December 1954

Gifts for the man at home

Big ideas for a little room

DECEMBER GARDEN REMINDERS: Now's the time to...

Make list of Christmas gifts such as garden books, pruning tools, and power equipment that you can give gardeners on your Christmas list.

There's no unanswered prayer

"Somebody ought to write a Christmas story and call it When Miracles Don't Happen," a father said. "There must be millions of people like us who can't possibly give a child his heart's desire. What do you do when, instead of a Christmas bonus, there are unexpected medical expenses and night after night your son prays: 'God bless Mommy and Sister and the baby, and please fix it so Pop gets me that two-wheel bike'?"

Christmas is giving

5,000,000 Christmas trees!

In spite of what Grandpa, thinks he remembers, the Christmas tree occupying an end of your living room this season is thicker, straighter, and generally more beautiful than the trees he used to bring in from the woodlot, those wonderful Christmases long ago.

The holiday season is at-home time

At Christmas, traditions live again

This beautiful collection of Old World inspired decorations are brought to the altar of our American Christmas.

Little details can make a brighter yuletide

"It's mighty pretty"

A softer kind of hard sense

This is a soft, pleasant house-- a careful selection of things accepted and understood. It's built of simple materials put together in known ways and plainly left to show. Strong, straight lines that are honest, yet not cold or technical or rigid in style.

How to drive in ice and snow

Many nonprofessional drivers try to stay out of their cars on all but the finest days, when streets and roads are dry and clear. Yet, millions of men and women drive the year round for their living. They hardly give a second thought to the weather.

Merry Christmas tables

Look what a budget house can offer!

This is a low-cost house-- and yet one to be proud of! Five Star Home No. 2412 has three bedrooms and a relatively large area for family living in a compact 1,028 square feet.

Personal help in home building, remodeling, and decorating

When you're looking for ways to make your home more comfortable and attractive, look for this seal. It identifies the Better Homes & Gardens Home Planning Center, where you can get personal counsel on your home-planning problems

Reinforce it with metal

PHILLIPS'

How to make our cover decorations

NATIONAL

Small rooms can have drama, too

The diary of a Plain dirt gardener.

Dec. I As this day dawned, I found myself in a bed in a local hospital, where I've been getting; a checkup.

Make gift plants last longer

Bright gift plants can add a special festive touch to your home. They arrive from the florist's trained, well fed, pampered, and trimmed so you can enjoy them at the peak of perfection.

Winter care for young trees

What's ahead in GARDENING?

Tomorrow's lawns will be better-looking, easier to maintain, more adapatable to sun, shade, moisture, and drouth, thanks to current research.

Gift Shopping by Mail

THE MAN NEXT DOOR

Brought some mistletoe home, and Junior-- the rascal-- slipped a sprig of it into his mother's hair. She couldn't understand why the whole family was so demonstrative, until Junior finally laughed and gave it away. "Junior," she scolded with a reasonable facsimile of severity, "when are you going to grow up?" And I guess she figured that extra-big piece of pie à la mode that she gave him for dinner would help him.