BABY'S CHRISTMAS Card from Grammy and Granddady

BABY'S CHRISTMAS Card Part Two

BABY'S CHRISTMAS Card in Three Parts

CHRISTMAS: When you're FAR FROM HOME and NOT FORGOTTEN

They might be far away, but we should never forget them no matter if they're currently serving or served in the past.

Click on either image to see them larger.

Manufacturer was Illustrated Post Cards and Novelty Company. If you click here you'll be taken to a book called Cases Argued and Determined in the Supreme Court of Errors of the..., Volume 85 which lays out an interesting case brought by the company.

THE MOST BEAUTIFUL TREE in the world

When I was 5 or 6 my family went up to New York City at Christmas time. I believe my father was there on business. It was the 1950s and everything was magical. The store windows had elaborate decorations that enthralled me. But the best part of all of it was the tree at Rockefeller Center. It was huge and beautiful. The lights glittered amongst the falling snowflakes. A year or two later we moved to Hawaii so snow was just a memory, as was the enormous tree. But my folks bought me this book which I poured over, page by page, remembering my visit to New York. Somewhere along the line I lost my book, but a few years ago my best friend found me a copy and gifted it to me for my birthday. Seeing all the pictures again brought back happy memories of childhood Christmas.

The Most Beautiful Tree in the World by Leonard Weisgard. The story is about a family who live in a rural area whose tree is chosen to be the one at Rockefeller Center. Originally published in Family Circle Magazine in 1954 it was published in book form by Wonder Books in 1956. Unfortunately the illustrator is not listed. If anyone knows who the artist was please let me know.

UPDATE: "The illustrator is also Leonard Weisgard. Quite renown in children's literature." Thanks to "anonymous" for this update.

FAUX CHRISTMAS TREE, no candles allowed

This tree, from the 1960 Better Homes and Gardens Christmas Ideas magazine, always fascinated me. It was designed by Gerry Rosentsweig. Tissue paper on chicken wire with a flower pot base painted black. It stands 5 feet tall! Now, if you wanted to make this these days with the time constraints most of us face I'd recommend finding a kindergarten class that loves tissue paper and is adept at using scissors. Otherwise, scale it down! 

I've included the instructions for those thinking of what decorations they want in 2012 because you're going to need to start rolling those roses now! And if the instructions are simply too small for you to read let me know and I'll email you a copy. Unfortunately they did not include how to put the chicken wire together. I guess they figured the husbands would do it on the weekend.

Oh, and just in case for legal purposes this needs to be stated...no candles on the tree! And most likely if you get this thing wet it will stain your carpet.

But it's still fun! For people who love Christmas crafts this might be a nice retro challenge. For me...I'll stick with the picture and my imagination.