New Years Eve

Growing up New Years Eve was boring but after I met Ray it was fun. However our children thought it was still boring so we changed it and made 12 noon New Year. Just at 12 we shot poppers into the air and yelled Happy New Year. Now we found our grandchildren liked it so we continued it and then we wold go in and have a ham for lunch. Now I think they prefer pizza.I like them both. We had a neighbor that shot off a gun and I thought was dangerous and still do. After lunch we took down our snowmen in the front yard and the lights off the house and undecorated the tree. That night we drove through Shawnee Mission Park and they must have burned the trees we brought with us but I may have that wrong as my memory has too many things in it these days. I have an artificial tree now and it is three parts and goes into a plastic bag for another Christmas. We start our New Years resolutions that we keep about 24 hours and look toward the next holiday Valentines Day.

Merry Christmas

It s a lovely sunshiny day. I know snow is pretty but it is kind of a bother on Christmas Day. I can remember a few snowy Christmases and I prefer sunshine. I hope you all made it to church and missed the many Christmas stories on TV. I hope your Christmas is Merry and I will let you relax while I think of another blog to enlighten you on my feelings of the world around me. Merry Christmas.

Snowmen

One August in 1951 I was reading a magazine and it told me how to design and cut snowmen out of wood for Christmas. My brother in law Roy helped me. We We added Cindy and Scott, a cat and a dog. When we had a daughter in law we added her but that did not last and her snowman is lying on the floor of the attic. Cindy's snowman was taken once and we found it in the ditch a block away. As the years past we added lights on the eaves of the house but it has pretty well stayed the same. Our granddaughter Hayden has repainted them once and they could use another coat now.

Christmas gifts

One Christmas our local grocery store offered some large toys for Christmas. Our youngest soon, Scott, fell in love with a toy cannon. He would go along to the store just so he could see that wonderful toy which was over the cashier. Our two oldest daughters liked the large dolls and we bought the toys. When we moved to Kansas City our dining room and living room were one large room and our table was on the north end of the room. We all sat at the table eating our breakfast. Scott just could not wait and with his older brother, Steve's help he loaded his plastic cannon ball. It shot across the room in a lovely arc and landed in his grandfather's cereal.

Decorating the tree

We have always had fun decorating the tree and then a glass of egg nog. Now I have an artificial tree but we use to have live ones. One year when all five children were helping and Sally was on the kitchen ladder she decided to step back and admire the tree and fell. She was not hurt but it cured her of doing it again, The tinsel was in little masses as no one singled it out and threw one at a time. The tree was in the middle of the living room at first and then we got grandchildren and put it in the middle of the front window. We had a Golden Retriever and he knocked it down so we put wires and wired it to the two small front windows. It was a fun time. Now my granddaughters and their mothers decorate it for me. I use to put stuffed animals under the tree but that is a lost cause with Buster liking to taste everything. I have my lights on the house and hedge. No snowmen anymore as they have retireed to sleep in the attic.

Another Christmas Eve

When our oldest son went to Sunday School in Topeka one Christmas Eve they gave him something to read on Christmas Eve. In Kansas City we would gather all the candles in the house and light them on the card table. When Ray worked at the Kansas City Times they got four holidays a year and Ray always took Christmas Eve as one, We did this every year as we added a few children and some grandchildren. The church has some kind of a musical put on by adults and one year they decided to use a real baby as Jesus and Hayden who had been born in September was chosen. Our minister commented he never knew Jesus was a girl. After that year we always went to church on Christmas ve. The program was turned over to the Youth director and we had many Marys, Josephs, wisemen, shepherds but I think Hayden was the only baby. Isn't is nice for the church to know that their children choir director was one Jesus. When Morgan was Mary the angel standing beside her fainted. One year they tried a lie Christmas scene with real sheep and I was in it along with all my female descendants. I like the one in the church better. Sometimes Prairie Village is very cold in December and being inside is nicer.

The Fairy Princess

Yesterday I had a visit from the Fairy Princess. I bet you did not know they made house visit. This year I have a pretty granddaughter being the Fairy Princess at the Kansas City Muesum and she came by to bring me some milk and eggs. Back in the 1940s the Shawnee school board said Nieman Grade School could not have Santa Claus. I know Ray was not on the school Board at that time as he would never have voted against Santa. We had many pretty mothers and asked one to be the Fairy Princess. She was very pretty and had five children some of which were in Nieman and she went to all the rooms handing out candy even her own children as they liked thinking their Mother was a Fairy Princess, Santa never came back and I think the room mothers just did it from then on but it was nice one year.

Christmas 1960

It was one of the last years that Kansas City had a strong Christmas. The streets were lined with festive lighted garlands and the Crowns were there. The crowns have moved to North Kansas City. Our kids were between 3 and 12, They were dressed in their Sunday best. We met Ray for his 2 and half dinner hour. We had supper at the Forumn Cafeteria. Then we started our walking tour. We stopped first at Jones the corner of 12th and Main. They had a train carrying children and adults through Snowmen, frolicking elves, reindeer and other Christmas things. Then to Klines to visit the Fairy Princess, a beautiful young girl dressed in a gorgeous gown and holding a wand. For a quarter the children lined up and waved her magic wand. The got a coloring book, crayons and a tin whistle. From there we went to Emery Bird Thayers to view the inflated figures of Mr. and Mrs. Santa. They shook and laughed. They have lost Mrs. Santa Claus but mister is at Crown Center. We looked in Harzfields windows to see the antics and a woman steeped up beside us and asked if she could give the children a box of candy. The kids wanted it immediately but we told them we had to check it out first. The Fairy Princess is now at the Kansas City Museum and this year my granddaughter Frances is one of the Princesses. I think that was the last year Kansas City had a strong downtown Christmas

Christmas socks

I have knitted many Christmas socks to hang up on Christmas Eve with the name and year of birth of the owner. I have knitted a few dogs and cats also. During War 2 My sister Helen and I knitted six or was eight feet Kakai mufflers for the soldiers and I found I liked to knit so I knitted scarfs for my children, baby booties. and ect and My older sister Ethel sent me a pattern to knit Christmas socks. My first efforts were bad but I got better and met many people I would not have met if I had not knitted socks for them. I was always interested in the people I knitted socks for and I remember one child even put his sock on one leg and his sister's sock on the other. I do not seem to be able to knit them now and except for not walking knitting is the only thing I really miss. I had one woman I did not know ask me to knit socks for her two grandchildren as she had Cancer and was not expected to live very long and she wanted them to remember her every Christmas. I had one family whose baby died and they wanted a sock so the would not ever forget the child. I had on who was murdered but not over the sock, I have had their pictures on the cover of a magazine. I have knitted another set when the family got a divorce and have knitted three dogs and a few cats. I have seen some much more beautiful but I liked mine and did almost 2000. I have a daughter who knits them now and she is a better knitter. I have many nice thoughts at Christmas for those I have knitted socks for.

Christmas

In the house I grew up in my mother did not like to waste beautiful paper wrapping gifts and thought brown sacks were good and ust write the name on the outside. We did not get fancy paper until my brother went with the girl he later married and she wrapped gifts so beautiful you almost did not want to open them. The gifts always had lovely useless things in them which I loved. The gifts in the brown sacks were from my parents and were things like new underwear and socks. At Christmas we had a chair by the tree and your gifts were laid on your chair. My chair was my desk chair. We were not disappointed for we thought that what every kid got. Later with our kids we let them pick a color and their gifts were wrapped in that color of tissue paper. You generally got a new doll and that was not wrapped and if you got a bike it was not wrapped. Mother did not like the tree to be up long and took it down immeditately. My in laws left the tree up until New Years. Except for the Christmas I dropped my china doll and broke her head it was all good. My sister, Helen laid her doll in the window one Christmas and it fell out when the screen got lose and ruined her new doll.
the package. I loved knitting Christmas socks for people and knitted over 2000. That is another story.

Christmas cards

I love getting Christmas cards and enjoy sending them and seeing who is still alive and letting people know I am. I especially like picture cards and after Ray and I had children we sent a picture of them and now we still include them and their children. We had a photographer from the Star ring our doorbell one night and say he was here to take the family picture because we did not know how so we had our first good picture and he continued to do it until he left the Kansas City Star. I have already received three cards so the season has started. I have the picture taken last May when my two grand daughters,Frances and Kelly graduated from KU. Now these two granddaughters one is in China teaching English and one is at the Kansas City Museum being the Fairy Princess. The Fairy Princess I will see at Christmas but China it will be a couple of years. I let each family write their own paragraph about their group and I add my eventful year, We are going to end the year with my granddaughter, Morgan's wedding to John. I will look forward to seeing how others have enjoyed the year as much as I have.

Disappearing angel

I wrote this when I was in college."Just a moment I will call her" Helen said. "Sue you are in for it Mrs. Blair called. Susan Jane uncurled herself and went to the phone, "Hello" "Yes. I'll be there. Thanks for calling Goodbye. Sue you have not actually accepted, Yes I;m going to be the main angel. When is it? Christmas Eve. There is a dance that night and you have already accepted to go with Bill. I explained it is something I never understood before and now I am going to do my part to make the world a better place to live in. Helen said but how can being an angel make the world better? Helen if ever the world needed Christmas Spirit and I aim to give them a performance that will inspire them. At church at the back of the choir loft had been hung a dark blue curtain. Around the stage were live Christmas trees. The stage had been lengthen with boards on saw horses. The program had small children singing. There were two more scenes and then the angels. Susan Jane walked to the center and told the Christmas story. As she finished she stepped back and disappeared. After the performance Peter went looking for Susan. He could not find her but found Mary Ann. He told Mary Ann that scene was wonderful but Susan disappearing was perfect. Mary Ann said the disappearing act was wonderful. Mary Ann said "They did not fix the boards correctly and where she was suppose to stand they seperated and she fell thru but stood up so the other angels could walk across her back. Susan Jane turned up about then and said she was just doing her part

Santa Claus 2

My husband Ray loved costumes. His two favorites were a Clown and Santa Claus. When we were dating one Halloween he rented 2 costumes==cowboy and cowgirl. He won first prize and I Fourth. He received %2,00 and I a quarter, I did not want to use my own name and used my friend Margaret. She made me share my quarter. After we were married he wanted Santa Claus outfit and none were available as the war was just over. A friend of mine mother were offering a sewing class across the street from my mother's house so enrolled and made Ray a costume. I know the first year he used it for my niece Jean. From that he branched out. I know he wore to the Junior Chamber of Commerce luncheon. He loved to wear it and we kept adding until he was pretty good. After we had children he was reluctant to wear it around them, One year he was Santa at our Shawnee Theater and Sally came back to the car and the costume was there. It finally wore out and I made him another. After Cindy was married she gave a cookie party and he attended. I generally drove him everywhere. I think Scott has it now in Lawrence. They have a party at the Lawrence City library.The clown costume was generally worn at grandchildren;s birthday parties wjere I wore one also and we ran the games.

Christmas Memory 1

After World War 2 and the country was trying to regain things the government had in the schools for neighbors things like sewing classes. The Junior High across the street from where my mother lived in Topeka offered sewing. I signed up and made a little coat for my son Steve and then my husband wanted me to make him a Santa Claus Suit. Under Mrs. Dove's guidance I tried and he was aatisfied and wore it at events for it twice , Once riding in a convertible through our own area giving out candy and once to a theater production they attended in the City of Shawnee, My daughter Cindy would have a Christmas party at her house for friends children and he would wear it. He loved to wear it and finally wore it out and I had to make another. I think after he was not able to be Santa the suit went to Lawrence, Kansas and our youngest son, Scott wore it on occasion. My husband loved costumes and I also made him and I clown suits we wore to Grandchildren's parties and ran the games. I still have them in a closet somewhere.