War Time Christmas!

My family are fans of a BBC series of programs about life in English history which shows anthropologists working hands-on to live on a farm using only the sources and technologies available at the time. There Tudor Farm, Victorian Farm, Edwardian Farm, and our favorite--War Time Farm. We love this show! And the best episode of all is War Time Farm Christmas. You can watch the whole thing here on YouTube. 

Inspired by this program, and fueled by our familial blend of the whimsical and the geeky, we decided that 2014 for us would a War Time Christmas!

We will organize our Christmas holiday around the theme of WWII life in England.  Pretending to be Americans living in England 1940-1945, we will restrict our selves in various ways to represent (though not replicate) the limitations war placed on celebrations.

Here are some of the “rules” of our War Time Christmas.  

* The war lasts for the week prior to Christmas, starting on Dec. Dec. 18 and ending with victory on December 25.

* During the war, we have no access to our regular Christmas decorations so we have to make our own festive décor for inside the home using things already in the household.  We will decorate a real cut tree with these homemade ornaments and no electric lights.

* We can watch movies at home on our tv but only films that were made prior to the end of 1945. 

* We can only listen to music made prior to 1945, though we can use contemporary technology to play it.

* During the war, we have no access to electronic games. But our closet full of board games, cards, dominoes, mahjong tiles, and puzzles is accessible.

* During the war, we will only cook recipes and dishes that were used in England during the war. We have good storage of rationed food so shortages are not a big issue. Still, some food items just don't appear in wartime cook books (we know because we’ve got a stack of them for reference). 

* We have also made rules about gifts which I can explain in a future post!

So check this space later for descriptions and pictures of our War Time Christmas dishes, our playtime, our movie listing, and our music playlist.  We keep you updated on the war efforts here at War Time Christmas!!