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Project Discussions:  Have yourself a Merry Little Christmas!  |
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Killarney
True Blue Farmgirl
2114 Posts
Connie
Arlington
TN
USA
2114 Posts |
 Posted - Nov 30 2016 : 4:58:37 PM
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.jpg?v 58913299) Let's post Christmas Cards pics and Thanks here and memories if ok with everyone! I got started decorating, slower this year than any other in my life! Thank you Darlene for the beautiful Christmas card, I will get mine out to the Hen House next week!
.jpg?v 45256073) The Irwin company that made my Orange Tractor made these Santa and Reindeer form the 1940's -1960's..jpg?v 3020350) Santa and Snowman candy containers were made in Providence, Rhode Island in the 1940's by the E. Rosen Company We all remember these net stockings! most of us. some of you are too young!
Farmgirl Hugs! Connie
Imagine....#3392 |
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TexasGran
True Blue Farmgirl
5777 Posts
Marilyn
Stephenville
Texas
USA
5777 Posts |
Posted - Nov 30 2016 : 5:27:22 PM
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| I remember everything you have shown us. Brings back good, fun memories. I even see those tiny dolls in the stockings. |
Texasgran |
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quiltee
True Blue Farmgirl
4742 Posts
Linda
Terrell
TX
USA
4742 Posts |
Posted - Nov 30 2016 : 6:25:47 PM
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I love those stockings; I love all your old collections, Connie. You done good saving all that stuff. Brings back lots of meories.
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Linda B
quiltee
Farmgirl #1919
FGOTM for August, 2015 and April, 2017
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Edited by - quiltee on Nov 30 2016 6:26:18 PM |
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darlenelovesart
True Blue Farmgirl
6090 Posts
darlene
Loleta
California
USA
6090 Posts |
Posted - Nov 30 2016 : 8:35:06 PM
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Connie you have some of the neatest things, I love seeing them all.
Keep posting.
hugs |
Farmgirl # 4943
Don't worry about anything; instead, pray about everything.
Tell God what you need, and thank him for what he has done.
Philippians 4:6
Just follow God unquestioningly.
Because you love Him so, for if you trust His judgment there is nothing you need to know.
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ceridwen
True Blue Farmgirl
2087 Posts
Carole
Champlain
New York
USA
2087 Posts |
Posted - Dec 01 2016 : 06:22:30 AM
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| Connie, I love your pictures. They bring back memories. My maternal grandmother used to make a huge village under the Christmas tree. I loved that village. She was great with details! Such wonderful memories. |
Carole
Farmgirl Sister 3610 - Nov 7/2011
http://www.carolesquiltingetc.com
Insanity: Doing the same thing over & over again & expecting different results ~ Albert Einstein |
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levisgrammy
Scattered Prairie Hen Honcho
9580 Posts
Denise
Ohio
USA
9580 Posts |
Posted - Dec 01 2016 : 06:41:06 AM
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Connie, what fun Christmas items. I remember those net stockings.
My mom was funny, after we each got married and we would go home for Christmas mom would have men's socks hung up with a paper name tags pinned to each one. They were usually filled with fruit, nuts and candy with a small little package for each. Then she'd have us take them home and the guys would each get a pair of socks. Lol.
Carole, my mom was a detail person. We never saw anything, decor or tree or any of it until Christmas morning. She would be up most of the night getting things done. She loved Christmas.
We are rearranging furniture today to get the tree up tomorrow. We always put it up on my son's birthday. He is 28 years old and loves all the traditions we have made in our family. He likes to add little things to everyone's stockings. He makes Christmas breakfast for us.
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Denise~~
Sister #43
"I am a bookaholic with no desire to be cured."
"Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path"
Psalm 119:105
www.ladybugsandlilacs.blogspot.com
www.torisgram.etsy.com |
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ceridwen
True Blue Farmgirl
2087 Posts
Carole
Champlain
New York
USA
2087 Posts |
Posted - Dec 01 2016 : 06:58:25 AM
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Denise, what a great story. Thank you for sharing memories. Traditions are so important, they provide meaning and direction to our lives as well as bond us as a family, a community etc. I fear that today, many families have no traditions.
Being French Canadian our tradition was the "Reveillion de Nöel". We would gather at my maternal grandparents home around 11:00 pm. Leave to attend midnight mass (in Montreal Catholic churches at that time were close by) with the whole family (aunts, uncles, cousins). After mass we ate tradition holiday foods (turkey, tortière, ragout and lots of pies and sweet desserts) and later opened presents from our grandparents. We would be back home around 3:00 a.m. Head off to bed only to wake up a few hours later and see the presents under the tree from Santa.
We would do it again on News Years Eve! lol Yea, us French Canadians are party animals! LOL Oh, and we love to eat too!  |
Carole
Farmgirl Sister 3610 - Nov 7/2011
http://www.carolesquiltingetc.com
Insanity: Doing the same thing over & over again & expecting different results ~ Albert Einstein |
Edited by - ceridwen on Dec 01 2016 07:30:33 AM |
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levisgrammy
Scattered Prairie Hen Honcho
9580 Posts
Denise
Ohio
USA
9580 Posts |
Posted - Dec 01 2016 : 07:16:10 AM
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Carole, you are right. I think many things that keep families close are being tossed by the wayside or just not practiced anymore. I have been so happy to see my married children have incorporated some of our family traditions into their's. They use some of what their husbands grew up with and make some new ones.
It seemed when I was growing up we were always celebrating somewhere and tons of food was always included. My grandparents on mom's side came down on Christmas night and brought tons of food and gifts. Grandma was weird about kids being at her house. The gifts were usually thing she made. Outfits, toys etc. One year she made my sister a vanity and my twin cousins got a dollhouse and my brother got a little giraffe coat stand. All made by her.
Will Pumpkin have lots of time off to come home for holidays? |
Denise~~
Sister #43
"I am a bookaholic with no desire to be cured."
"Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path"
Psalm 119:105
www.ladybugsandlilacs.blogspot.com
www.torisgram.etsy.com |
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Killarney
True Blue Farmgirl
2114 Posts
Connie
Arlington
TN
USA
2114 Posts |
Posted - Dec 02 2016 : 09:35:32 AM
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Carole and Denise, wonderful memories! My Grandparents home was the gathering place, we would sometimes have 75 people when all the families could be there! Both my Grandparents passed away in 2005. It's rare our whole family gets together. Thanksgiving was the first time that over half of us gathered at my Aunt Anita's. Her kids from Colorado and Las vegas were there. it was a Joy!
My Granny did the village under the tree too. I displayed it for years, we all share it. My Aunt Judy has it now. I hope to get it back next year!
I have fond memories of these General Electric Ice Bulbs. There was a GE factory in Memphis for many years. My Mom's friend worked there and they got a huge discount. She gave my mom enough lights to cover the whole outside of her house and the Ice lights for the tree. I was about 8 yrs old. I found these on Ebay for Lily June's Puppy tree. She loves them, she names all the colors!
 
Connie
Imagine....#3392
FGOTM August 2014 |
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TexasGran
True Blue Farmgirl
5777 Posts
Marilyn
Stephenville
Texas
USA
5777 Posts |
Posted - Dec 02 2016 : 12:58:24 PM
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My memories of Christmas as a child are those beautiful dolls, mine was a skating doll and my sister got a nurse doll. My mother bought undressed dolls,socks and shoes. She made their clothing, hats, etc. The next year my sister wanted a little wardrobe/trunk for her dolls clothes. Mother got Apple crates from the grocer, took them apart, and cut them with a coping saw and built it. It had the drawer, hanging rack and tiny hangers. She covered it with oil cloth and tiny tacks. Cute just like the catalogue photos. My mother was talented, thrifty, and never let on that she was an elf.
As an adult my best Christmas memories are these: the year Baylee was two. She asked me, "Gwenny could you call Sente Kwas and tell him to bring me dis bebe?" She had an American Girl catalogue I had brought home from school. So on Christmas eve after the big announcement that Baylee would be a big sister in August, and could I please retire from teaching and keep them, there was a knock on the front door. (It was me, but I was fast and they never saw me.) When I came back into the living room, Baylee and her Bapa had opened the door and were opening and peeping into a big sack Santa had left...It had her name on it. It was funny because we had eight adults and Baylee, and no one knew where the bag came from but me. In her bag were many little boxes and of course Bitty Baby. She was delighted.
When she was 13 she asked for a phone. Her mom said No because it would make her bill higher. So Bapa and I went to ATT, got a phone, added her to our plan, I charged the phone, put it back in the box and wrapped it. Christmas eve came and she was handing out the gifts. Suddenly everyone was wondering whose phone was ringing. No one's phone...Then a very excited kid located the ringing box.
When they reached the age of wanting money...That has been fun too. First they were given a tissue box, decorated. But after a couple of tissues there were bills and gift cards taped in a long strip rolled up inside the tissue box. They were surprised. Next came New umbrellas. Hadlee said they had umbrellas already...but not special granny "brellas" , when they opened them, pennies, quarters, half dollars and some paper money was tied to the ribs with fishing line.
Each year it is fun to plan something to surprise them.
Christmas to me is LOVE. God, Jesus, family, friends, and even strangers...demonstrate more LOVE at Christmas than any other time of the year. |
Texasgran |
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Red Tractor Girl
True Blue Farmgirl
3529 Posts
Winnie
Gainesville
Fl
USA
3529 Posts |
Posted - Dec 02 2016 : 5:27:56 PM
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I am enjoying all of these family memories on this post. So many interesting stories and heirlooms that we still share with our families today. Christmas is the holiday with the most memories and nostalgia, I think.
Connie, it has been decades since I have seen those red mesh stockings!! Our scout troop used to fill several of them every year as one of our community giving projects. They bring back special memories of Christmas in the 1950s and early 1960s. I also remember that we had a few of those GE ice tree lights. I think we called them snow globes and had a couple for out tree. They were pretty fascinating with their glittery surfaces !
Carole, your French traditions sound lovely and delicious!! |
Winnie Nielsen #3109
Red Tractor Girl
Farm Girl of the Year 2014-2015 |
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Killarney
True Blue Farmgirl
2114 Posts
Connie
Arlington
TN
USA
2114 Posts |
Posted - Dec 03 2016 : 10:26:55 AM
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Winnie, I am sooooooooooo loving all the Pictures and stories!!
Marilyn, you need to write more books! I love the Tissues box idea!!
Connie
Imagine....#3392
FGOTM August 2014 |
Edited by - Killarney on Dec 03 2016 10:27:22 AM |
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ceridwen
True Blue Farmgirl
2087 Posts
Carole
Champlain
New York
USA
2087 Posts |
Posted - Dec 03 2016 : 10:33:38 AM
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I'm enjoying reading the stories. Thank you for sharing.
Denise, Pumpkin is coming home on Dec 19 and returning mid January. She is working this year at the ice rink for the hockey coach and is doing research with her biology professor. Busy little Pumpkin! Thanks for asking! |
Carole
Farmgirl Sister 3610 - Nov 7/2011
http://www.carolesquiltingetc.com
Insanity: Doing the same thing over & over again & expecting different results ~ Albert Einstein |
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Killarney
True Blue Farmgirl
2114 Posts
Connie
Arlington
TN
USA
2114 Posts |
Posted - Dec 03 2016 : 10:40:10 AM
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    What did you Wish For! I was about 7 when I figured out that the "Sears Wish Book" came in the mail after Halloween! I did not mind getting it last, there were 3 older children in the house. That way I got to keep it longer! When my Granny was looking for it, she knew who had it! LOL!
Hugs! Connie
Imagine....#3392
FGOTM August, 2014
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ceridwen
True Blue Farmgirl
2087 Posts
Carole
Champlain
New York
USA
2087 Posts |
Posted - Dec 03 2016 : 11:22:07 AM
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| Connie, that catalog brings back memories! Gosh, I would spend hours looking at the toy section! |
Carole
Farmgirl Sister 3610 - Nov 7/2011
http://www.carolesquiltingetc.com
Insanity: Doing the same thing over & over again & expecting different results ~ Albert Einstein |
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Killarney
True Blue Farmgirl
2114 Posts
Connie
Arlington
TN
USA
2114 Posts |
Posted - Dec 03 2016 : 11:56:58 AM
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Carole, that's what I do at night when I can't sleep! Get some warm milk and look at the Kitchen stuff and clothes, jewelry Pj's,but I mostly go to the toys! I never got a toy from the Sears Wish Book so it still holds that magic for me!! My neighbor and best friend, Carla,( we were 5 when we met) got everything she circled in the Wish Book so I got to play with her dolls and toys! She was a very sharing child!!
Farmgirl Hugs! Connie
Imagine....#3392
FGOTM,August,2014 |
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quiltee
True Blue Farmgirl
4742 Posts
Linda
Terrell
TX
USA
4742 Posts |
Posted - Dec 03 2016 : 6:03:03 PM
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| WOW! You have saved some of the best stuff! And if you saw the catalog, and I know you did because you HAVE the catalogs, why nothing from the toys in it? Was everything you got homemade? I remember looking at it and mom would tell us to circle what we wanted and put our name by it. When my son was little, the first year he circled so much, that the next year I asked him to just cross out what he didn't want. That worked better. LOL! |
Linda B
quiltee
Farmgirl #1919
FGOTM for August, 2015 and April, 2017
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Edited by - quiltee on Dec 03 2016 6:03:40 PM |
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Killarney
True Blue Farmgirl
2114 Posts
Connie
Arlington
TN
USA
2114 Posts |
Posted - Dec 03 2016 : 6:51:23 PM
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Linda, we were too poor to afford the Sears catalog! I circled it every year! but always got some little toy from Woolworths, which I loved! or clothes made by Great Aunt Mattie. My Grandparents had 3 kids and me. They were both raised on Farms. They did the best they could, by the time I was 12 we had more money, 2 of their kids were grown and married, but I was too old for toys! I don't have my Sears Wish Books. These 3 were gifts and one I bought at an antique store.
Connie
Imagine....#3392
FGOTM August, 2014 |
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Killarney
True Blue Farmgirl
2114 Posts
Connie
Arlington
TN
USA
2114 Posts |
Posted - Dec 03 2016 : 7:07:26 PM
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Linda, I wanted that Mary Poppins Doll every year soo bad!! I circled it and the easy bake oven every year, I never got one, I got a Suzy Homemaker oven in 4th grade, my Granny got it from a store here called Western Auto. That's all I got. We just got 1 thing each year.I was grateful, But I wanted an Easy bake Oven like my friend Carla had. Now, I think the Suzy Homemaker one was cuter, looks like a real oven. I have one in my kitchen I am saving for Lily June! It still works!
Now that I think about it, I don't know if my Granny ordered anything from the catalog most years, maybe it was her Wish Book too! She bought a lot of toys from the Grocery Store, they were cheap and a lot of people didn't live near big towns, so salesmen would leave toy displays and you had to order it from the grocery store manager. It was the Reading Toy Company, that later became Topper Toys in the 1970's.
Connie
Imagine....#3392 |
Edited by - Killarney on Dec 03 2016 7:11:13 PM |
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TexasGran
True Blue Farmgirl
5777 Posts
Marilyn
Stephenville
Texas
USA
5777 Posts |
Posted - Dec 03 2016 : 7:37:24 PM
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We were also poor. We had moved when I was six, then our home and rental property all burned to the ground, three years later. My parents had to start over, and it was hard. We girls wished for dolls from the catalogue. My brother wished for cap pistols, and a coon skin cap. Mother made everything she could and very carefully shopped for cap pistols, etc.
I remember so well as a sixth grader, I asked for a baseball glove, not for Christmas but in the spring. My mother said, " No,", not enough money. My daddy said, "yes"' They argued. My mother said she needed shoes. $3, if I got the glove, also $3 then she could not have shoes. She cried. Somehow daddy bought both, but the glove came first. But the bonding time with daddy was great. He oiled the glove and tied it up with a ball in it to shape it. Then he taught me to use it. I felt guilty forever...in fact I still do when I think about it. But I was finally allowed to be like the other kids, to join in because I had a glove too. I think growing up with little helps us appreciate the people and things in our lives. |
Texasgran |
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quiltee
True Blue Farmgirl
4742 Posts
Linda
Terrell
TX
USA
4742 Posts |
Posted - Dec 03 2016 : 9:39:18 PM
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We had western Auto stores, too. LOL! My mom usually ordered the Santa present from Sears or Montgomery Wards. Fortunately for us, my dad was an engineer and always worked, so we usually got 3 presents each for Christmas: one was from Santa, one was pajamas or other needed clothes or shoes, and the third was a small item. We also each had a stocking that had nuts, a tangerine, a Santa cookie, and a small toy. We lived in the suburbs - never out in the country or on a farm like many of you. My mother had several of her college friends who lived on farms and I loved going to visit them. I never knew I'd have acreage and an old farmhouse when I was over 60, but here I am.
Connie - did you ever get that Mary Poppins doll? I know my mother did look through the Wish Book for things she might need, too. It was a great Christmas catalog.
Marilyn - So sorry to hear of the fire when you were nine. I love the story of how you got your baseball glove.
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Linda B
quiltee
Farmgirl #1919
FGOTM for August, 2015 and April, 2017
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TexasGran
True Blue Farmgirl
5777 Posts
Marilyn
Stephenville
Texas
USA
5777 Posts |
Posted - Dec 04 2016 : 04:44:24 AM
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| Linda, your parents both went to college. Did your mom have a degree? My mother went to Mary Hardin Baylor then Tarleton. Only two years...but she had a teaching certificate. It was 1936, depression, teaching jobs went to mothers who had children to feed...not young, single girls. My daddy went to North Texas Demonstration High School, lived in the dorms. This was 1924, kids went to public school until age 14. His teachers wanted him to go to a Mensa school on the east coast, but his dad could not afford that, so NTDHS was the next best step. He stayed there through HS and two and a half years of college. When the depression hit, he had to leave. He worked on a pipeline and later the oilfield trying to survive. In different times and circumstances we might not have been so poor. He was studying law.The great depression changed lots of lives. |
Texasgran |
Edited by - TexasGran on Dec 04 2016 05:06:59 AM |
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Killarney
True Blue Farmgirl
2114 Posts
Connie
Arlington
TN
USA
2114 Posts |
Posted - Dec 04 2016 : 09:02:20 AM
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Linda, no I never got Mary Poppins! I saw her at The Southern Belle Doll and Toy Show back in the 1980's at the ridiculous price of $400.00. I was happy just to see her. That was long before Ebay and Esty and Social Media. That toy and doll show came to our Ag. center every few years and it was fun to go look, I never bought anything. I could have. Just enjoyed remembering! I could buy her now if I found her for a reasonable price, but I don't want her. She is a sweet memory of childhood for me, cause I never gave up hope and later I understood why I couldn't have her, when I knew Santa was not the one paying! LOL!!
Marilyn, you need to write a book about your life! I enjoy your posts, like reading novels! My grandparents lived thru the depression. My mom still has my Great-Grandmother's rations book for shoes!!!
Linda, I think that's why I saved all my Granny's things and my daughters toys because I knew how scarce things were growing up. I hate to throw anything away that has use. I did not become a hoarder, just always aware.
My grandparents gave us things money couldn't buy, like a great work ethic and took us to church, taught us to work for what you get, my paw always quoted, "if you don't work, you don't eat!"
Rex parents had more money than us, but he grew up kinda like me, so both of us always worked hard and saved. Now we own a house paid for, on 3 acres of woods and blessed with a Grandaughter that has brought us so much joy along with all the aches and pains! LOL!
Farmgirl Hugs! Connie
Imagine....#3392
FGOTM August 2014 |
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Killarney
True Blue Farmgirl
2114 Posts
Connie
Arlington
TN
USA
2114 Posts |
Posted - Dec 04 2016 : 09:14:28 AM
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Linda I forgot to tell you, my grandparents moved to Memphis from Heath Arkansas in 1957. It was a suburb kinda, still a lot of small farms, it use to be all farmland 97 acres and it was sold and divided. Homes started being built, and Memphis annexed it. Small world cause a lady I met on face book, lives in the old Farmhouse! Which surprised me, cause it is a bad area of town! It was very diverse, in the 1950'-60's, there were still small farms, dirt roads. International harvester built a plant there so the folks who had those jobs had more money. Firestone came in. When those both closed in the 1980's it killed the community! Like so many across the nation. My grandparents moved to Friendship, Tennessee, in 1972 where they lived on 5 acres, they only grew food, until 2005 when they both passed away.
Connie
Imagine....#3392 |
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Killarney
True Blue Farmgirl
2114 Posts
Connie
Arlington
TN
USA
2114 Posts |
Posted - Dec 04 2016 : 12:44:41 PM
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Remember, the Christmas Clubs at your bank? They stopped at our bank in the late 1980's. You could open a Christmas Club savings, it got more interest if you did not touch it from January until November. This is a fun one from 1950's from Conn.  This is my addition to my Ephemera collection this year. Good deal on Ebay only $8.00 and I would rather have vintage Santa than new!! LOL!
Farmgirl Hugs! Connie
Imagine....#3392
FROTM August 2014. |
Edited by - Killarney on Dec 04 2016 12:45:19 PM |
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Red Tractor Girl
True Blue Farmgirl
3529 Posts
Winnie
Gainesville
Fl
USA
3529 Posts |
Posted - Dec 05 2016 : 05:35:23 AM
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I brought out my Mom's old cotton batting Santas and my Grandmother's celluloid reindeer and created a village. I also have some of those old bottle christmas trees in green, red and white with snow on them. At the right of the scene is an old little church that was part of the family decorations from before I came along. Once it had little paper stain glass windows and there is a place in the back that a small light could be put in to make the church light up. I think these old houses were widely available at Woolworths and were not expensive. The Santas were pretty old and mom repainted them and added some new cotton.
Connie, I had a Christmas Club account every year. I think I put about 5-10cents a week and ended up with around 12-15 dollars. It seemed like so much money!! |
Winnie Nielsen #3109
Red Tractor Girl
Farm Girl of the Year 2014-2015 |
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Project Discussions: Have yourself a Merry Little Christmas! |
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Have yourself a Merry Little Christmas!
