LIVERMORE — The Washburn-Norlands Living History Center will open for an interactive Christmas celebration designed to take participants back in time.

Christmas at Norlands: The Children’s Hour will be held on Dec. 5 from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. The $5 admission will benefit the nonprofit museum. Participants will enjoy 19th century parlor games, storytelling and holiday readings from the past, children’s hands-on activities in the cozy Norlands kitchen and the simply decorated Washburn mansion.

An activity or music will be found in every room at every hour. Attendees can join in with the carolers around the antique piano or enjoy a sweet treat and mulled cider in the kitchen. They can step outside and help press the next batch of cider or wander into the gentleman’s parlor, where Washburn descendant and family historian Kerck Kelsey will be reading and telling stories about what life was like for the Washburn children who grew up in the 1800s in Livermore.

The event has been organized by a group of dedicated Norlands volunteers who have been studying Livermore history and the lifestyles of people in the late 1800s. The historical interpreters also present Norlands living history programs for Maine schoolchildren throughout the year. The schoolmarm will open the one-room schoolhouse during the Christmas at Norlands celebration and invites you to an old-time spelling bee.

For more information about the event at the Washburn-Norlands Living History Center, 290 Norlands Road, Livermore, Maine, call at 897-4366 or visit the Website www.norlands.org.