by Ruth Virginia Sackett, December 1900

At this delightful entertainment red and green was the prevailing color scheme.  The sideboard held an oddly-shaped dish filled with a mass of holly.  A wood fire burned merrily in the fireplace, casting a glow over everything, thus giving an added cheer to the occasion, and as the guests chatted Christmas carols were softly played on a piano in an adjoining room.

The parlor walls were decked with slender ropes of evergreens intertwined with strips of red sateen profusely sprinkled with Jack-frost powder and then daintily festooned over doors, windows and picture frames.

The doors leading into the dining room had suspended from the curtain poles portieres fashioned from fishnet, looped back at one side and sprays of greens and holly woven in and out of the meshes, while on the wall at one end of the room was a large poster printed in red on white cardboard and framed with holly, bearing these words:

“Today we all must make good cheer,

For Christmas comes but once a year.”

The refreshment table, which was an oblong one, looked extremely pretty with its artistic arrangement of fruit, holly and small candlesticks holding lighted red candles, the richness and coloring of all being enhanced by the soft, brilliant lights from the chandelier shining through ruby silk and creamy lace.  There were clusters of holly pinned to the tablecloth, and bonbons, olives and salted almonds in green glass dishes.  Rose bowls of the same color, filled with maidenhair ferns and holly, decorated the ends of the table.  The centrepiece consisted of a mound of yellowish-green apples, the glossy leaves and red berries of the holly mingling with the fruit.

Beside each plate was a souvenir in the shape of a cup and saucer, exquisitely painted in holly design.  The cups, which were filled with delicious red bonbons, had on the handles bunches of holly tied with bright red ribbons, and on the ribbons were cards bearing the name and date, as well as an apt Christmas quotation.

The guests also found on their plates sheets of heavy quality red note paper tied with green ribbon, the long end of each ribbon having a red pencil attached.  On the outside in silver lettering were the words “Merry Christmas!” and inside on the first page appeared the menu in anagram form; each dish was numbered and the opposite page had corresponding numbers.

The hostess informed them that five minutes would be allowed in which to guess what the repast was to consist of, and that a prize would be given to the most successful guesser.  The idea was merrily received, and all determined to win.  At the end of the allotted time the answers were read aloud, the man and woman having the most correct answers being presented with a beautiful Christmas calendar.

The menu was daintily written in red ink, and read like this:

Anagram Menu.

1, Swore stray.  2, Blot sue pig.  3,  Is love.  4, Cry lee.  5, Sled stand loam.  6, Rehearsing duct sky stunt store.  7, Bear cry race us.  8, Do lad and lass chime up.  9, Waste dome O test.  10, Is Nab lame?  11, Toasts head poem.  12, Mud plump crash gist din.  13, Range bet shore.  14, Skate dross ace.  15, Dance is.  16, Stun.  17, Rains is.  18, Fee of C.

Answers.

1, Raw Oysters.  2, Giblet Soup.  3, Olives.  4, Celery.  5, Salted Almonds.  6, Roast Turkey, Chestnut Dressing.  7, Cranberry Sauce.  8, Moulded Spinach Salad.  9, Stewed Tomatoes.  10, Lima Beans.  11, Mashed Potatoes.  12, Christmas Plum Pudding.  13, Orange Sherbet.  14, Assorted Cakes.  15, Candies.  16, Nuts.  17, Raisins.  18, Coffee.

The china was harmonious with the general decorations, the plates resting upon doilies worked in holly design, the different dishes being garnished with cubes of red jelly of various kinds suited to the day.  The ices were served in paper cases sunk in nests of holly and the fancy cakes were topped with red frosting. 

After refreshments the guests adjourned to the parlor, where a general frolic took place, games were played, old and young danced together, and Christmas songs rang out.

Ruth Virginia Sackett (1900, December). A Christmas Feast. The Designer Vol. XIII (2), 201. Retrieved from http://victoriantimes.us/entertaining/a-christmas-feast

© 2011, VictorianTimes.us. All rights reserved. See Terms of Use. Printing and/or downloading images or PDF constitutes your agreement with these terms.