IF you're looking for a different sort of Christmas celebration, how about a Colonial Christmas, with everything from Father Christmas to decorating on a shilling?

Or maybe a Christmas house tour taken by boat in the Northern Neck town of Reedville, where Santa arrives on a traditional Chesapeake Bay vessel?

Both are options this coming weekend, celebrations I've included in holiday offerings for years now.

"'TIS THE SEASONINGS"

That's what my friend Lee Langston-Harrison and the good folks at the Museum of Culpeper History are calling a winter fest Sunday from 1 to 6 that's all about taking a break from the modern-day hustle.

Instead, Executive Director Langston-Harrison and a bevy of volunteers will welcome visitors to the museum at 803 S. Main St. for a high tea and festivities designed to emulate things you might find at a Colonial Christmas.

First off, several restaurants in Culpeper and a handful of great cooks with connections to the museum will supply the nibbles, which will include scones, crumpets, tarts, mulled wines, hot cider and more.

A neat twist: If guests enjoy a treat from the tables of goodies, they can take recipe cards on each to go inside a holder provided at the end of the process, making a cook-booklet of sorts.

Other neat twists: sessions on decorating a festive table, tying a unique holiday bow, creating wreaths and lessons in "decorating on a shilling," the Colonial way to use natural, available items to decorate these days on a modern-day dime.

There will also be an appearance from a velvet-clad Father Christmas, who'll regale youngsters and more with holiday stories, hot breads and hearty Brunswick stew served in the adjoining Burgandine House, and seasonal music and holiday gifts for sale.

"Our idea was to give folks something different, a respite from the holiday rush where they can sit down and enjoy Christmas as it was in an earlier time," said Langston-Harrison.

Advanced tickets are $15 for adults and $10 for students ages 6 to 18, with younger children admitted free. All tickets are $3 more on the day of the event, which benefits the museum's general operations.

To get tickets, call 540/829-1749. For more information, go online to culpepermuseum.com.

CREEK CHRISTMAS