What did Christmas decor in South Florida look like nearly 100 years ago?

There were plenty of shells, coral, burlap and decorated tree branches, according to the designers of the first Cason Cottage Christmas Showcase House in Delray Beach.

And, possibly, some stuffed birds.

The 11 Delray Beach designers were charged with decorating the historic 1924 house as it might have looking during the holidays in the period from 1915 to 1935.

For the most part, they adapted indigenous materials early residents might have had on hand or gathered from the beach and the woods. Rooms are furnished with the home’s period furniture or pieces found at area second hand shops.

But it wouldn’t be Christmas without a little glitz so there’s a bit of sparkly fun mixed in, as well.

For chairman Marsha Love, the event is a labor of, well, love.

Her great-grandfather, Rev. John Robert Cason, built the cottage as his retirement home. It remained in her family for decades afterward. Today, it’s operated as a house museum by the Delray Beach Historical Society.

During the late 1950’s and early 1960’s, Love, an interior designer, remembers visiting her great aunt, Clarabelle, in the cottage and sleeping in the guest bedroom, which is portrayed in the museum as the Reverend’s study.

“The house sure seemed a lot bigger to me when I was a kid,” she said.

The Christmas Showcase is the first in what Love hopes will be a series of events at Cason Cottage beginning next year, to heighten its profile and raise money for ongoing maintenance.

The historical society, of which Love is a board member, runs three historic house museums on a $20,000 grant from the City of Delray Beach, Love said.

She said it’s an odd feeling to know her family’s old homestead is now a museum.

“But I’m very fortunate that the house is still there and that I have the honor to help keep it going,” she said.

Love, who also teaches English at Palm Beach State College, has just published a children’s book about her family’s home. Called “The Cat at Cason Cottage,” with illustrations by Delray Beach architect, Robert Currie, the book weaves stories of Love’s family with the adventures of a cat named Clarabelle, in honor of Love’s great-aunt.

In the end, the cottage is both a look at how early settlers might have celebrated the holidays in far simpler times, as well as a modern reminder of why that past is worth preserving.