Holidays at Colonial Williamsburg

Hello, I’m Amanda McNulty with Clemson Extension and Making It Grow. The holiday decorations at Colonial Williamsburg are knock your socks off beautiful but . . .not historically accurate. Christmas decorations weren’t a big deal during those early times and citrus and pineapples would have been prohibitively expensive. John D. and wife Abby Aldrich Rockefeller became supporters to save the historic buildings and their vision expanded into research and authenticity. But visitors who came for Christmas wanted to see some hoopla and splash beyond pine boughs placed on mantles. Blending accuracy with the need to please families who driven from perhaps far away the magnificent holiday displays began. These days families may want to shift the décor from tinsel and glitter and come together around the kitchen table to make their own versions of those nature-based decorations, from cloves in oranges to garlands.