Living History Activities

Children with graces wands and hoop, Peterson's, August 1863

Many years ago, in a forum far, far away, a group of living history interpreters and non-military Civil War reenactors started brainstorming small, portable activities that could be adapted to various events. My part involved compiling a list of Victorian-era childrens' activity books, which eventually grew into page.

Games

Play parlor games [Christmas is an ideal time for these, with or without forfeits.]
Play cards
Play charades

Toss handballs

Activities

Sing songs  [More for Christmas events]

Read aloud from a contemporary book, newspaper or magazine.
Write a letter [1861 sample letters, 1858 famous examples]

Converse

Dance
Put on a home theatrical

Arrange a lecture or sermon

Crafts

Make a rolled doll.

Make paper dolls, furniture or flowers

Plait straw

Draw

Learn to net, tat, do Berlin work, and more

Knit or crochet a warm garment

Sew a needful thing

Make Christmas decorations

Demonstrations

Have a quilting bee.

Do some plain sewing or fancy work.
Wash clothes*
Cook
Dress hair
Dress a doll

*Or don't. This is a labor-intensive activity that is expensive to equip and inconvenient to most transient events. When well-researched and properly stocked, a laundry presentation or demonstration can be very informative. However, poorly-researched impressions with modern feed-store implements are endemic in certain circles, and I'd rather not encourage more of them. Thus the link to Virginia Mescher's excellent article.

Additional Resources

Manners and Etiquette
The Behavior Book: A Manual for Ladies (1853-4) by Eliza Leslie 

Hints on Etiquette and the Usages of Society (1843-4) by Charles William Day
The Illustrated Manners Book (1855)

Preparing Period Food
Also featuring some good information on dining practices and servants' roles
Cook Books of the 19th Century
Feeding America: The Historic American Cookbook Project
Historic Food Fortnightly (cooking challenges across all eras: lots of inspiration served)
Mrs. Beeton's Book of Household Management (linked right to the index)

Games and Activities

The American Girl's Book; Or Occupation for Play Hours (1831) (1857 and 1865 editions)
      See also The American Girl's Book and Hints for Happy Hours (1857)
The Boy's Own Book (1838) (1881 edition)
The Girl's Own Book (1856) (1833 edition)

The Book of Parlour Games (1853)
The Sociable; or One Thousand and One Home Amusements (1858)
The Boy's Own Toy-Maker (1859)
The Girl's Own Toy-Maker (1861)

The Play-ground; Or, Out-door Amusements for Boys (1866)
What to Do and how to Do it: The American Boy's Handy Book (1882)

Cassel's Book of In-Door Amusements (1882)
The American Girl's Home Book of Work and Play (1883)

School and Parlor Tableaux (1883)
How to Amuse Yourself and Others: The American Girl's Handy Book (1887)
The Young Folk's Cyclopedia of Games and Sports (1890)

Household Tasks
The American Family Encyclopedia (1857)
Household Work, Or, The Duties of Female Servants (1850)
The Domestic Service Guide to Housekeeping (1865)
The Laundry Maid: Her Duties and How to Perform Them (1877)

General Advice & Correspondence 
Letters to Country Girls by Jane Grey Swisshelm (1853)
Inquire within upon everything (1856)
The art of letter-writing, illustrated by examples from the best authors (1858)
The hand-book of letter-writing (1861)
The Young Lady's Friend (1838)