The Great Dickens Christmas Fair

We attended a Victorian Holiday party today. Charles Dickens and his characters, as well as the Londoners of that time were the hosts. Queen Victoria herself made appearances through out the day to guarantee we were having a good time. What fun!

A friend of ours was part of this great entertainment taking place in San Francisco. She told us about the fair, and offered to help me with a dress. You didn't have to dress up according to the time period, but my heart was set into reliving those times by being one of the ladies of the Victorian age. I had just finished reading to the children A Christmas Carol and a biography book about Charles Dickens and the Victorian period. They were excited to dress up, too. We had a wonderful time. This was the best field trip and entertainment combined. Because everything was so authentic, the children truly got a sense of London and its life during Dickens' time. They understood better the issues Dickens discusses in his books. Gillian is reading Oliver Twist at the moment, and she was so excited to actually see the streets of London that young Twist wonders in. Everything was done just like it used to be during that time, including different streets, shops, theaters, clubs, and pubs. There were performers in every corner of the building, performers on stage and performers on the streets of London. At one point you would see Dickens himself talking to his friends, or Queen Victoria speaking to the children.

We attended and visited many of these avenues, and enjoyed it tremendously. We listened to Robert Browning recite a few of his poems,
we watched Queen Victoria bless the little children and give them Christmas presents,
we delighted at the music that the Celtic Harp made,
we enjoyed the funny number of two street performers,
the children participated in a Mother Goose nursery rhyme show, and visited the exotic Merry-go-around just arrived from Africa,

we met chimney sweeps, so very common of that time,
we attended a Christmas musical at the Adventurer's club,
and we, of course, entered every shop that had interesting things, trying on hats, masks, head bands, and many more,


We found some yummy fish and chips, and then called it a day.
This fair was worth going. It was very entertaining and pretty authentic. All of us, not only learned a lot, but enjoyed it thoroughly. It was fun dressing up with big hoops and skirts, but, to tell the truth, in the end I was glad I got into my comfortable flannel pajamas.