Did the Pilgrim Women Decorate in 1621?
Last modified on 2009-09-13 01:05:43 GMT. 0 comments. Top.
 See It Here! $9.99 |
However, the English were accustomed to fancy festivals, and even though the Pilgrims had more important things to think about than decorations, there are always those individuals in any bunch who love the finer things in life.
And since some things never change, who’s to say they didn’t spruce things up a bit?
We may never know, but it is still fun to play with the historical possibilities!
The following posts are just a sampling of the decorating ideas found in The American Patriot’s Treasury of Historical Thanksgiving Dinner Ideas, Second Edition.
Tags: decorating ideas thanksgiving, craft ideas thanksgiving
- – - – - – - – - – - -
Leg-Iron Display
Last modified on 2009-09-16 18:37:30 GMT. 0 comments. Top.
One thing we want to encourage families to do is TELL THE TRUTH about our history. Past generations didn’t want to talk about it simply because they didn’t want to change their minds. But this generation of Americans is ready, and here’s one way to demonstrate the change of heart.
Simply add a leg iron display to your table or side table.
But, why?
Remember Squanto? Depending on your age he may be a bit of a fuzzy detail, but he was the Patuxet Wampanoag Indian who spent the spring and summer of 1621 teaching the Mayflower Pilgrims how to survive in their new home.
The irony is that he knew how to speak clear English because he had been a victim of the slave trade at the hand of earlier English men. Squanto actually lived in Europe for five years. As it turned out he was fortunate enough to have been hired as a scout, which is how he landed back home a year or so before the Mayflower touched shore at Cape Cod.
Learn more about Squanto’s fascinating life, and about the slave trade in 1620-21 in The American Patriot’s Treasury of Historical Thanksgiving Dinner Ideas, Second Edition
Tags: decorating ideas thanksgiving, craft ideas thanksgiving
Leg-Irons and Grapes
- – - – - – - – - – - -
Cattial Stacks
Last modified on 2009-09-13 01:26:01 GMT. 0 comments. Top.
Cattails are indigenous to New England, and they grow freely all across the continent. Technically they are spring bloomers, but the fuzzy blooms we all know and love can still be found intact in the fall.
Materials for one stack: 12 cattails, raffia or supple dried grass, 12” basket as shown
Tip: To hinder your cattails from bursting, just shoot them with a little hairspray.
Tip: Baskets like this can be found at dollar stores, or thrift shops for cheap
Using dried grass or raffia, which is available in craft stores during the fall season, tie a bundle of cattails of differing lengths together around the middle. Tie snug with a knot. Set your stem ends down and spread out into the basket. Adjust for balance and beauty, then attach a pre-made raffia bow to the front (or tie a bow on).
These cattail stacks are beautiful, easy, fun, and very inexpensive to make. More cattail ideas can be found in our historical Thanksgiving guide, and watch for more cattail projects in the future here at IdeasThanksgiving.com.
Caution: Certain types of snakes are known to frequent cattail patches. When you go to collect the cattails be sure to purposely make a lot of noise. This will scare away any snakes and spare you an unnecessary heart attack! And don’t forget to take clippers with you 
Tags: decorating ideas thanksgiving, craft ideas thanksgiving, ideas thanksgiving, how to decorations, ideas for holiday decorating
Cattail Stack with Raffia Bow. You could authentically add seashell ornaments to the bow.
- – - – - – - – - – - -
Use Indigenous New England Flowers
Last modified on 2009-09-16 18:35:26 GMT. 0 comments. Top.
My personal favorite flower for Thanksgiving is the New England Aster. No doubt these beautiful blue flowers were in bloom right about the time that the fall feast happened in 1621.
I realized just last year that I have been growing blue asters in my own yard for years! It finally hit me what they were I took note that they continued to bloom clear through September.
I do know for a fact that blue asters can be forced for fresh Thanksgiving flowers. However there aren’t many florists who do this yet. If our local flower shops begin to receive enough requests, well of course they’ll start supplying them in the years to come. In the meantime, I have one source in the historical Thanksgiving guide that may be able to ship forced asters within the U.S.. The guide also contains a list of many more indigenous flowers, fruits, and shrubs that can be used in authentic period decorating.
Outside of fresh flowers, I have yet to find a source for silk blue asters. If you should find one, please come back and let us know. You can contact me any time at Victorian [@] LetsPlayHistory.org, and I’ll post the information here on this page. Thank you!
tags: decorating ideas thanksgiving, craft ideas thanksgiving, how to decorations, ideas for holiday decorating, ideas thanksgiving
Blue asters are indigenous to New England
- – - – - – - – - – - -
Wood Rounds, Seashells, Grass and More!
Last modified on 2009-09-13 01:57:04 GMT. 0 comments. Top.
See It Here! $9.99 |
Complete deer tallow candle making instructions are found in our historical Thanksgiving guide, The American Patriot’s Treasury of Historical Thanksgiving Dinner Ideas, along with instructions for using wood rounds in decorating, resources for learning how to make the woven Wampanoag wall hangings described in early source documents, a prompt to use seashells (Plymouth was / is a coastal town!), natural glue making recipes, natural paint and ink making recipes, and much more.
I made an effort throughout the guide to offer explanations of materials available back then, and to offer alternative suggestions where old-world supplies might be difficult to find or re-create.
I even provide a brief run-down of some of the tools that the Pilgrims were known to have had. Today you can find similar tools in antique or junk shops for pennies on the dollar. The best part, though, is that the old tools are fun to use.
For example, I show an “auger” being used for one of the projects in the guide. I was recently corrected and told the tool is actually called a “brace and bit.” (The bit itself was called an “auger.”) Anyway, using old tools to make certain craft projects adds a wonderful dimension of discovery and fun.
Something else I teach in the guide is how to make food-safe pottery. In the picture below you see my “wanna-be” Wampanoag cooking pot. I love my wanna-be Wampanoag pot! I haven’t cooked in the one shown here because I need to keep it clean for display, but elsewhere on this site, or the LetsPlayHistory.org site, you’ll see my other cooking pots in use. Very fun!
tags: decorating ideas thanksgiving, craft ideas thanksgiving, make natural paint, to make ink, how to decorations, ideas for holiday decorating, how to make quill pens
Wood round, wanna-be Wampanoag cooking pot, woven baskets, squash and more for 1621 decor
- – - – - – - – - – - -
Cranberries are for Lookin’ At!
Last modified on 2009-09-13 02:13:10 GMT. 0 comments. Top.
Cranberries are indigenous, however historians doubt that the Native populations were eating the bitter fruit in 1620-21. Edible or not, the cranberry itself is bright and cheery, and wonderful for use in decorating.
Shown here is a raffia and pine cone – cranberry garland. Just create individual garland swags as shown, then tie them together and cover the “joints” with twists or bows accented with cranberries and pine cones. Use raffia to tie everything together, along with the natural glue described in the historical guide. (Please pardon the fake berries shown in the picture here… it was the wrong time of year when I made the garland!)
Very pretty hung along the dining room ceiling line.
Note: If you need to you can always string cranberries on sinew “thread,” or on gut hafting which is naturally curly. Sinew and gut hafting details and sources are found in The American Patriot’s Treasury of Historical Thanksgiving Dinner Ideas, Second Edition.
tags: decorating ideas thanksgiving, craft ideas thanksgiving, ideas thanksgiving, decorating with cranberries, cranberries thanksgiving, how to decorations
Cranberry Garland
- – - – - – - – - – - -
Tags: decorating ideas thanksgiving, ideas thanksgiving, thanksgiving best, make thanksgiving centerpieces, craft ideas thanksgiving, make clay pot, make a clay pot, activities for kids thanksgiving, family thanksgiving ideas, thanksgiving crafts adults, thanksgiving activities crafts, children activities thanksgiving, art projects for thanksgiving.
Posted August 31, 2009 by Admin
