Plan a Medieval Christmas Party

Invitation Idea

Find some parchment paper at a local craft store. While you are there you will also want to get some sealing wax and something so make an imprint with such as a button or stamp.

Use a computer to write out what you want your invites to say. You may want to choose something like “Hear ye, hear ye, by royal command King ____ requests your presence at his royal court for a banquet. On the 18th day of December in the year Two Thousand and five, at the hour of 7.”

If you want to have your guests come as characters you may want to assign them a character in the invitation. Some examples are: prince, princess, knights such as Sir Lancelot, peasants, minstrel, ladies in waiting, guards, court jester and so on. Use a font that looks old and print out the invitations. Fold the paper in thirds and use the sealing wax to keep it closed.

Decoration Ideas

Put a deep hued table cloth, like a dark blue, purple or red on the table and find a metallic colored runner to put down the middle. Set long tapered candles in metal candleholders down the center of the table. Find goblet like cups to add even more of a medieval feel to the table. You can make the two chairs at either end of the table look like throne chairs.

Darken the rooms where the party is to be held and use candles or Christmas lights for lighting. To add to the atmosphere you might want to look for medieval chamber music. If you are able to create a castle façade around your front door using large boxes. You can cut out and paint on towers windows and banners. On the door you can place a paper or fabric coat of arms. If you have a fireplace make sure you have it blazing for when everyone arrives.

Greenery such as holly and evergreens were a common sight for decoration during the medieval times, so consider using some wherever you can in your decorations.

Activities

Caroling was expected at medieval feasts. Wealthy feast givers even paid minstrels to help with the caroling. So after everyone has eaten continue the festivities with a round of carols.

Masques, balls where people wore masques decorated as animals, were also a common activity at medieval feasts. After the table is cleared you could provide paper plates and craft objects such as scissors, pipe cleaners, glitter, markers and glue, and everyone can make their own masque. When everyone is done, Turn up the chamber music and let everyone dance.

Food Ideas

Have you ever been to a renaissance festival? If you have think of the food you saw there. It was all hearty food in large portions. Medieval Christmas feasts rarely included fish, so you can cross that off your list. Plum pudding, bread, cheese, ale, wine, poultry in savory sauces, gingerbread, goose, duck, hen and mincemeat pie were common foods found in medieval feasts. You might also want to consider serving a wassail. In medieval tradition the host would hand out the wassail and greet the guests saying “good health.” The guests would reply with “drink and be well.”

Add to the party’s festivities by cooking a “Bean King” bread. Make a loaf of bread but before cooking it insert a bean somewhere in the loaf. The person who finds the bean is called the bean king and is the humorous leader for the rest of the feast. Even in medieval times this activity was already an ancient part of Christmas feasts.