All Sophie Got for Christmas Was this Dumb Box!

And she absolutely LOVED it!

Peace on Earth, Good Will Towards Men.

Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night!

Some Beautiful Victorian Santas

Vintage Glass Christmas Tree Ornaments

For those folks interested in collecting vintage Christmas tree ornaments, some of the most popular of all were the lightweight glass ornaments produced in and around Lauscha, Germany by glass blowers from the region in eastern Germany. This area is considered to be the birthplace of the Christmas tree ornament in general and the glass ornament in particular. This glassblowing center was established in 1590 in Lauscha by German Protestant glass blowers who settled there to escape religious persecution.There they created a lucrative industry in glassblowing toys and ornaments. In 1847 Hans Greiner began producing glass ornaments in the shape of fruits and nuts. The immense popularity in the U.S. of these fanciful glass ornaments was the result of the enterprising American businessman F.W. Woolworth who was surprised by their popularity. Between 1890 and 1909, the Woolworth company made $25 million on ornaments which cost the eager buyers ten cents or less.

The Magical Wonderland of Department Store Windows at Christmas Time

I love this old photo! I remember waiting expectantly back in the 1960's for the local department store to unveil it's annual Christmas store windows! My uncle was in charge of the design of the windows and  went to New York City every year to select that year's magical display. What fun that would have been to accompany him there! In this early 20th century holiday photo, it is interesting that most of the children with their faces pressed up against a window that is filled with dolls and doll furniture are boys! There are a couple of young girls there, probably about 12 years of age who were probably appreciating the toys; but the one little girl standing in the back would have been so enchanted to find some of those gifts under her Christmas tree.  She seems so timid and shy and very sweet! I hope she found the doll of her dreams that year!

The Frosted Pane by Evaleen Stein

      When I wakened, very early,
     All my window-pane was pearly
With a sparkling little picture traced in lines of shining white;
     Some magician with a gleaming
     Frosty brush, while I was dreaming,
Must have come and by the starlight worked through all the quiet night.

 
 He had painted frosty people,
     And a frosty church and steeple,
And a frosty bridge and river tumbling over frosty rocks;
     Frosty mountain peaks that glimmered,
     And fine frosty ferns that shimmered,
And a frosty little pasture full of frosty little flocks.

  
 It was all touched in so lightly
     And it glittered, oh, so whitely,
That I gazed and gazed in wonder at the lovely painted pane;
     Then the sun rose high and higher
     With his wand of golden fire
Till, alas, my picture vanished and I looked for it in vain!