We were put in charge of our church or ward Christmas party this year. We needed to plan something with families and have it be for around 250 people. I immediately got on the internet and found on Sugardoodle a list of suggested Ward Christmas Parties. One caught my eye since we had just been in charge of the Pioneer Trek this summer and that was Christmas in Nauvoo in 1843 posted by Paige Moore. Christmas of 1843 was the last Christmas that Joseph Smith was alive and he recorded in his journal being woken up that morning by carolers and that he and his wife Emma hosted a dinner for 50 in the Nauvoo Mansion and that they had music and dancing all evening. It not only had the theme idea but it had a list of assignments for the various committees and a program and facts about old Nauvoo, Illinois. The first thing I wanted to add was a horse and carriage for the evening to set the stage for old Nauvoo. I had just used this wonderful company this fall for a Miss Utah County parade event so I contacted them and we got their Vis a Vis Limousine carriage. The carriage company, Burch and Sons is located in American Fork, Utah and they have a huge collection of wonderful carriages. There was a line-up for carriage rides all evening. One of my close neighbors was asked to play the prophet Joseph Smith. He even grew his hair out and styled it like Joseph's was styled in 1843. A costume was rented from Hale Center Theater. Nauvoo was famous for the beautiful brick homes the people built while they lived there so we printed out large rolls of red brick on paper and decorated the various "stores" we had around the church building. Different organizations in the ward were assigned to be in charge of setting up and running their "stores" and the Young Women organization went over the top with their charming Scovil Bakery. One of the leaders even brought over this charming cupboard. They made snowflakes and hung them from the ceiling. You felt totally transported as you entered their room. They were asked to have gingerbread cookies for the children to decorate but they took it a step farther and decided to create a bakesale and donate the funds they raised to needy families. I love the wooden cash box they had in their bakery. This charming tree was lit and in the corner with a darling banner hung above it. They even turned the chalkboards in the room into windows in the bakery and hung lights around them. You are looking out through this window! Isn't this an adorable idea. The round tables were set up with plastic tablecloths for the decorating of the gingerbread cookies. We printed off whitewashed wood planks for the Stoddard Tin Shop. Here the children could come in and make a punched ornament or necklace. You could hear the pounding of little hammers down the hall. The kids really loved this one too. These cute guys were all dressed in period clothing and having a great time showing off for the camera. The Red Brick Store was famous in old Nauvoo and we had the Elder's Quorum set it up like a store with barrels of peanuts and candy. Here you could bring toys and clothing and gently used items for the needy and drop them off. Back in 1843 large church meetings were held in "The Grove" or out under the cover of trees as there were no large church buildings. Here the children played pioneer games. Our postmaster was here to help people write letters or emails to the many missionaries we have from our ward serving around the world. One of those is my son who is serving in Seoul, Korea. The Bishop's Storehouse was a place where you could make donations of food in Old Nauvoo which would be shared with the needy so we had people bring food and products the Food and Care Coalition in town need to help the homeless. The Nauvoo Mansion was built to house guests and visitors in Nauvoo. We printed off stone blocks on paper to create an entry for it. The Mansion was the cultural hall or gymnasium at the church. And the stage was Joseph's room where he was seated writing in his journal. He was so great - he stayed in character the whole evening and children said, "Joseph is here, Joseph is here!" They wanted to be up on stage by him. We set up 24 long tables in a fan pattern and the tables were covered with red tablecloths and a wonderful roll of burlap. Each set of tables had 3 silk wreaths and 2 glass hurricanes and one metal and glass hurricane with artificial snow on the bottom of the hurricanes. The candles of course were electronic. The burlap ran down the serving tables too. I created two tall urns with evergreens and artichokes and lemons. All candles have to be battery operated in the church building for fire codes. You can see the tables beginning to fill up. We also set up chairs around the edges. Every seat was used. It was the best attended ward party we have had. You can also see a child standing up on the stage next to the desk. How adorable is that? We asked everyone to come in period clothing - at least no jeans for men and no pants for women. It really added to the atmosphere. The ward provided holiday ham and turkey and fresh rolls from Shirley's Bakery. Every family was asked to bring their favorite holiday side dish or dessert. The tables were stuffed with delicious food. As a follow up invitation, we sent out this "How to arrange a Christmas Dinner" published in 1847. It is fun to read through and see the traditional dishes mentioned. I don't think anyone brought turnips, boiled onions or dressed celery! My niece Shaunna did the designs for both invitations, the signs for the shop doors and the brick, wood and stone walls. She was a fabulous help! We had a group of carolers wandering down the hall. After dinner we had a short program that was included on the site I referenced. We added to it with a song that our Joseph (Del Moody) wrote about Emma and then he stood at the end and bore witness to Jesus Christ citing Doctrine and Covenants 76:22-24 "This is the testimony, last of all. that we give of him: That he lives! For we saw him, even on the right hand of God; and we heard the voice bearing record that he is the Only Begotten of the father." It was so powerful after the song about Emma and it brought tears to many eyes. These were our actors playing Porter Rockwell and one of the military officers who were part of the program. The choir sang several numbers in the program and the Young Women sang "Go Tell it on the Mountain". Many said it was the best ward Christmas Party they had ever been to. I hope if you need to do a ward party, and choose to do Christmas in Nauvoo, that this will give you some ideas and inspiration. Incidentally, A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens was also published on December 19, 1843. I had researched the costumes of the period and then I went production by Hale Center Theater in Salt Lake this year. Their costumes really followed the time period with their hairstyles featuring the sausage curls, the waistcoats and morning coats for the men and the women's dresses with lower and pointed waistlines . It was fun to see how they would have actually dressed up for a party in 1843. I will be posting this with Tablescapes Thursday Seasonal Sunday Weekend Wrapup