
Every year Heritage House in Riverside hosts a Victorian Christmas Party, and this year I finally got to go!

Palm trees in the background, oranges in winter, and a pretty girl – all the elements of a vintage ad meant to entice people to move to beautiful sunny Riverside, circa 1895!



Me and my Mom in front of the Christmas deer. Notice the orange trees in the background. I love the California Christmas look! And one of the strolling musicians.

The Steam Punk Contingent! I don’t think these three were officially connected with the event–they were guests–but they were so cool as they serenely strutted around the circular pathways. True Victorian spirit on display. One of the real highlights of the event, in my opinion!



Hollyhocks! In December? How cool is that?



There were women demonstrating traditional domestic arts in the carriage house – these two were spinning and knitting.



My Mom and Grandma enjoying the garden area. That interesting piece of citrus fruit smelled fabulous. I’m a big fan of all citrus smells, and this one was really good!



Caroling and handing out programs.

We heard a rumor that each of the thirty docents was responsible for baking twelve dozen cookies each, and that they would still run out by the end of the afternoon. That’s over 4000 home baked cookies! It may not look it in these images, but there were a lot of people there – very popular event!



A couple of shots from inside the house. I couldn’t resist shooting the toilet – it was just so pretty!

And finally, the fountain in the front yard.