{"id":691,"date":"2016-12-15T15:40:48","date_gmt":"2016-12-15T21:40:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/loosestringsfromthepast.com\/?p=691"},"modified":"2016-12-15T15:40:48","modified_gmt":"2016-12-15T21:40:48","slug":"merry-christmases","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/loosestringsfromthepast.com\/?p=691","title":{"rendered":"MERRY CHRISTMASES"},"content":{"rendered":"

When I was young, the excitement of the Christmas season usually started with a tree being brought into the house to be decorated.\u00a0 In rural areas the tree was often a cedar tree cut on a family\u2019s personal property.\u00a0 City folks bought their trees from Christmas tree lots which sprang up around town.\u00a0 Lights were the first thing to be wrapped around the tree.\u00a0 They were followed by tinsel garland and glass ornaments.\u00a0 Tinsel icicles finished off the decorations.\u00a0 Ornaments were fragile and easily broken.\u00a0 Replacements were readily available at Woolworth.\u00a0 Some time in the 1940\u2019s, angel hair was an option.\u00a0 It gave a hazy, spider web look to the tree.\u00a0 I felt very grown up when I was allowed to decorate the tree without assistance.\u00a0 I spent hours surveying my handiwork and rearranging ornaments to my satisfaction.<\/p>\n

When Ken and I had children, they helped decorate.\u00a0 In the sixties, we had a silver aluminum tree. We decorated it with red ornaments and thought it was beautiful.\u00a0 I made red felt stockings for the children.\u00a0 The little fake fireplace was put up for several years.\u00a0 It was retired when we moved to Georgetown and had a house with a fireplace. For many years I made a cookie castle.\u00a0 It was quite an undertaking.\u00a0 The frame was poster board.\u00a0 The cookies were glued to it with a mixture of powdered sugar and egg white. At first, the children thought they would get to eat the cookies after Christmas.\u00a0 That never happened.\u00a0 Those cookies did not move.\u00a0 After several weeks, the little castle was as solid as brick.\u00a0 We also had decorative candles from The Candle Factory in Georgetown.\u00a0 They had a varied selection of candles for holidays, special events, and every day enjoyment.<\/p>\n

\"cookie-castle-picture\"<\/a>\"candles-horz\"<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"christmas-fireplace\"<\/a><\/p>\n

The first Christmas presents I remember were dolls.\u00a0 One year the doll came complete with a wicker carriage which I called my \u201cdoll buggy.\u201d\u00a0 I learned early to associate Christmas with presents.\u00a0 I probably started early telling what I wanted.\u00a0 I remember being reprimanded for telling my mother that if Santa didn\u2019t bring me what I wanted, my brother or sister would get it for me.\u00a0 Note: My sister and brother were 18 and 13 when I entered the picture.\u00a0 They both indulged (read spoiled) me.\u00a0 Ken remembers a little metal truck that had molded headlights on the front, and the door on the driver side actually opened. These were exciting features for a little boy of that era.<\/p>\n

As I got older, my sister began giving me books.\u00a0 I still have some of those books. One of the first ones was the Mother Goose book.\u00a0 The inscription reads 1942.\u00a0 I was a beginning reader and read it over and over.\u00a0 The inscription on the fairy tale book is 1943. My favorite was \u201cA Child\u2019s Garden of Verses.\u201d\u00a0 I never tired of rereading the same books.\u00a0 I could repeat much of those books from memory.\u00a0 I was probably in 5th<\/sup> or 6th<\/sup> grade when I got the camera.\u00a0 I took pictures of anything that would stay still long enough.\u00a0 I took my favorite pictures and carefully put them into albums.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n

 <\/p>\n

\"camera-horizontal\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\"old-books\"<\/a><\/p>\n

I have two other gifts from early years.\u00a0 My Dad\u2019s only brother was not married when my brother and sister were young.\u00a0 He gave his niece and nephew what my sister referred to as \u201creally nice gifts.\u201d\u00a0 The little pitcher was one of the gifts he gave my sister. The little pitcher once had six glasses and was a favorite toy.\u00a0 Years later when my sister had outgrown it, my mother used the little glasses for water for baby chicks.\u00a0 I suppose that is how three of them met disaster.\u00a0 Those were the days when baby chicks arrived at the post office in a ventilated box. At some point my sister retrieved it and put it in her own house.<\/p>\n

Another piece I have was also a Christmas gift. I was a toddler just beginning to talk when my sister and brother gave it to my mother.\u00a0 They told the story that I had a crying episode when they wrapped it, and I kept repeating, \u201cYou cover up he head.\u201d\u00a0 Then I went running to my mother and told her \u201cThey cover up he head.\u201d\u00a0 They said I ran to the tree, and then repeated that to everyone who would listen. I did not stop until my mother opened it on Christmas Eve.<\/p>\n

\"dutch-boy\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\"toy-pitcher\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Our children received the usual popular toys of the day.\u00a0 Our oldest, Kevin, liked to talk to Santa Claus.\u00a0 His little brother, Charles, often needed some coaxing to get on the old gentleman\u2019s lap.\u00a0 Their sister, Cynthia, had her list made up well ahead of time and was anxious to tell him what she wanted.\u00a0 We delighted in Christmas surprises.\u00a0 In 2004, the children and I gave Ken a surprise that nearly caused him to have heart failure.\u00a0 The 1931 Model A-400 was totally unexpected. We gathered at Charles\u2019 home.\u00a0 The car was hidden.\u00a0 Our timing was perfect.\u00a0 The boys disappeared.\u00a0 At a given signal, we lured Ken outside, and the boys drove up in the car.\u00a0 \u00a0It has been a fun car for all of us as well as our family and friends.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"model-a-christmas-2004\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\"boys-and-santa\"<\/a>\"cynthia-santa\"<\/a><\/p>\n

When I was a child, Santa came to our house on Christmas Eve.\u00a0 I assume that was our custom because the family arose early to begin milking the dairy cows.\u00a0 Breakfast was after the milking was finished.\u00a0 My Dad was in the dairy barn before I got up on Christmas morning. \u00a0\u00a0On Christmas Eve, my brother took me for a ride to look at the Christmas lights.\u00a0 Santa came while we were gone.<\/p>\n

When Ken and I had children, Santa usually came on Christmas morning.\u00a0 There were occasions when family gatherings necessitated having the jolly old man come on Christmas Eve.\u00a0 When our grandchildren came along, we began to have the family together before Christmas so that the grandchildren could be home on Christmas morning.\u00a0 Now that we have great-grandchildren, we still have our gift exchange early so that the little ones can be home on Christmas morning.<\/p>\n

Not all of my Christmases have been merry.\u00a0 My mother died on Dec. 18, 1952.\u00a0 It was a time of grief.\u00a0 I do not remember if there was a Christmas tree in our house that year. \u00a0My Dad said that mother would have wanted us to have a normal Christmas for their two young grandchildren. \u00a0We had our Christmas at my brother\u2019s house, and we enjoyed the excitement of the little ones.\u00a0 It was a bittersweet Christmas. \u00a0On this December 18th<\/sup>, 64 years later, three of my parents\u2019 grandchildren, three great-grand children, and six great-great grandchildren will be among family members as we gather for our special time together.<\/p>\n

I learned early that the real \u201creason for the season\u201d was not gifts\u00a0or Santa Claus. \u00a0It is the significance of the season that is our real joy.<\/p>\n

<\/strong><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Picture Key:<\/em><\/p>\n

Children & Christmas fireplace; Mar Jon candles from The Candle Factory, Georgetown, TX; cookie castle; old books; my first camera; toy glass pitcher and glasses; little Dutch boy; Kevin, Charles; Cynthia; 1931 Model A-400.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

When I was young, the excitement of the Christmas season usually started with a tree being brought into the house to be decorated.  In rural areas the tree was often a cedar tree cut on a family’s personal property.  City folks bought their trees from Christmas tree lots which sprang up around town.  Lights were […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[197,198,196],"class_list":["post-691","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-other-things","tag-christmas-decorations","tag-christmas-gifts","tag-christmas-traditions"],"yoast_head":"\nMERRY CHRISTMASES - Loose Strings From The Past<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Christmas traditions, decorations, and gifts of family.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/loosestringsfromthepast.com\/?p=691\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"MERRY CHRISTMASES - 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