
First
cut off the back of the Christmas cards. Then, using a needle, create
two holes in the top corner of the card.
Step Two
Carefully
thread the ribbon through the holes.
Step
Three
Continue
this until you have a garland at the length you require.
Hang up your
garland and enjoy.
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