Bah humbug, we were asked to host Christmas this year 😉 We picked “A Christmas Carol” as the theme this year, with inspiration from the past, present, and future with Victorian, Dickensian, family nostalgia, TikTok, and Matrix inspiration intertwined into the activities, food, and decor. Of course Mr. Scrooge, Mrs. Cratchit, and the Ghosts of Christmas Past, Present and Yet to Come all made appearances.
We took inspiration from A Christmas Carol, “I will honour Christmas in my heart, and try to keep it all the year. I will live in the Past, the Present, and the Future.” Scott’s dad is a Charles Dickens scholar so we had to make sure we did it justice. We had Christmas trees to represent the past, present, and future. For our gift exchange, we had family bring a meaningful white elephant present with blasts from the past, present trends (what’s trending on TikTok), or an innovative/homemade creation. We kept it cheap and silly, “There is nothing in the world so irresistibly contagious as laughter and good humour.”
Past
Decorated the dining room in Victorian and Dickensian decor. The “past” tree was Victorian inspired and was a real tree with ornaments from Christmas’ past, LED candles, and pearl/gold beads. Hung garland over the dining room entry and windows and adorned them with red poinsettias, ribbons, and ornaments. Hung pine wreaths over the chandelier and along the table. Placed tall caper candles throughout the area.
We inherited Scott’s grandmother’s china and sterling silver and served our “past” meal with these beautiful heirlooms. The following was the menu inspired by nostalgic family favorites and Victorian/Dickensian cuisine:
- Nostalgic Family First Course : Chicken and Dumplings
- Dickensian Main (Great Expectations): Roasted stuffed fowl (Cornish hens with rosemary)
- Family Sides: Sausage Balls, rolls
- Victorian Side: Duchess Potatoes
- Dickensian Drinks: Wassail and Mulled Wine (Smoking Bishop)
- Dickensian Dessert: Christmas plum pudding with flamed brandy
- Nostalgic Family Desserts: kipfels, monster cookies, spicy chocolate oatmeal cookies, press cookies
- Favorite Desserts: oreo balls, eggnog cookies, and red velvet cookies (2021 cookie exchange winner)
Mr. Scrooge and Mrs. Cratchit had a lot of fun interacting with the family.
The Ghost of Christmas Past, adorned in a flowing white dress, also visited to reminisce nostalgic family memories by playing “Yes and No” from “A Christmas Carol.” We guessed funny family memories like Tim drilling a hole in the floor to spy on the family and the family riding in the back of the truck. Layla also joined in the fun of dressing up 🙂
Present
Decorated the kitchen, breakfast room, and the central area of the great room in currently trending “flocked” greenery. This included the “present” flocked, light blue tree and garland and 3D printed, translucent ornaments.
The breakfast room had several small kids-inspired trees like Frozen, candy, and colored ornaments. This area featured both “present” trends and the “future,” with the focus on kids.
The “present” food served was inspired by current TikTok trends. The table nachos, as an appetizer, were a big hit! We included all the fixings including beans, smoked shredded chicken, smoked pulled pork, beef, queso, homemade salsa, sour cream, avocado sauce, cilantro, lettuce, green onions, and jalapeños.
We had hot cocoa bombs as a dessert/drink with multiple flavors, including peppermint, dark chocolate, and white chocolate.
The Ghost of Christmas “Presents” arrived in jolly fashion in a green robe and holly crown to “reflect upon your present blessings – of which every man has many – not on your past misfortunes, of which all men have some” and to hand out “presents” to the kids. My Loki cape, Grinch holiday cheermeister crown, and William Wallace wig worked great for this thrown together costume 🙂
Future
Decorated the mantle and cubby in futuristic, 3D printed decor, including trees, deer, ornaments, cat stockings, and nutcracker. The “future” tree was fully 3D printed with translucent, sparkly blue PLA and hung from the ceiling. Even hung a glow-in-the-dark tree in the cubby that changed colors with the light. Included red in the tree color, to indicate a potential future on Mars.
The Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come entered in a black cape (and Squid Game front man mask) to serve the final course, “red or blue” pills (Matrix). The pill color selected determined the ornament guests received, which had a number attached to indicate the order to pick white elephant gifts. The red pills represent logic and wanting to know more (thus had better numbers to gain more). The blue pills represent bliss and being content with what you have (so were the lower numbers).
Other Pics and Videos
Here are some other fun pics, including opening white elephant gifts that included funny gifts from the past like the family toilet bowl seat, whitie tighties, and family Guess Who.
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