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8:13 am
June 5, 2010
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Okay I know that it's not even officially summer, but I'm one of those people that plans way ahead, and this time, I really have a bit of planning to do! I'm taking my annual vacation at Christmastime, and for a change, I want to do a Tudor themed Christmas. Now it doesn't have to be ALL Tudor (I'm keeping my Christmas tree and I love the Christmas cracker tradition LOL), but I want it to be heavily Tudor. When Claire posted her thread about the bridal shower, I did get a few ideas from you guys, but I need more!
I've been looking up Tudor/medieval/Renaissance recipes that are modernized for our palates. Haven't finalized anything yet, but the meats and poultry, well, giving that a load of thought (beef is definitely on the menu; since I found out that the turkey got introduced around 1519, I'm leaning towards a whole turkey or a breast, or have individual cornish hens, which are a little domesticated American bird with a mild taste for those of you outside the U.S.; some sort of pork — I would love to serve a small suckling pig if I can order one already roasted — I live in an apartment so no spits or grills!)
I know that I'm going to have red and white roses, and for maybe some of my desserts, have glazed edible rose petals or little rosebuds on my cupcakes, petits fours or whatever I might have, and of course these would be in red or white. Green and white will be the prominent theme colors though (I already have white tablecloths, but with it being Christmas, I want to put white covers on my chairs and then tie green bows on them, or have green table liners). I'd love to find some kind of swan centerpiece into which I could arrange the turkey for presentation.
And I have my heart set on getting a Tudor gown from your site, Claire!! (Need to know the holiday deadline for a gown too if I decide to go that route).
Anyway, I'm saving loads of website links for ideas, but I'm hoping you all can offer more or some ideas, especially if you've had a Tudor party yourself. I'm afraid that a lot of the costume or party sites are more into King Arthur and Robin Hood (and label those Renaissance), and some of the Renaissance costumes include pirate outfits, trampy looking tavern wenches, and a Henry VIII costume that was…well, I'm not sure WHAT they were going for! (It was almost a harlequin costume). My 9-year-old niece's eyes were glowing when I asked her if she'd like to come in costume. My 13-year-old nephew — I don't think I can get him into tights if I paid him to! LOL (Any suggestions for a young man his age if I can talk him into going Tudor?)
So that's it. All help, suggestions, websites, your own experiences are VERY welcome, and if you need any input from ME as far as what I have in mind, please ask. Thanks in advance!
Henry: Mistress Anne, will you teach the king of England how they dance in the French court?
Anne: There is nothing that France can teach England, your majesty.
King Henry VIII: Well said. Well said.
– Anne of the Thousand Days (1969)
12:00 pm
January 9, 2010
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What a fabulous idea, sounds like so much fun!
I don't know much about Tudor Christmases other it was more of a religious holiday spread over 12 days and that they didn't exchange gifts until New Years day, but Alison Sim has written a few books that might help you – 'Pleasures and Pastimes in Tudor England', The Tudor Housewife' and 'Food and Feast in Tudor England.' Hope these help!
Ooooh, just thought of something – you could have a Lord of Misrule, where you especially nominate someone to come up with jokes and games; pretty much all of the entertainment!!!!!!!!!
8:16 am
June 5, 2010
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Oooo…I love that Lord of Misrule idea!
I've never done a theme party — have thought about it, but wasn't sure how to go about it, but this year I figured it might be cool to try it out.
Thanks so much for the book titles. I'll definitely check those out! Those are something I need in my library anyway! 
Henry: Mistress Anne, will you teach the king of England how they dance in the French court?
Anne: There is nothing that France can teach England, your majesty.
King Henry VIII: Well said. Well said.
– Anne of the Thousand Days (1969)
10:39 pm
November 18, 2010
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I bought some mead today. WE are planing to drink it after super.
I made somemead a couple of years ago and ended up with secondary fermentation in the bottle. The end result was a light sparkling wine…with the kick of a 16% alcohol level…thank goodness we were at home !
It's always bunnies.
2:15 pm
June 5, 2010
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Well, we didn't get as elaborate as I had hoped due to various circumstances, but what we did went over well enough that I plan on doing it again in 2011! (My sister who was going to decorate was shocked at how much it would cost to do all the draping and such, so we scaled back 
). And we didn't get to do the costumes and all, but…hey, we had loads of food. We also had a Tudor trivia contest which my 14-year-old nephew won hands-down, with one of my sisters coming in a close second (and she's not even a Tudor expert). My brother-in-law's saying for the night “Nobody in Tudor times died of old age.” LOL
Anyway, I had the dinner catered and a local bakery did my baked items, and it all turned out so beautifully, I'm going to try to share the pictures here! I've created a guest pass as — for now — I have the photos on private, but Flickr should still let you all in. But anyway, here goes:
Henry: Mistress Anne, will you teach the king of England how they dance in the French court?
Anne: There is nothing that France can teach England, your majesty.
King Henry VIII: Well said. Well said.
– Anne of the Thousand Days (1969)
3:06 pm
June 5, 2010
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Hey guys!
I've got this link in my New Forum Post email:
/forum/off-topic-chit-chat/a-tudor-christmas-need-helpsuggestions/#p5344
but every time I click on it, I never find jamaicabraden's post. Are any of you having the same problem?
Henry: Mistress Anne, will you teach the king of England how they dance in the French court?
Anne: There is nothing that France can teach England, your majesty.
King Henry VIII: Well said. Well said.
– Anne of the Thousand Days (1969)
8:39 pm
January 9, 2010
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Love the photos Tina – thank you for letting us see them. The food looks absolutely spectacular; it almost makes me question my commitment to vegetarianism 
And the cake; oooh I definitely want a Tudor Rose cake for my next birthday!!!!! Glad to hear your party was a success, and I love the “Nobody in Tudor times died of old age” quote. That cracked me up – I guess its because Henry usually got to them first!!!!!!
If jamaicabraden has a post in this thread then I'm not seeing it either. We've been having problems with the links recently, so if there is a problem then it might pay to contact Claire about it.
6:28 am
June 7, 2010
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Great photos, Tina. WOW! What an amazing experince. Someday I hope to be able to have my own Tudor Christmas.
The Tudor Rose cake was beautiful.
Cheers!
"By daily proof you shall find me to be to you both loving and kind" Anne Boleyn
10:24 am
February 24, 2010
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Just beautiful, Tina. I love the Tudor rose cake, and that lemon meringue pie looks scrumptious. In fact all the food looks delicious. Thanks for the pics. I'm happy to hear your party was a hit.
4:15 pm
June 5, 2010
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Bella44 said:
Love the photos Tina – thank you for letting us see them. The food looks absolutely spectacular; it almost makes me question my commitment to vegetarianism
If jamaicabraden has a post in this thread then I'm not seeing it either. We've been having problems with the links recently, so if there is a problem then it might pay to contact Claire about it.
Hi Bella and thanks for the comments! Love your comment about vegeterianism. I think the turkey, beef roast and Crown Roast will definitely be on the menu next time, but I would so love to have a suckling pig on display!! LOL Talk about Going Tudor!
But wasn't that cake just divine? The bakery has been around for about 70 years, owned by the same family from what I hear. I had sent them an image of the Tudor Rose beforehand, and the owner/manager, Donna, said that her husband might not WANT to do it, but she'd make sure he did LOL Considering the beautiful work I've seen in their window displays, he had NOTHING to worry about, believe me. It would have been so easy to have gone to some place and had them do a photo image on a cake, but I didn't want that. To create that by hand was amazing, and I'll be having them do another one next Christmas. Glad you loved my brother-in-law's quote! My sister has taught him well! LOL
One thing I didn't get to do guys, I mean besides the decorating. I had found a site online that will hand-decorate COOKIES however you want them. I had also sent her the Tudor Rose and she said it wouldn't be a problem recreating it, either as a photo image or the more detailed “by hand” work, but before I could get an order in (she was very reasonable), they had kitchen troubles and had to quit taking orders. She emailed and said she was sorry not to get to do so, but I told her I'd definitely keep her in mind for the future.
I'll try the jamaicabraden link again and see what happens. If I get the same results, I'll write Claire.
Henry: Mistress Anne, will you teach the king of England how they dance in the French court?
Anne: There is nothing that France can teach England, your majesty.
King Henry VIII: Well said. Well said.
– Anne of the Thousand Days (1969)
5:21 pm
June 5, 2010
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DuchessofBrittany said:
Great photos, Tina. WOW! What an amazing experince. Someday I hope to be able to have my own Tudor Christmas.
The Tudor Rose cake was beautiful.
Cheers!
Well, I wish it could have been even more Tudor-like, but hey, there's always Christmas 2011!!
Cheers back to you!!
Henry: Mistress Anne, will you teach the king of England how they dance in the French court?
Anne: There is nothing that France can teach England, your majesty.
King Henry VIII: Well said. Well said.
– Anne of the Thousand Days (1969)
5:26 pm
June 5, 2010
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Sharon said:
Just beautiful, Tina. I love the Tudor rose cake, and that lemon meringue pie looks scrumptious. In fact all the food looks delicious. Thanks for the pics. I'm happy to hear your party was a hit.
I'm thankful to have a family willing to go along with my “eccentricities.” LOL But we all love history, and the Tudors seem to run in our family
Oh and a plug to Plehn's Bakery (family owned for about 7 decades) for my baked goods and Gumby's Custom Catering for the rest of the dinner! I'd never had anything catered before, especially for the holidays, but this is going to become a tradition now. (I get 2 weeks of annual vacation; I normally take it at Christmastime, and I get tired of spending it doing nothing but cooking at the start of it).
Henry: Mistress Anne, will you teach the king of England how they dance in the French court?
Anne: There is nothing that France can teach England, your majesty.
King Henry VIII: Well said. Well said.
– Anne of the Thousand Days (1969)
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