Get ready for the holidays by being #ArchivesCrafty!
American handcrafts – especially patchwork, quilts, and the country’s early Christmas customs – inspired Betty Ford’s 1974 White House Christmas decorations. That year’s Blue Room tree featured patchwork balls; hand-made natural-wood baskets containing nuts or gumdrops; hand-crafted wooden toys; patchwork bows and ribbon garland; and spice sachets made from a combination of cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, allspice, and a touch of orange.
Many of the ornaments could be made at home out of inexpensive materials and items found around the house. Mrs. Ford’s staff provided instructions for some of them so people could create their own set of decorations. Here are the directions for making patchwork pentagon balls, one of the ornaments Mrs. Ford highlighted at the press preview of the Blue Room Christmas tree.
Find the full instructions for the 1974 White House Christmas decorations here.
The first Friday of each month the @usnatarchives hosts an Archives Hashtag Party exploring highlights from archival collections around a different theme. Come hang out on social media with all of the archives, libraries, galleries, and museums participating so far. How will you be #ArchivesCrafty this December?