Vance,
my dad, was a master at fashioning wreaths and swags with evergreen boughs, and the
family at the farm enjoyed receiving his handiwork, though often it arrived
late, it seems to me. Besides the evergreens, the box would include beautiful
holly, candles, and wrapped gifts. The images of candles and greens made for lovely card illustrations.
Your
box came. I gathered them all around and all enjoyed the beautifully
wrapped gifts and the verses on them. The holly decorations were so lovely,
too. Shirley and Henry immediately began to further embellish the house with
them. They took down the big etching over the mantel and hung the large cluster
you made there and used the silvered branches over the other two. What a lot of
time you must have spent on them and how beautiful they are. We reserved some
and the ball sprays for our Sunday dinner decorations. We made a lovely
centerpiece of holly and the sprays and candles and dined in state with the
best cloth, dishes, etc., all by candle light.
Memories of your house at Christmas are dear to my heart. I remember the outside decorations, especially the ones on the ends of the second floor. A musical note is one that I recall vividly. And of course the tree. Always amazing!!! So huge and beautiful. Yes, your parents were on the same page when it came to Christmas decorating and I loved it all.
ReplyDeleteAnd doesn't Aunt Chris' comment just say it all? Decorating during this dark season is the gift we give to friends and strangers alike.
ReplyDeleteI feel that way, too -- that the lights are a gift to the community. I wonder if everyone thinks that way, though, because sometimes the grumpiest people put out a lot of lights.
ReplyDeleteI think we had two music notes. Daddy cut them out of plywood and strung them with lights. Then Mother hung them inside the windows in the upstairs hallway.