How To Craft Victorian Christmas Ornaments

During the Victorian times, Christmas trees were often decorated with nuts and fruits. This particular craft project will teach you how to make gilded walnuts, which were very popular Victorian Christmas ornaments.

Materials:
Walnuts
flat head screwdriver
paper
pen
yarn (any color)
hot glue gun/glue sticks
paint brush
gold acrylic paint

Preparation:
Before you can begin crafting your Victorian Christmas ornaments you will need to prep the walnuts. The first step is to crack the walnuts open. The best way to open the walnuts without damaging them, is to insert the flat head screwdriver into the seam of the walnut and twist it along the seam. Do not use a nutcracker as they tend to crush the shell. Now remove the nut and the membranes and set them aside (for snacking or baking later).

During the Victorian era it was their tradition to place a fortune tellers token inside of the Victorian Christmas ornaments. The tokens were images drawn on to a strip of paper which had a particular meaning. If you received a nut with a token inside depicting two hearts, it meant you would be the one to marry first. If your image was a bag of gold, you would be the first to find your fortune. An image of a stave, meant you would become a musician.

You can use the paper and pen to create your own fortunes. Just cut the paper into strips small enough to fit inside of the walnut shell. Use your imagination to come up with your own unique fortunes. If the recipients are children, consider adding money, a gumball, a charm or a cute sticker inside.

Now that the walnut shells and tokens are ready, you can begin crafting a hanger for the Victorian Christmas ornaments. Cut the yarn into 4" strips and tie the ends together to make a loop. Lay one half of the walnut shell with the inside face up, using the hot glue gun, glue the knot of the yarn to the inside top of the shell. Now insert your token into the half shell. Next, run a bead of hot glue along the edge of the walnut half and place the other half of the shell on top, pushing the seams together. Repeat this step, to finish the rest of the Victorian Christmas ornaments.

Now give your Victorian Christmas ornaments a gold gilded look, by painting them with the gold acrylic paint. Allow the Victorian Christmas ornaments to dry, then hang them on the tree.

On Christmas day, have your guests choose a Victorian Christmas ornament from the tree. Have the guests crack the ornament open to reveal their fortune or token.

Hints: Some other ideas to consider when decorating your Victorian Christmas ornaments (although not as authentic) are: Use different colors to paint your walnuts or cover them with glue and sprinkle them with glitter.

Sources:
Christmas Tree Decorations - Good to Eat & Good to Look Upon, The Delineator, Dec 1901
(The Delineator, a women's fashion magazine published by the Butterick Publishing Company from 1873 to 1937)