Christmas memories of my dad

 

 Today, July 8, is my dad's birthday.  He would be 101 years old if he was still in this life, but he passed away a few years back at 94.  In the photo above, he is the handsome gent at far right.  I have mentioned him many times in my Christmas memories, for he played a large part in all that went on in that jolly season.  But I thought I would do another short post about him, since this is his birthday.

My kids remember my dad at Christmas sitting in his recliner, and reading a newspaper, or a new book he'd received as a Christmas gift.  He didn't seem to enter into the excitement of gifts given and received, but was just a little removed from it.  

The above photo is from 1979 and he has obviously just laid aside his reading material (I think I can see a book in the chair beside him).  He wore glasses only for reading, so it's pretty clear that's what he had just been doing.

In my younger years, though, my dad took a pretty active part at Christmas.  He and my mother often worked on handmade gifts together, and one of the best-loved, and most-used gifts of my childhood was a little plywood room made especially for Barbie or Jill dolls.  They covered the walls with floral contact paper, put a carpet scrap on the floor, added trim pieces to the windows, and so on.   

I also remember how he used to cheerfully make rounds on Christmas Eve in the family station wagon, usually with one or two children in tow, to deliver homemade goodies to our neighbors.  I've shared countless times about my mother's fabulous kitchen gifts for neighbors and friends: Christmas cookies, cinnamon swirl bread, maple fudge, and more.  Of course I'm sure that my dad came into his fair share of samples of all these goodies!

For many years he patiently waited while my mother examined the Christmas trees he and my brother cut from our family's wooded property.  Often they didn't make the grade and it was back to the woods to try again!

I've written an entire post concerning my dad's red Christmas vest.   I'm sort of surprised he's not wearing it in the 1979 photo, but maybe it didn't fit at that point.  But that was always a festive touch that he usually made sure to add.  In the photo below he added another festive touch by placing a just-opened gift -- a handmade tea cozy -- on his head.  I promise he had had nothing stronger than coffee to drink when he did this!

And of course there was my dad's famed appetite for Christmas dinner at my grandmother's house.  All of my uncles (these would be my mother's brothers and brothers-in-law, most of whom shared my dad's sense of humor) teased him a good bit about how much he could eat.  It was a running joke that resulted one year in the Thanksgiving turkey being placed in front of him, not to carve, but as if it was just for him to eat.

Just a few Christmas memories of my wonderful dad.

Mrs. Santa's Recipes

 

 I grabbed a vintage international cookbook out of my stash to share with my daughter back in June (it had some Scandinavian recipes I thought she might like to try) and found something very unexpected tucked in the front of it.

I guess it had probably been a school project of mine way, way, back in the day.  It was three index cards stapled together, with the title "Mrs. Santa's Recipes".  I'm assuming it was a project that one of my teachers had us do during December, serving the dual purpose of practicing neat printing and creating a Christmas gift for our moms.  

 
As you see,  the first recipe was for Christmas Sand Tarts, which are actually a cutout sugar cookie flavored with cinnamon and nutmeg.  My mother didn't really make very many cutout cookies that I remember, and I don't recall her ever making these.  But I might try them!

The next recipe was for Spicy Punch, made with cranberry juice, whole spices,  plus citrus juices.  It can be served either hot or cold -- and I think the hot version would be quite delicious.

Lastly,  there's a recipe for Ice Cream Flowerpots.  Ice cream is served in paper cups and decorated with gumdrop leaves and flowers on lollipop stick stems.  This sounds like a fanciful treat straight out of a North Pole kitchen, for sure!

What do you think?  Would you try one of Mrs. Santa's special recipes?

 

A lovely vintage Christmas card ~ "Merry Christmas"

 

In scanning items to list in my Etsy shop, I came upon this beautiful vintage Christmas card and thought it would be perfect to share for Christmas in July.  It's probably from the late 1950s or the very early 1960s.  What a lovely classic look it has!

The creamy card stock has a slight moire effect.  The die-cut scalloped edge and gold trim give an elegant old-fashioned look.  At lower left is a pretty scene of snow-covered trees and homes, and a red covered bridge.  But it's the lantern at upper right that is the real star of this show.  It's an elegant brass lantern fitted out with a lighted red candle.  It's trimmed with a large red bow, lots of pine branches, red berries and green leaves, small red and green apples (or possibly they're ornaments, but the leaves look like apple leaves) and a couple of pine cones.  This is one of those nostalgic scenes that can almost move me to tears.

But there's more!  Inside the card, amid fancy swirling lines and a simple sketch of a lantern, is this lovely bit of verse:

"A lantern shining in the snowy eve,
Lighting the way to happiness and cheer ... "

 
Okay, if I thought my eyes were misty before, this one really did it.  I have tried to find the source of those beautiful words, but to no avail so far.  And if you know me very well, you know that I also love the idea of being a light shining in a stormy place, lighting the way to true peace and joy with God.

To top it all off, when I saw the signature, this card had been sent by my Great-Uncle Jim and his wife Irene.  Although we saw Jim less frequently than some of the other great-uncles, he was easily our favorite and we all loved it when he dropped by our house for a visit.  On a few occasions we stopped in to visit him and Irene, and that was a delight as well.  I wish I had gotten to know them better, but as a child one isn't aware of the need for such things.  We just knew we loved them, and that they loved us.

Thanks for visiting my Christmas kitchen!

 

 I think I'll end this month as I began it -- with a Christmas card adapted by my grandmother for use as a Christmas kitchen gift tag.  What's especially fun is that since that earlier post, I've come across the actual card, so I can show you the inscription in her very own elegant handwriting.

And I had thought this was only the card front -- but no, it was the entire complete Christmas card, so I'm guessing perhaps she used this same card design for her tag more than one Christmastime.  I'm so glad to have found the complete card, for I love the message inside it:

Isn't that a sweet sentiment?  "Well-seasoned wishes"!  I love it!  

I hope you've enjoyed Christmas in July here in my kitchen.  It's been fun for me -- and it's also been very nice to think of snow and cold during what has been a hot, humid July here in New Hampshire.

I hope to post more regularly in the coming months, so I'll see you all again soon!

A lovely Christmas poem -- "Going Home"

 

Here is a lovely poem -- "Going Home", by LaVerne P. Larson.  I found it in a Christmas Ideals from 2000, but I believe the poem to be a vintage one.  

GOING HOME

I'm going home for Christmas,
To that lovely place aglow
With a special magic splendor
I have always treasured so.

I'm going home for Christmas,
Where love waits at the door
And my heart is ever welcome
To share happiness in store.

I'm going home for Christmas,
Across the sparkling snow
To hear stories, bells, and carols
And bask in candleglow.

I'm going home for Christmas
To help trim the Christmas tree
And give gifts to all my loved ones
Who mean so much to me.

I'm going home for Christmas
Because I love it there;
Its open arms envelop me
With blessings I may share.

-- LaVerne P. Larson

This just conjures for me a picture of my grandmother's farm and how so many of the aunts, uncles and cousins would come "home for Christmas".  It seems to me that this poem describes how we all felt about coming to the farm for Christmas.  If you would like, you can read about those midcentury memories here: Christmas on the Farm.  

How blessed I am to have such memories of Christmases past!

Aunt Mabel's pot holders

 

 My great-aunt Mabel had a wonderful idea that made bonus gifts out of scraps from other sewing projects.  She used to make flannel pajamas (maybe nightgowns for the girls, I'm not sure) for her grandchildren at Christmas time.  And then, from the flannel scraps plus other odds and ends for filling, she made sets of crazy-quilted pot holders to have on hand for small gifts.  Above you see a set of them.  I found maybe a half dozen sets of unused pot holders in my mother's linen closet.  What a find!

Here's another set:

And here is a very well-used pot holder which I finally brought myself to throw away:

 It helped to realize that I now have several unused sets to choose from!

She usually crazy-quilted the front of the holder and used a solid piece of flannel for the back.

Would you like to create some of these from your own flannel scraps?  I'm thinking that I would.  I found a great-looking tutorial here: Simple DIY Quilted Pot Holder from Scraps.

Happy sewing!

A few hours of Christmas crafting

 

Last Thursday my local daughter and I made plans for an afternoon of Christmas crafting.  Due to circumstances, it morphed into just a few hours, but we did have a lovely time.

We gathered our supplies and settled in at her dining area table.  We had two crafts in mind: paper bag snowflakes and Christmas tree tassel garlands.  Carrie had already made a couple of the brown paper snowflakes and I brought along some white lunch bags to try some white ones.

We had seen this delightful garland on our friend Allison's Instagram last year:

 And Carrie had learned that Allison used this tutorial: DIY Tassel Christmas Tree Garland from The Beetique.  So she had obtained yarn and beads and had cut squares of cardboard for winding the tassels.  It was a fun and easy project.  

Here is Carrie's garland, hung from the bottom of her printer's tray:

 And a closer look:

 And here is mine, hung over a curtain:

 You can see that they differ a little from one another.  And the only problem with my curtain location is that I will eventually want to make 3 more garlands for the other three windows.  But they're easy enough.

We never did get around to making the paper bag snowflakes, but those will be in season all winter, so there will still be time for that!

A faded Polaroid

 

 I've written before about the Methodist Church Christmas fair which was such a part of my childhood Christmas seasons.  It seemed to get our family into the Christmas spirit.

There was time for photo ops throughout the fair, when kids could have their Polaroid photo taken with various Christmas props.  The photo at the top of the post is one of these.  I've posted others in the past, but this is one I found more recently.  It's faded and scratched.  I'm not sure what story it tells.  

My brother Mike is on the left and my brother Tim is at the right.  In the middle is my cousin Diane.  I find it interesting that only Diane is looking at the camera.  Both boys look rather sad and although they are holding props -- Tim has a Santa doll and I'm thinking Mike is holding a book -- they don't seem to be paying attention.  I'll never know what thoughts were going through their heads, as both have left this life some years ago.  

It's a little slice of life in a faded Polaroid.  I wish I knew more about it.  Have you ever come across a mystery photo like this?

Christmas in the city

 

 I found this vintage Christmas card among paper treasures from my parents' home.  I'm thinking it's from the late 1950s or very early 1960s.  This was a card sent to my grandmother by her sister-in-law who lived in New York City.  I found it very interesting that Nellie would choose a card depicting the city rather than the typical countryside or forest Christmas images.  I think she had always lived in the city and considered it home, and so this scene would epitomize the Christmases she had known.  

Skaters are milling about on a frozen pond while skyscrapers loom in the background.  The scene is captured within a pretty evergreen wreath trimmed with pine cones and a bow made from real red satin ribbon.

I have a couple of other cards with city scenes, but none as nice as this one, which will eventually be listed for sale in my Etsy shop.

Hope you've enjoyed this vintage look at Christmas in the city!

A fun little gift from my faraway daughter

 

Yes, my lovely and dear daughter Joanna, far away in Nevada, surprised me with the sweetest little gift.  She had sent our wrapped Christmas gifts to our local daughter Carrie, to be opened there on Christmas Day.  But she left a few things unwrapped for both Carrie and me, so that we could have the fun of using them before Christmas.

The above mini ornaments are part of what she sent to me.  Look how cute: little tiny embroidery hoops!  Each is made to look as if it has a little embroidered design in the hoop.  It's hard to tell from the scan, but the background in each design actually looks like cloth, although of course it is not.  Aren't these the sweetest?  Now I want to enlarge that house design and stitch a larger version of it!

Thank you, JoJo!  You made my day!

Christmas cards for special people

 

Nowadays it doesn't seem as common -- but back in the day, there were Christmas cards for various people in one's life -- relatives especially, but also neighbors, friends -- and even people who had Christmas birthdays!  I thought it might be fun today to feature a few of those special cards, some of which have sold and others which are currently listed in my Etsy shop.  At the top of the post you see a lovely card for an aunt.

You could send your nephew a Santa's pack full of dimes!

For a Christmas birthday!

For a wonderful teacher.

 

For a swell boy

For nice neighbors ...

For a nice family ....

For Mother

Oh, the cards for little girls!  I believe the artist on these two may have been the inimitable Marjorie Cooper.

There's even a card for someone nice!

And two more for little girls.

I'm sure I have more, but here are just a few examples.  Hope you've enjoyed this look at some of the sweet and thoughtful Christmas cards from yesteryear!

A few photos from Friday

 

Yesterday we got together with four of our local grands for a fun day, much of it taking place right here at our house.  I'll only share a few photos now in the interest of having a December 11 post here in the Christmas kitchen, and will hope to write a more detailed post for Monday, likely on my Kitchen Table blog.

We ate breakfast together, which I failed to get any photos of.  Then the boys got the lights on the tree, and we spent the rest of the morning decorating, making fudge and candy, and working on a simple craft.

Ari stirring Rocky Road fudge

Julia preparing to place Rocky Road in the pan; Ari scraping a chocolaty saucepan

Josiah measuring sugar for Creamsicle fudge as Sam looks on

Oops!  No yellow food coloring, so we couldn't turn the Creamsicle fudge orange!  Green to the rescue; we'll pretend it's lime.

Julia, Ari and Josiah working on crafts

 It was certainly a festive mess around our house yesterday, but we all had a good time!

Around 1 pm we headed out for Kellerhaus, a favorite traditional Christmas destination of ours, for the ice cream buffet.  Photo is from a previous year, but it is no less magical today.

After getting home, we cut and packaged the fudge and other candy so they could take a good portion of it home.  While Mr. T and I worked at this, the kids finished up their craft projects.

And that was our Friday!  What a wonderful day it was!

December 27

 

Today is the birthday of my wonderful daughter in Nevada.  She's the fourth from the left, wearing pink, pictured here with four of her seven children. It really seems not all that long ago (though it's been over four decades) that I was expecting her.  The due date of December 11 came and went and I was very sure I'd end up spending Christmas in the hospital that year.  I was so thankful she waited until the 27th to make her appearance!

It was a bit of a challenge at first having a child with a birthday so close to Christmas.  Then we read a book that really helped us make her birthday more special.  In the book, the main character, Betsy, had a little sister, Star, whose birthday was on or around Christmas, I forget which.  Star always had her own special birthday tree.

So we began doing that for Joanna, as well.  Often she even helped to pick out the tree and help to cut it down.  It was often a smaller tree than our regular Christmas tree.  Joanna had her own special ornaments for that tree, and all of her birthday gifts were piled under it.  This eliminated the dreaded possibility of relatives making one gift do for both Christmas and birthday.  It worked out so well.

Joanna as a teen with her birthday tree

 Joanna has often had a birthday tree even after marrying and moving away.  Sometimes she and Clay traveled for Christmas, and the birthday tree has even been set up in hotel rooms at such times!

I will close with a prayer request for a dear man in Joanna's life -- her honorary dad, Jim, the father of her best friend.  He is in a hospital with covid pneumonia as I write.  If you think of it, prayers for his recovery would be much appreciated.  Thank you so much.

So thankful for this dear and godly woman who is my daughter!