Christmas Breakfast at Chownings, Visit with Thomas Jefferson and Head Home.

Merry Christmas!

Another chilly walk to the Colonial Village after checking out of the hotel.  This is a most interesting tree.  How it continues to grow is a mystery!

 A fair amount of white crunch ice around on this brisk morn!

 We had a delightful Christmas Surprise from the 

Bairds - Christmas Breakfast at Chowning Tavern!

 Yummy menu - can't say as I've had Southern-fried Chicken

for breakfast before!

Which to have....

A Mimosa for a special day!

A wonderful fruit ambrosia...

 Virginia Ham, Egg Casserole, Southern-fried Chicken

Spiced Apples and a bottomless basket of muffins...

we were too busy indulging in them to get a picture!

and wonderful entertainment!

and decorations - downstairs ...

and upstairs!  

Thank you Jill, Dave, Ryan and Colin!

That was a truly special and memorable treat!

 Not a lot of folks out early today but this

guy was back with his pet goat.

Quite the conversation piece!

 We wandered a few of the Village Shops and then headed back to

Tucker House again...this time for a Visit with Thomas Jefferson.

Very eloquent, amusing and interesting.  

Also in the Tucker house was this tree, a replica of one that started a new custom in 1842.  The story from the pamphlet is....
"In 1842 a new feature centering on young members of the family was introduced at the Tucker House, then occupied by Judge Nathaniel Beverley Tucker.  Charles Minnegerode, a young German refugee and professor of ancient and modern languages at the College of William and Mary, asked permission of his friend Judge Tucker to set up a Christmas tree for the Tucker children, a tree such as his family would have had in Germany.  The shining glass globes and tinseled ornaments of the German trees were not available.  Minnegerode and the children improvised using colored paper, popcorn garlands, gilded nuts, and a gold star.  Many candles wired to the branches illuminated the tree.  Children of friends were invited to the first Christmas tree party at the Tucker House.  Neighbors and friends asked to see the strange and beautiful creation, which had been so joyfully received by the children.  Each year the excitement grew as the children marched in, the youngest first, singing carols.  Judge Tucker continued the custom until his death.  Dr. Janet Kimbrough, the last Tucker descendant to live in the house, continued the event until her death in 1992.  And so a new tradition was born--the first Christmas tree in Williamsburg, and probably in Virginia.  German immigrants to America brought with them the tradition of the Christmas tree, but the date of the first tree in America remains unclear.  In England, Prince Albert introduced the Christmas tree to Queen Victoria and their children in 1841.

A chilly day with ice on the bucket!!

We wandered a little after our Visit with Jefferson and then did a little Christmas Sale Shopping at the Craft House and the Visitor's Center and then parted ways and headed to our homes.  It was a very special Christmas...very glad we decided to do this!  Check out the blog for Dec 22 - it only has the decorated wreaths.  We didn't want it to be the first one you encountered...so it's the last for this wonderful holiday trip!  Merry Christmas to you all.  May 2014 be a year filled with blessings and God's Peace.

Sunny and Cold on Christmas Eve Day in Williamsburg Colonial Village!

We began our day walking in from the Visitor's Center as the busses weren't running yet.  Lovely walk! Boy, these sheep certainly do need their heavy wool coats today!  It's freezing...actually just about that right now...but it a gorgeous day with a wonderful Carolina blue sky and we are bundled in our layers and ready for adventure!

 And what is it you did young lady!!

 A Christmas Eve morning runner...burrrrr!

 A quick stop by Bruton Parish Church to see when we needed to be at the 8:30 service to get a seat and then a walk down to the Craft House shop to see if the rumors of 1/2 off Christmas Sale were true...no signs yet.  Will check elsewhere.  What a great idea for decorating our bottle!

 But we needed to go back to the Great Hopes Plantation for A Holiday Wish.  This program explored some of the black communities holiday traditions and how the holiday affected the slaves living on a rural plantation.  This character was outstanding discussing her Christmas wish.

Gretchen and I then headed back on the bus...after checking out the sale at the Visitor's Center...and did a tour of the Palace.  It was nicely decorated and this Duo was there to entertain us as we concluded the tour.

While we were doing that, John returned to the Tucker House for a visit with Alexander Purdie, the printer in town.  Wonderful, as always.  Gretchen and I walked down to the bakery to grab a quick snack and then met John and headed to our 12 Days of Christmas program at the Art Museum.

We had no idea what this would be...but we never imagined it would be this...three vaudeville type characters lead us through the 12 Days of Christmas with audience participation.  These were the representatives for the first 7 days...the gentleman kneeling by the pail has seven plastic swans that he would swirl around for his turn.  They added individuals for the 8 maids a milking - 8 ladies with small buckets pretending to milk a cow etc through the 12.  It was hysterical!!

Then they did a crazy rendition of The Night Before Christmas... 

 and one final skit that had us all rolling in the aisles.  

What a delight!!

We then stopped for a quick lunch in the Museum Cafe.  This huge Christmas tree was right in the center of the Cafe.  Wonderful handmade decorations!  

A stop at the Williamsburg Lodge for an ice

sculpture demo and to check out their decorations.

Just a small Gingerbread Village.

On to the Williamsburg Inn and this was my favorite of all!

A definite for our mantle next year!!

But, these guys were pretty cool too!

On to Raleigh Tavern and A Revolutionary Holiday.  Beyond the Ballroom Doors was a presentation by those who lived and worked beyond the ballroom doors with stories,

 new perspectives on the war and hopes for the future

 from the black community viewpoint.  

We then took the bus back to the visitor's center and did a little shopping at the shop there (the rumors were true!) and then headed back to the hotel.  Grabbed a cookie from the box at the Registration desk and headed upstairs to change clothes for church.  Dressed in a lot of layers, we headed back to the car to find a Wendy's.  But, before we got there we passed by a Friendly's - well, we never pass up a Friendly's Ice Cream opportunity so in we went...had a quick dinner and finished it off with a Happy Endings Sundae.  Ohhhh sooooo good!!  Then off to the elements to wait in line outside Bruton Parish Church for the 8:30 service.  Brutally cold and windy but not for too long and in we went.  Gretchen sat down in one of the downstairs boxes and couldn't see a thing and said let's go to the balcony so up the stairs we go to the back balcony to the back row and we have a glorious view of it all.  Great call Gretchen!!  It was a wonderful service and we headed back to the hotel...grabbed a couple more cookies from the box at the desk (they were really good) and hit the hay.  Great day!!

Williamsburg in the rain!

Sunday morning we headed to church and Gretchen went to Richmond for a birthday party.  We got packed up so we could head out early Monday morning for Williamsburg and our Christmas there.  We got out early and made good time going up there.  Gretchen met us at the Visitor's Center and we got tickets etc and then headed over to the Village on the shuttle.  Our main reason for being here is to check out the decorations.  That will be covered in the next entry with a good representation of what we saw.  Lots of good ideas for your wreaths and garlands at your house next year!!  We walked around town some and then headed to the Tucker House.  This is one of Williamsburg's best kept secrets.  You need to be a donor to attend these but every morning they have a visit with one of the Historical Character interpreters.  The first hour they are in character and then they shift to themselves and you can ask questions of them.  We discovered this program last year.   

Today the Marquise de Lafayette was the guest.  We had heard him do a Public Audience program last year and he was great.  He didn't disappoint.  After a wonderful 1 1/2 hours, we headed for lunch.

This lovely St. Nick greeted us at The Trellis, one of my favorite Williamsburg restaurants.  It's in Market Square just across from the Colonial village.

 Ah...my favorite lunch - St. John's Island Carolina Stew!

Following lunch we stopped at some of the shops and then wandered down to the Coffeehouse for a tour.  They were giving free samples today...good chocolate.  We then headed behind it for

a Public Audience with George Washington.  We were all in our raincoats and though it wasn't raining at the time, it had been off and on all day...but it was warm...especially when the sun was out!  We stayed for some of George and then headed down to the Capitol and did a tour through there.  Gretchen hasn't been here for a very long time so she and I are taking in the tours of the buildings etc and John is concentrating on pictures. After more wandering and admiring wreaths we headed to the hotel and checked in.  Had a short rest and then went for dinner at a sandwich shop and then to our evening Christmastide at Home program.  It was on the Palace grounds and you walked in on scenes where folks in character and period did a short "moment" during their Christmastide that year.  Very interesting.  It's getting mighty nippy and windy but the sun is supposed to reappear tomorrow.  Very fun first day!

Christmas Decorations at Colonial Williamsburg 2013

Welcome to Colonial Williamburg this December 2013.  This blog entry will share many of the decorative wreaths from the Village.  Some are a result of a resident competition, others are designed and made by staff of Colonial Williamsburg.  All must be made from natural materials and most are materials from this local area.  Some reflect hobbies, occupations and others just the beauty of nature. It is a feast for your eyes.  An opportunity not to be missed so put it on your bucket list right now!  Here we go....pictures thanks to John :-)  Enjoy the creativity and wide variety of materials.  Bet there are a few you can't figure out!!  Come wander with us.....

The Foundation Staff refreshing the wreath so it looks fresh.