The Pioneer Museum of Alabama’s annual Old Time Christmas seasonal event provides an opportunity for visitors to step back in time and experience Christmas the way it used to be.

This year’s Old Time Christmas program will be from 7 until 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday at the Pioneer Museum of Alabama, located on US Highway 231 North in Troy.

Alex Hackworth, museum staff member, said this year’s Old Time Christmas has been designed with families in mind.

“The focus is families,” Hackworth said. “Christmas is a time for families to be together so we wanted to have an Old Time Christmas event that would be a bonding experience for families.”

The theme of this year’s Old Time Christmas is “The Twelve Days of Christmas,” and there will be twelve stations set up all around the museum grounds with a different activity at each station for families.

“At the first station, we’ll sing ‘The Twelve Days of Christmas.’ At the twelfth station, we’ll have a very special guest from the North Pole. Santa Claus will take time to visit with the children and listen to their Christmas wishes,” Hackworth said.

At other stations, families will have the opportunity to create Christmas ornaments and paper crafts, sample cider, sing songs, take pictures and hear stories.

“The children will make several craft items that will be Christmas keepsakes for their families,” Hackworth said. “Everyone will enjoy hearing the stories of the Christmas season. Each station will make a Christmas memory.”

As always, the museum grounds will be beautifully decorated and lighted for Old Time Christmas. The cabins will be “naturally” decorated, as well as the Village Center. A stroll around the museum grounds should rekindle the Christmas spirit within those of all ages, Hackworth said.

The museum’s gift shop will be open with a variety of unique items for under the Christmas tree – from children’s old-time toys and stocking stuffers to soy candles, honey and sugar cane syrup. Attendees will also have the opportunity to sign themselves, or family members, up for a Pioneer Museum of Alabama memberships.

“Memberships to the Pioneer Museum of Alabama make great gifts for families and individuals,” Hackworth said. “Family memberships are $45 and individual memberships are $25. The memberships are from Jan. 1, 2015 to Dec. 31, 2015 so they are gifts that keep on giving all year long. Members receive 10 percent off items in the museum gift shop.”

Pioneer Museum of Alabama Memberships are available at the museum or by calling 566-3597.

Museum hours during the holiday season are from 9 a.m. until 5 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday through Dec. 19. The museum will be closed the week of Christmas and the week of New Year’s.