A Very Virtual Christmas
Thanks for stopping by to celebrate with us!
We hope this collection of holiday-themed videos, how-to’s, and interesting information brings you cheer and a little inspiration for ways to celebrate with your loved ones this year – if even from afar.
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2021 Christmas at the Castle - Nov 20, 21 & 26-28 *SOLD OUT*
Tour the Lucknow mansion, festively dressed for the holidays by creative businesses and designers to reflect their take on Holiday Carols! Browse the Artisan Fair, take your holiday picture at our photo station, have lunch at the Carriage House Restaurant (first-come, first-serve), and enjoy grab-and-go take-home children’s craft and goodies at this most-loved holiday event.
In order to maintain important safety standards and limit large crowds, the Carriage House is only accessible to ticket holders (no public access). When purchasing tickets we ask that guests select a two-hour time slot to enjoy this event:
10:00 AM – 12:00 PM
11:45 AM – 1:45 PM
1:30 – 3:30 PM
To ensure a positive experience for all guests and ensure there is time to participate in all holiday activities available, we ask that attendees arrive as near as possible to the start of their selected time slot. Upon check-in at the event, ticket holders will be provided a card with an assigned trolley time to be transported to the Lucknow Mansion. The reason for this is to control capacity, ensuring space for social distancing.
Holiday Videos
Robins Nest Cookies… a christmas tradition
The holidays are upon us and we’re getting in the spirit – even if we have to celebrate virtually! Join the Castle’s Executive Chef, Lisa Sharp, as she demonstrates how to bake a personal favorite holiday cookie.
Recipe: Robins Nest Cookies
Video prepared by: Robin Sherman, Curator & Museum Manager
Recipe and instruction by: Lisa Sharp, Executive Chef
Gingerbread Cutout ornaments – a new take on a Christmas tradition
Historically, Christmas decorations were inexpensive and homemade. In this video, we put a modern and crafty twist on this tradition by making our own Gingerbread Cutout Ornaments! Please remember, although they smell amazing, these ornaments are inedible.
Here’s how to make your own Gingerbread Cutout Ornaments!
Video prepared by: Robin Sherman, Curator & Museum Manager
Our Favorite Holiday Traditions
Enjoy this video where Castle Preservation Society staff share their favorite personal traditions and memories about the holiday season. From our Castle family to yours, we wish you a happy and safe holiday!
Video prepared by: Robin Sherman, Curator & Museum Manager
Christmas Cocktails – Some old, some new!
The 1920s may have been the age of Prohibition, but some Christmas traditions – and cocktails – predate the era. Learn a little about some of the classics and, if you’re up for it, try your own with the recipes below!
Video prepared by: Robin Sherman, Curator & Museum Manager
Christmas at the Castle Through the Years
Take a stroll down memory lane with the Ghost of Christmas at the Castle Past! Although we couldn’t host our signature holiday event in person this year, we hope this slideshow of past celebrations will help put you in the Christmas spirit. We hope to see you next year!
Video prepared by: Robin Sherman, Curator & Museum Manager
Holiday How-Tos
Create Your Own Advent Calendar
Advent Calendars date back to the 1800s in Germany. This practice started with chalk markings on the wall or door, eventually leading to printed pictures, and then small boxes/doors were added in the 1920s with gifts inside to help children and families count down the days until Christmas[1]. Tom and Olive Plant may have had a wooden, painted Advent Calendar set up in their Main Hall or Library. Today we often see Advent Calendars for sale in super markets, filled with chocolates or goodies from specialty stores.
Here‘s how to create your own Advent Calendar!
[1] https://doinghistoryinpublic.org/1-advent-calendars/
Traditional Dried Orange Ornaments
Garlands made of dried fruit and popcorn are considered to be the original decoration for the Christmas tree. While there’s not definitive proof of why these materials were used for decorations, we understand these decorations to be inexpensive for people to buy, and farmers could make additional profit on left over crops that had dried out. Eventually this practice declined as synthetic garlands were mass-produced[1].
Here’s how to create your own dried orange slice ornaments!
[1] https://www.kpcnews.com/features/life/kpcnews/article_266ae77b-0805-584f-b7f5-1af20e1954d9.html
How to Play Dreidel
Learn how to play Dreidel, a game played during the Jewish Festival of Lights, which means “turn around.” If you don’t have a dreidel at home, you can make one with just a few office supplies. Click here for a YouTube video that will show you how!
Here’s what you need to know to play!
Recipe for Ginger Cream Cookies
Almost synonymous with the holiday season, gingerbread pastries are age old. In China, ginger root was commonly used as a medical treatment. It spread to Europe via the Silk Road. During the Middle Ages its use expanded to help disguise the taste of preserved meats, and supposedly build resistance against the plague. Hard ginger cookies, like today’s ginger snaps, were gilded in gold leaf and shaped like animals, kings and queens to be enjoyed and eaten at Medieval fairs in England and France. It’s believed that Queen Elizabeth I popularized the decorated gingerbread man we recognize today[1].
Enjoy this Ginger Creams recipe in the early 1900s.
[1] https://www.pbs.org/food/the-history-kitchen/history-gingerbread/
Holiday Blog
explore holiday traditions throughout the years!
Some traditions stay the same, some evolve through time and change based on circumstance. You can read about some of the traditions we see today like religious services, caroling, gift giving and baking and how these traditions started and changed by clicking here.
Traditional Holiday Decor
We’ve had comments on how we stray from our effort to showcase the house in 1924 – we don’t necessarily decorate with timely décor or to the same limited extent of a 1920s holiday season. We try to go above and beyond at Christmas – giving each room a unique look, and modeled around the central theme. We would like to give you a peek into Christmas past and give some insight into how Christmas was celebrated in the 1920s. Click here to learn about traditional 1920s holiday decorations.
Traditional Christmas Dinner, 1920s
Some aspects of the meal are based on familial tradition, like the turkey on Thanksgiving or having a roast beef and béarnaise sauce on Christmas but for other pieces, like side dishes and desserts have flexibility and opportunity to try something new! In this post, we would like to share with you some traditional Christmas foods that were popular in the 1920s (the period that we interpret Lucknow as). We don’t have the diary of Tom or Olive so these menus and recipes are based on general traditions of the time. Click here to learn more and to find the recipes.