December 1941

Let's get personal this Christmas

MORNING after Christmas Day, 1940, just as we were attacking the jungle of mail on our desk with a paper knife, the phone rang. "Long distance call," announced our operator, adding incredulously: "Says he's Santa Claus."

Christmas FESTIVAL OF THE HOME

IT IS said that no two persons ever see the same rainbow. Perhaps it is a truth of this sort which causes great and good things to appear in as many aspects as there are points of view. Christmas, for example, means many things: to some, it is a time of commercial harvest; to others, a time for feasting; to many, a time for good will and bringing happiness to children thru gifts; and to a host, it is a holy day of gratitude to God for the gift of a Savior.

Traditions That Warm Our Christmas Hearth

CHRISTMAS in our house, thru good times and bad, has always been the highlight of our year. Out of the attic come our little gilt angels, not so gilt as they were eight years ago when we lifted them out of their box fresh and new; but each year a little more beautiful and holy than the year before.

DOLLAR SAVERS

Family Tames to Give

Cheerio, folks. What's on your mind? Christmas presents-- games that'll be fun for the whole family.

Scrapbook of Fireplaces

It's the Gypsy in Them!

THREE families widely separated on the map-- the Charles H. Bears in Roanoke, Virginia; the Herbert D. Schmidts in a suburb of Detroit, Michigan; and the E. F. Jepsens in Omaha, Nebraska-- had the same idea when they built their homes. Each wanted a small house packed with everyday comfort and convenience. But each house had to ramble a bit, like a gypsy.

Gardening FOR THE Indoor GARDENER

HERE'S a page that'll help you eliminate that eyebrow-raising, head-scratching, pencil-chewing problem of gifts. We believe in a famed decorator's statement, "A room remains a nonentity until the decorative accessories are added." To this we add: "No room is complete without the decorative touch of flowers or living greens, and so we've found interesting things for you to put them in.

Bedeck Your Home Here Comes Christmas!

Hang a Stocking for Your Home!

RIGHT alongside your Christmas stocking-- and Dad's and those for the small fry-- do hang a whopping big sock for Santa to fill for that most precious spot in the whole world these days-- your home! Start now to help the old boy shop for it thoughtfully and lovingly. Gifts of lasting beauty, like these we've assembled and others they'll inspire, will make this Yuletide remembered long after the turkey and tinsel have disappeared.

BETTER FURNISHINGS & DECORATING DEPARTMENT

Prescription for family living

Here's an Idea!

What Dad Does Want and Doesn't Want From Santa

Cheerio for your table

FOODS are loads more exciting at Christmas time! Maybe it's the friends and family who rally round to share them with us... or that contagious tingle of carols and greetings and secrets that lilts thru the holidays... or today's happiness and yesteryear's memories all mixed up and tied with a big red bow.

OUT OF THE OVEN FOR CHRISTMAS

ANY time of year good food deserves a good oven. But come Christmas holidays-- and I fall in love all over again with today's whopping big range ovens with their up-to-date talents! For now's the time I gird on my apron and dive joyously into a cooking spree. From fruitcake all prettied up for giving, thru roasts far too important to my budget to be fooled with, to cookies that must be all browned to perfection, thru mince pies baked several at a go, on to Mr. Turkey himself, all plump, tender, and juice-popping-- my oven's my right-hand man.

Lasting Gifts that work for their Keep

I To make toast soft, medium, or crisp clear thru, and of the exact shade of brownness you like, turn twin dials of this automatic pop-up toaster. Plastic storage lid, inverted as shown, becomes a 7-slice toast rack; $16. Westing-house Electric & Mfg. Co., Mansfield, Ohio.

Royal Plum Pudding

PAGING J. Horner and his thumb! Cooks' Contest winner this month would be just to his liking. It's Royal Plum Pudding, a grand old-timer chock-full of yummy fruits, nuts, and spices, which wins for Mrs. W. C. Lundgren, Oakland, California, $5 top place in our Christmas Candies and Desserts competition announced last May. See it on page 47 in all its glory.

Choice Ideas for Wrapping Gifts

Now it's easy to keep that "Please don't open!" trust, for the outside vies with the gift! We're bombarded with novel and unique ideas for gift-wrapping. Here are dandies from Better Homes & Gardens families:

Our Vest-Pocket Home

THERE'S many a crackpot comes to an architect with a doubly crackpot scheme for a new home. "Give me this," he'll say, "and give me that. I won't pay over umpty-ump dollars, but I demand gold-plated doorknobs, a quartz bathtub, and closets lined with mothproof silk."

A Cedar Chest

"BRR-- how about another blanket, Mom?" It's open season for bed shivers these nights when the mercury suddenly nose-dives, then zooms again next day.

We Parents

A MAN I know spent the Christmas of 1939 in a tent on the Finnish front. It was bitterly cold, and the enemy was bombarding and attacking ceaselessly to show his contempt for the day which he knew meant much to the Finns. But in the middle of the tent stood a Christmas tree, bright with decorations the soldiers had made. In such moments as they could snatch, the men gathered about it, sang carols, and contrived to find a bit of Christmas cheer.

Sources OF Accessories

Carolers: May be obtained ready-made or materials and instructions for making from Dennison's, Chicago, Illinois. (Page 25, picture 2.)

A GIFT SUGGESTION

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THE MAN NEXT DOOR

A man isn't really a veteran husband until, when prowling around the kitchen trying to wipe some jam off his fingers, he can distinguish between the dish towels and the hand towels.

CHRISTMAS IN THE Linen Closet

IT'S a bet that if you could get your family, in-laws, and bosom friends to give you honest "wishing lists" this. Christmas, you'd find on them the makings of a gloriously stocked linen closet. So it's an idea! Sleuth out their color schemes. Ferret out their needs and yens if you can-- but subtly.

The Diary OF a PLAIN DIRT GARDENER

Be it known hereby to all and sundry that I am getting old enough to be sot in my ways. But I have a hard time being that way around this house. Now, I always want the same breakfast. I want fried ham and scrambled eggs. Eating 'em gives me my vitamins and gets rid of dandruff in my hair.

The QUESTION Before the House

Concrete contains alkali. Most paints contain oil. Alkalies and oil in the presence of water saponify, causing the paint to dust, chip, or peel off. (Called "blooming.") The paint most likely to stick to a concrete floor is one having no oil in it, that is unaffected by water or alkalies.

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IT'S NEWS TO ME!