NATCHEZ — The park rangers were giddy with excitement when the postman came delivering Christmas goodies to Melrose Tuesday morning.

When they opened the boxes they discovered delicious-looking plum pudding and a dozen powdered doughnuts.

But the park rangers weren’t licking their lips.

With icing made of hard plastic and powdered sugar made of chalk, these goodies were meant for one reason — to fake visitors out.

Actually, not fake them out so much as to enhance their experience, Natchez National Historical Park curator Cheryl Munyer said Tuesday.

“They help tell the story of Melrose and the McMurran family,” Munyer said.

And what a story they have to tell this weekend during the annual Melrose Christmas Open House.

From 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday, Saturday and Sunday, visitors can learn about life in Natchez in 1860 — the period leading up to the Civil War.

“The great thing is the whole weekend is free,” Munyer said. “We will have craft activities for children and adults, a professional storyteller, local Girl Scouts caroling and, of course, house and garden tours.”

The dulcimer group Brook-Mont Strings Plus from Brookhaven will also give three free concerts.

During the house tours, interpreters will guide visitors inside the mansion, which will be decorated to reflect a Christmas typical of the time period, including the powdered doughnuts that will be displayed in the parlor.

“We have documentation of one of the McMurran grandchildren eating powdered doughnuts that he found in his stocking,” Munyer said.

The house will also feature other foods — fake of course — that were popular during the time period like plum pudding and oysters.

“If you look back in the Natchez newspapers from 1860, fresh oysters were very popular,” Munyer said. “They were widely available and advertised frequently during the holidays.”

The food and other decorations add to the total experience of the house and tell a story of the time period that wouldn’t otherwise be told, Munyer said.

“It makes the experience more memorable,” Munyer said.

Park rangers are also waiting on other food shipments that they hope will be here by the weekend. Celery, which was used not only as a food but also as a decoration, crackers and raisins are in the mail and on their way to the Melrose mansion.

Tours of the house decorated for Christmas will be offered every half an hour beginning at 10 a.m. with the last tour departing at 4 p.m.

For more information about the weekend’s activities visit the park’s website at www.nps.gov/natc.