Christmas used to be about more than Santa Clauses at the mall. Christmas used to be about more than Tickle Me Elmos, Great Date Kens and Milton Bradley toys. Christmas used to be less commercialized.

Reminiscing the days of old, the staff at the Farm House Museum will be hosting Victorian Holidays: An Iowa Tradition. For the past 21 years, the vintage Farm House Museum has been transformed and decorated in traditional Victorian style during Christmas.

“The purpose [of the program] is to talk about the heritage of the Iowa State campus,” said Mary Atherly, University Museums curator.

“The faculty who used to live here opened their home during the holidays, and we’re trying to do the same — to open up the Farm House Museum for education, socialization and to share ISU history.”

Over a three-week period every December, the community is invited to peek into the past and learn about the turn of the century at ISU while participating in traditional Christmas activities.

“Activities include making ornaments and cookies and taking tours of the museum, and while they do this, they can enjoy the live music and atmosphere,” Atherly said.

The Victorian Christmas tradition began at the Farm House Museum when there had been an interest to connect the students to the Farm House, Atherly said.

“There were already tours being given to students at the Brunnier Art Gallery,” she continued. “With the growing popularity of the Brunnier Art Gallery tours, we thought we would extend the program.”

With this idea, Atherly, who has done extensive research into the Victorian era, and others from the University Museums began the yearly transformation of the Farm House Museum.

One of the primary functions of Victorian Holidays is to educate the community. Tours are given to schoolchildren in surrounding communities and to ISU students in order to give them the history of the Farm House Museum and how it began, Atherly said.

Festivities and tours have already begun this year at the Farm House Museum and it promises to a busy season, Atherly said.

“Last year we gave about 33 tours to the Ames schoolchildren in three weeks,” she said. “We have already had abut 200 [ISU] freshman honors tours this year.

“Besides more tours, our remaining activities include the children’s bell-ringing choir and ornament making and horse-drawn wagon rides,” she continued.

The Farm House Museum kitchen will also transform into a gift shop filled with Victorian holiday gifts. The gift shop will be operated by Friends of University Museums, and purchases will benefit the museums, Atherly said.

The children’s bell-ringing choir from St. John’s Episcopal Church and ornament making will be December 14, and the horse-drawn wagon rides will be held December 21.

All programs are scheduled from 2 to 4 p.m. and are free to the public.