On Nov. 24, Warren Antiques Study Club hosted speaker Susan Mitchell who presented a program on creating Victorian Christmas ornaments. She brought two small Christmas trees with her and had them decorated with paper ornaments lined with tinsel, scrap materials, buttons or whatever else might work. The decorations that were used in Victorian times can be found today, but they are expensive; there were die cut, embossed images that were placed in scrapbooks. No two of these ornaments were alike, so Christmas trees had a very unique design, Mitchell explained. People used post cards, advertisements and lithograph scraps in the 1860s to the 1880s. Lithography became popular.

Dresden ornaments were among the rarest and loveliest decorations of Victorian times. There were often replicas of polar bears, sailboats or coaches. These were made in Germany from moistened cardboard sheets that were pressed into stamping dye. Very few remain today as they didn’t last because they were made of paper.

Mitchell said if anyone would like to try to make some of these fancy ornaments, they might want to look at Victorian calendars for ideas. Wrapping paper can be used for designs or Christmas cards, or even doilies which can be easily found in the baking section of stores.

Hostess chairwoman Jill Dart with committee members Connie Lucia, Lisa Blair, Norma Anderson, Mary Mahood, Lee Jones, Janice Thompson, Nancy Phillips and Betty McPherson provided warm hospitality and desserts.

President Cathy Grant led discussion during the business meeting. A Christmas luncheon will be held in December. Members may take any Christmas object or memory to share with the group.

A poem, “Over the River and Through the Wood,” was read by Pat Slattery to celebrate November. The piece, written by Lydia Marie Child (1802-1880) in 1844, is also known as “A New England Boys Song About Thanksgiving Day.” Child was known as an abolitionist and an Indian rights activist.

The Dec. 8 meeting will be “Christmas: Memories & Collections” with hostess chair Priscilla Breese.