Venturing into the Christmas past

Every year there seems to be more complaints about the commercialisation of Christmas. But this year in Guernsey there's a chance to hark back to a more innocent time.

The museum at Candie Gardens has recreated a traditional 1950's Christmas.

But it's not an old-fashioned exhibition - visitors can get involved with all the displays.

No electronic gadgets, computer games or colour televisions - Christmas in the 1950s was a much simpler affair. But that didn't mean it wasn't any fun.

The exhibition is completely hands-on and interactive - there's no looking at exhibits in glass boxes.

The exhibits are made up of some items the museum already held, some they've borrowed from toy collectors, and a few they've recreated from memory. As well as the traditional games, there's books, original Christmas cards - and a table set for a 50s style lunch. For people who remember the era it's an evocative way of bringing it back to life.

Guernsey Museum Director Dr Jason Monaghan said: "We've had quite a lot of parents with small children in there talking them through what it was like when they were little and we've also had a couple of groups of seniors in there as well, a nice big group in there the other week, really remembering fifty years ago now and reminiscing and it's actually quite almost therapeutic in a way, it's a really nice experience for people."

The entertainment may be in black and white, but anyone who can tempt their children away from the Sky box and the PS3 can visit the exhibition at Candie Museum until the end of the year. (from CTV)