🎄 5 Nostalgic Victorian Christmas Crafts You Can Make 🎄 Taken from REAL Historical Tutorials 

When I was a young mother we were very poor. A friend gave us a Christmas tree, but I had absolutely nothing to put on it. At the time I was living in Northern California, so I went outside & found the most perfect pinecones, leaves, sticks, etc. that I could. I was also fortunate enough to live in a building that had an English walnut tree & almond tree, so I picked up some of those. I did have to buy a can of gold spray paint, but as I sew I already had golden threat. I spray painted everything, put it on the tree & you know what? Forty years later, I still believe that was the most beautiful Christmas tree I've ever had. 💖💖💖

My mom used to make gilded walnuts, but turned them into tiny boxes with surprises. She would remark "Look! The fairies left gifts!" I was always so happy with the miniature things inside. Some would have tiny pictures of fairies pasted in them with a bit of glitter, a tiny holiday message, or even a little charm. It made the holiday so magical. Another holiday tradition in my family was making folded window stars out of colored glassine paper. It gave the windows a stained glass look when the morning sun hit them.

Tip; use a butter knife. Stick the top inbetween the two layers of the flatter side (top) of the walnut. Give it a small turn and the shells will open up exactly at the "rim". Right through the middle..

Growing up our tree had many handmade decorations from my great grandmother. She didn't make gilded walnuts, but she did put the shells back together and paint them to look like animals. I specifically remember little pink pigs.

Our walnut shells had the Christmas story scriptures inside them numbered. Everyone got wanuts off the tree. We opened and read the scriptures in order . Each person stood when it was their numbers turn to be read and read them aloud. We each had three walnuts to read. Fun memories.

I love the idea of putting little treats in the crackers. Much better than more plastic junk added to the world. One year as a joke my husband’s cousin collected some of his family’s belongings (watches, jewellery etc.) and put them inside the regular crackers. Apparently it was quite hilarious when people started opening the crackers to find beautiful and valuable items 😂. One person said “wow! I got a watch!” And the watches owner looked over and said “hey that’s my watch” and so on 🤣🤣🤣

Walnuts at christmas alwaus make me laugh. My grandad would always shake his gifts before Christmas and guess what he was getting, normally he was annoyingly right too. One year my gran had had it. She bought him a gold ring and hid it in a walnut, then put that in a box. She filled the rest of the box with hundreds of normal walnuts. Took him ages to open and eat them all and then he finally found he had been had!

My great-grand father made gilded walnut ornaments. I have one of them. I hang it on my tree every year in a prominent spot. Every time I glimpse it, I am reminded of all the wonderful times that I had with him. Thank you for this video.

Walnut ornaments, crackers and orange pomander are common crafts we do for christmas as kids in Sweden.

clove oranges are so fun! If you completely cover the orange in cloves it preserves the fruit, and they keep pretty much forever! i keep some that I made in my dresser drawers, and my mom still has one that her grandma made. They smell so good!

When my daughter was a child we made a “ nature tree” . We painted leaves gold and silver and placed them on the tree, with natural raffia as tinsel, , and we had gold painted walnuts , acorns, and pine cones on the tree. ( I didn’t think to guild them!) we also had popcorn garlands . We made little wreaths of twigs and some we left natural and some we painted gold and silver. We used white lights that year and I while it soimds like the tree was plain but it fact was just stunning! My daughter was so proud of her hard work! Imthink she was around 8 or 9 years old.

Hanging orange pomanders in the windows the days before Christmas has been a tradition throughout my childhood.

The gilded walnuts are so darling, I have done the same to acorns, I can't believe I never thought of walnuts! 🙆 Btw, out of experience, it's much easier to open walnuts in half if you gently and carefully insert a blade where the "hinge" between the two halves is, opposite to the pointier end, for lack of better words 😅 (Walnut shells are traditionally used to bake a kind of biscuits called peaches here in Italy)

My mom used to talk about popping popcorn to use as a garland on the christmas tree every year. My favorite ornaments are always the ones that are homemade.

My mom and I made orange pomanders when I was little! This was a delightful and relaxing video, and I love your plaid gown.

I would suggest another homemade tree ornament -- cornucopias. They were popular on Victorian Christmas trees. I used to make my modern version of them to sell at the Christmas bazaar at my children's school. I made a form about the size and shape of an ice cream cone out of cardboard. (It's easy to make whatever size you like.) I also made a cardboard pattern for the paper I would make the cornucopia out of. (I wish I could show pictures!) I got some attractive, heavy, Christmas wrapping paper. Using my pattern, I cut out my cornucopias. I shaped them on the cardboard form, and used Scotch tape to hold the cornucopia together. (I could have been more authentic and used glue, but it would have been a hassle and taken longer.) I then made a little "handle" from ribbon (about 1/2" wide) and glued (or stapled) it so the cornucopia would hang on the tree. I took a few small wrapped candies and made them into a little bundle to "fill" the cornucopia, using plastic wrap. (I imagine for a tree in one's own home the candies could just be dropped in.) They didn't take long to make, didn't cost much, and sold like hotcakes! I hope this makes sense!

I am excited about all of the ideas. I am looking forward to making the gilded walnuts and orange pomanders with my Grandchildren. And I am really excited to try the Sugar Plums. I want to share them in the Christmas goodie bags that I make every year. I fill the bags with homemade jams, jellies, pickles, and relish - and fresh Honey from my bees. The Sugar Plums will make a wonderful addition !

I only just found this so sorry the comment is late. I made orange pomanders for friends and dried them in the airing cupboard. Some of them are still going strong 15 years later. Have a very Merry Christmas, and I look forward to more informative and entertaining videos in 2023.

As the eldest of all the cousins, I got to tend the crowd of young ones. Thanksgiviing was easy. To tire them out, we would hike up the hills and find oaks with misletoe. The older, more experienced bouys would cllimb the trees and dislodge the mistletoe. The rest of us wouldl colect the prizes in sheets laid on the ground. When we got back home dinner wold be ready and the children quieter. The following few days would have me inserting the twigs of mistletoe into a large styrofoam ball. The top hanger would have a ruff of evergreen and the bottom a huge, complicated bow. This style does not have the clear part in the center, but is a large orb completely of mistletoe. Our dining room had a high ceiling, so it weent well over the entry to dinner. Those forays went on for about six years. We also always made the clove oranges, as I still do. There is always an orange at the tow of the stockings, more joy of citrus for ther holidays.

I love a return to (or at least a look back at) simpler times -- and the excitement surrounding small treats and embellishments like these. Thanks for creating this! 😊

Golden walnuts were a German Christmas staple. So are walnutboats with tiny candles that can be let float in a dish and walnutshells filled with riddles, a small sweet or trinkt, not unlike christmasscrackers but without the boom. There is an easier way to get two intact halfes. You need a old butter knife. Wriggle it carefull between both shells to open them. (The dark brown spott on the nutbutt will work best).

I had spray painted gold some walnuts about 30 years ago when my husband and I were still dating, and glued some ribbon to them to hang on the tree. Had no idea they were authentic Victorian Christmas ornaments. Will have to make some more this year. I do often have a small tower of clove studded oranges (4 in a bowl) I place out on the table for scent and looks.

I made those gilded walnuts many years ago and I'm still very fond of them. To learn that it was also a victorian thing makes it even better. Nice dress by the way.

As a child I used to make the orange poms and we strung popcorns. The gilded walnuts I’ll add this year! How fantastic!

Loved this video as I make Advent crafts. I'll try these!

Your video was very well made. Your surroundings, dress, hair and accent all added to the wonderful feel of days gone by while you made these victorian beauties. I love the simplicity and grace of using what was available vs the material world we live in today. It was very special. Thank you!

I loved this video. It would be helpful if you could move your camera closer or insert up close shots of what youre doing step by step. Thank you so much!

I *have* to make that mistletoe ball. I live on the edge of a forest - one foraging walk coming up the next time it's not p*ssing rain! ❤

Channeling Mrs. Crocombe I see 🥰 thanks for the wonderful holiday ideas. I might try out the sugar plums and pomander this year!

The Victorians are my favorite people, for so many reasons! ❤

I love the little story with wisdom in it. This life really does have so many "shiny" pleasing to the eyes things that are empty and hollow to the soul. Be careful with your eyes because they lead back to your soul. 👏 So cute! I definitely want to remember these ideas.

I want to do that next next year! You reminded me of Nanny McPhee while telling the stories! 😍

what a charming video, I shall make sugar plums since I have most of the ingredients at hand.

Marks and Spencer should take a leaf out of your book. We'll done for this lovely upload.

Thank you so very much for this. I've been honored to be chosen to help decorate a 100-year-old estate but in the style of Alice in wonderland and I have to do little Alice's bedroom. So I am seeking out Victorian inspirations and this definitely was more than just inspiration but education. Thank you so much for sharing. Have a very blessed Christmas this year😊

I don’t celebrate Christmas but it was very nice learning about these little crafts

With pricking the oranges🍊: It really depends on how strong/feeble the stems of the cloves are. I had to prick holes first, and an advantage is that the bigger holes let more of the orange-aroma wafts around.. 😊

Great ideas to share with youngsters and folks in care homes for Christmas

When I was a little girl in the 1960s, my Gran had a kissing bough, never a tree, which were 4 wooden hoops about 2ft in diameter, which her mother had before her. Every year the hoops were recovered with strips of crepè paper wrapped around them and pretty baubles tied in them, with one of those beautiful long baubles, dangling in the middle. She never put lights on them, because back then fairy lights had thick cables and large heavy bulbs, so would have been far too heavy for the bough, but always looked pretty, twinkling in the lamp and fire light. I created a version a few years ago, using florist wooden hoops that are used for weddings etc. I made mine more like a Tudor version, being a history lover. But I used artificial ivy, mistletoe, holly (no glitter, terrible stuff 😉) then added pine cones, nuts, dried orange slices and cinnamon sticks. No fairy lights, but I can fix a chunky battery powered candle in the bottom where all the hoops meet. It really is lovely,even though I say it myself 😄. I don't strip mine down every year like my Gran did, it took so long to do, it stays as it is stored in a big box.

Such a delightful journey into the world of timeless holiday traditions. This tutorial not only offers a wealth of creative ideas but also evokes a sense of nostalgia, making it a perfect choice for those seeking to infuse their holiday celebrations with a touch of vintage charm. Craftsmanship and Presentation: Serena's attention to detail is truly commendable. From the moment the tutorial begins, viewers are captivated by the exquisite craftsmanship and meticulous presentation. Each step is clearly explained, making it easy for both beginners and experienced crafters to follow along. Serena's warm and inviting demeanor adds a personal touch, making viewers feel as if they are crafting alongside a dear friend. Victorian Elegance: The Victorian era is synonymous with opulence and elegance, and Serena masterfully captures its essence in her tutorial. From the ornate Christmas ornaments to the intricately designed paper crafts, every project exudes a sense of grandeur. Serena's choice of materials and color palettes reflects the Victorian aesthetic, transporting viewers to a bygone era of lavish celebrations. Nostalgic Appeal: Serena's tutorial strikes a chord with me by evoking a sense of nostalgia. The blending of Victorian aesthetics with cultural traditions from around the world reminds us of the cherished memories we hold from our own travels and holiday celebrations. It rekindles the joy of discovering new customs and incorporating them into our own traditions, creating a sense of connection and shared experiences. Conclusion: Serena's Victorian Christmas Craft Tutorial is a remarkable resource for anyone seeking to infuse their holiday celebrations with a blend of vintage charm and global influences. With her impeccable craftsmanship, attention to detail, and warm presentation style, Serena guides viewers through a mesmerising journey that combines the elegance of the Victorian era. 🥂✨🔥🤩😍

What an absolute gem you are!

Charming....charming....CHARMING! Thank you, kindly, for your delightful information!

We always put our mistletoe in the center of the ball.

Who else just learned what a sugar plum actually is? 🤯 Subbed! For unto us, a Saviour is born!✝️🎄

you are a breath of fresh air in the tired world of modernity.

Welcome.. you're right. They do look like Cinderella slippers. Excellent video. Best music 🎵🎵🎵🎵🎶🎶🎶🎶🎶 2023 happy holidays.

The most predictable way to demeat walnuts so that they can be used as christmas tree ornaments I find is holding it in the palm of my hand with the "fault" line sticking upwards and strike the line with a weighty solid metal handled butter knife with quick strikes on both sides until it braks open. Striking the bulbous portions of the shell will only smash the shell. If you do not mind the mergence later in the year moths dont bother to demeat the nuts and drill a hole to push in the holder of the ornament on the tree branch. Just store them in several layers of plastic bags so that when you pack them away until the next christmas the moths are not releasd into your house and damage your natural hair furnishings and clothing. I paint them red first so that when the gold paint is used it is easier to see if th entire shel has been guilded. This also helps antique the shells as they are used in subsequent years when the shells rub against things and the gold fades away. you get a finish very much like what happens to guilded picture frames with exposed red.

I remember when I was little we made paper hats and paper chains for Christmas 😄

❤❤❤Thank you for sharing little bit of history of Christmas delights !!! 🎉🌹😍💖

I love Victorian Christmas. I love your home as well. It's just gorgeous. I would love to see you make more ornaments. Thank you

We made popcorn and cranberry garlands for our tree as children in the old days ❤

I've made a lot of ornaments for my tree. This year, for my kids' advent calendar, we did a craft a day. The kids have not only enjoyed crafting with mum (even the really simple ones!) But some of the crafts have made beautiful handmade ornaments for the tree that I'm sure I'll treasure for many years to come. Bonus, not a lot of lollies for the kids, but they are still more than happy! Definitely a win!

Wonderful! But I do recommend pre-pricking the oranges to avoid sore fingers!

I was born and raised in Williamsburg, Virginia, in the US. We maintain strong ties with England through our colonial past, usually focused on the 18th century, but also a few Victorian traditions. Many homes use all natural wreaths and garlands, some of which can get extremely creative, utilizing every kind of fruit imaginable, plus any manner of natural elements, such as oyster shells, feathers, dried artichoke flowers, and on and on. The only modern contrivance we use are electric candles in the windows, and even this is limited to one clear bulb in each window, no huge light displays.

Thank you for this wonderful video! I especially love the mistletoe ball and those gilded walnuts. Can’t wait to try some myself! ❤

We always had nuts and a old nutcracker, my dad loved them 🙏🏻♥️

I make pomanders with my kids every year. You just can't beat the smell. ❤️

Oh my gosh, what a charming video! I watched it while sorting through the Christmas music I'll need next month. (I'm a harpist. Everyone wants harp music at Christmas!)

How can you be this cute?? I love everything about this video. Specially I love the way you talk, is like I'm listening to my childhood English textbooks and I love it. You are so calm and lovely. Ps. I come from Bernadette's video, which I also loved a lot. Thanks for your work

My parents have the walnut ornaments said they're antiques...its nice to see that some of these traditions haven't been lost.

I find a standard screwdriver inserted into blunt end then twist, then spray gold paint.

Tip: You can open the walnut without cracking it introducing a round-tip knife in between the wider side of the nut, where the ribbon is placed to hang it, and twist the knife sideways, gently. Set the nut aside for future use, like preparing sugar plums.

I made an orange Pomander just last Christmas. Years ago my mom would make them & the house would smell so good. Definitely making another one this year.

We made those oranges with cloves in the 90s when I was a kid! So nostalgic. Also, my mother made ornaments with whole walnuts, although she left them their original color, just added a wire hoop for hanging and a red bow on top. And 30 years later, we still have them and use them :)

My Irish Grandmother would have me help her make those oranges.....I LOVED the scent and haven't thought about them in a very long time!! Thank you!!

I grew up regularly making pomanders. It's nostalgic. But probably because it was also really bloody hard on the fingers 😂

I went through the walnut crack open thing so I could make critter homes for my grandkids. Tiny homes. The nuts tasted great in my brownies.

I live in Austria, and many of these treats are still made here today. At the Christmas markets you see tons of golden walnuts with small characters inside, like deer and birds. Queen Victoria's husband, Prince Albert, was German and she was very much in love with how Germans celebrated Christmas so she brought those traditions to England and that's how the Victorians got ahold of a lot of Germanic traditions. I think it's beautiful and way better than plastic trees, plastic ornaments, and Micky Mouse wrapping paper...

I made most of these as a child with my great grandma, grandma , mum, brownie guides and guides. x

i know absolutely nothing about victorian history but this video was so interesting, it makes me want it be english😂

Lovely video! I am now curious of Christmas crafts from my own part of the world (Sweden) from that same period of time (we had about 4 different kings during those years, just imported from France with the first Bernadotte in 1818)

Not victorian but homemade Christmas: my mother made stencils and sprayed canned snow on the windows. Tinfoil covered paper or plastic cups became silver bells 🔔 hanging with red ribbon. Paper cut snowflakes and garlands of strung popcorn and cranberries on the tree. 🎄

Thanks wonderful! We always made orange and clove pomanders at Christmastime then my mother would hang them in our closets for the lovely smell and to keep away moths!

I love so many of these ideas! They are so homey and I can imagine the scents with the orange crafts. I love your personality and mannerisms in this video, they just make me smile as you go about making these things. Thanks for putting this well informed and crafty video together.

How awesome

We made orange pomanders when I was in elementary school here in the US. We used the pointed end of a pencil compass to pierce the orange rind. It probably made it easier for 6 & 7 year olds to put the cloves in, but I’m anxious to try it this year again!

Beautiful work and very informative. Enjoyed very much!!!

Lovely! I have definitely seen painted or gilded walnut shell ornaments before, but I don't have any. I just might make that one of my Christmas crafts this year!

It's a bit of late but watching this gave me peace.

OK....THIS VIDEO MADE MY DAY!❤ Your humor had me laughing. And I loved all these ideas. My mom used to make cloves and oranges when I was a child. In vermont, there is very little to do in winter after chores are done. So my mom would teach my sister and I all sorts of forgotten things like clive balls and collecting greenery and decorating with natural elements. The orange basket scene had me chuckling. I will share this video!! Especially with my mom❤

We still had some christmas decor from the ww2times when i was a child, and my grandparents covered the nuts in aluminium foil. We used knives to carefully open the nuts up. (austria)

My favorite walnut-related christmas decoration we have is a little turtle ornament my mom made out of a walnut and some pom poms. (It's wearing a little top hat.) Now I want to make some gilded walnuts as well.

What a joy to watch you.

I always pry walnuts open with knife. They rarely break & I get nice shells to use.

I understand that in order to use walnut shells for Christmas decorations, you must first boil the walnuts for an hour at least, then carefully dry them, before attempting to crack them. Then they will break cleanly along the division line instead of breaking into pieces.

We used to make clove oranges at elementary school and hang them in the windows, just 17 years ago, might still be done.

This is the most delightful Christmas video I’ve watched thus far. Wonderful, calming, instructive and all around darling!

Wonderful video! So relaxing and enjoyable.

Omg, this was sooo satisfying! Cozy and Christmasy and all things nice and good. 😌

Well done!

I love this. It’s getting me ‘into’ the Christmas spirit early!!

Use a flat dinner knife to wedge open a walnut with two perfect halves most of the time.

The orange pomanders remind me of the christingles we used to make as children at church around Christmas time! They also were based on an orange stuck with cloves, but with bonus sweets on cocktail sticks stuck into the orange too. I haven't attended church in almost 2 decades so I don't know if children still do this, but it's a lovely tradition! Also if I can ever get a walnut to crack in half with any kind of precision, I definitely want to make those gilded walnuts, they're so cute! Kind of like Ferrero Rocher

So enjoyed this sweet video. I love the idea of collecting vintage and thrifted Christmas decorations. We are renovating an old farmhouse and don’t have much money to spare (while also living on one income and self-employed) so I couldn’t buy everything new even if I wanted. It’s nice to see how beautiful this approach can look, in fact I think it looks better than all new! I too love fresh greens. A few days ago I went out in our yard and picked some branches from our magnolia tree and some cedars to make a wreath. It turned out so pretty! While I don’t have much now in terms of decorations, I love what I do have, and I know it will grow in the future. That’s something to look forward to! Also loved seeing your family members participating in your traditions. Breakfast charcuterie is such a creative idea too!

So THAT'S what a humbug is!!!! I always wondered. I just assumed it was a phrase used like, "pfff. Screw that." Lol

Christmas crackers were called "bangs of expectation" in the beginning😂

I love Christmas, love the victorian era and love crafting. This video is perfect 💖

Nice video, I enjoyed your info and also the calm relaxing instructions. Have a great holiday season.

I am a new subscriber from Michigan USA. This is my favorite era. Thank you for the history and fun projects

I love Spode. I have all those same pieces. I use the dinner service every day. I feel right at home in your video😊