What Is The Most Exciting Feature Of Christmas?

Dominion, Volume 27, Issue 70, 15 December 1933, Page 3 (Supplement)

What Is The Most Exciting Feature Of Christmas?

PRESENT GIVING, AND ITS BLESSINGS

(By

“Paterfamilias.”}

IF a vote were taken as to which is the most exciting feature of Christmas, the majority of votes, 1 imagine, would be cast for the Christmas post Until one becomes a taxpayer and ratepayer, every post is good, but in Christmas week it is more than good; at this season the postman is a potential fulfiller of our wildest hopes and dreams.

The sight of the Christmas postman T makes a child an ardent believer in ■' miracles. The postman is the sort 1 of person who might bring the most r wonderful present from almost anybody. A child may hlready have had cards and gifts from all his known friends or relations; but even then there is a remote chance that the postman may bring the best present of all . from someone who has been unaccountably forgotten.

Now, there are few pleasures to equal that of receiving presents. There are some warm-hearted people of the Cheeryble type who take even more ; pleasure in giving them; but I con- >■ fess my own attitude to presents rei. mains that of a greedy child. I feel ’. the world is a better place if somebody 1; gives me so much as a bookmarker. Li know I shall never use the bookj! i marker, but that does not detract from j? the delight of being given something. I do not think I have Over used a pen- ■ wiper, but I should once have looked G on a penwiper with loving eyes if I had found _one in my Christmas stocking. The best thing about getting preseats is that it makes one unselfish. Even as one unties the parcel, there is a warm glow of kindliness towards I’'the human race in one’s breast. One ■ thinks better of one’s fellow-men. One 3 begins to wish that one had bought f some presents oneself to give in return. : One feels, in other words,, thoroughly charitable.

As it is highly, important to bring children up to be unselfish, it is clear that we ought to give them as many i presents as possible. Almost any present will serve. There are children of large ideas who will put up with / nothing short of a costly model railway; bub you have only to watch an ordinary child's face as it is given some trifle off a Christmas-tree, or as it fishes out one by one the odds and •* ends in its Christmas stocking, to * realise that no offering is too small to be gratefully and excitedly received. What the child likes to feel is that Nature herself has become bountiful and has begun to rain presents, ranging from a rocking-horse to a tangerine orange. And it is not. enough for it to receive presents from its own household; it likes to feel that the whole world has entered into a conspiracy of giving,, and that benefac- , tions may flow to it out of the unknown. Hence its passionate love, ' not only for the postman, but for ■Father. Christmas. I do not know whether the new educationists approve of preserving the ancient fiction of Father Christmas; but at least he is the symbol of a beneficence ruling the whole world, if only for a single, night. There are said to be children who do not believe in him, and who pretend to do so only in order to make their parents happy. ■ Scepticism of tills sort, however, is rapidly dying out. For myself, I believe in the preserva- ■ cion of all the customs associated with Christmas. Dietetic specialists may tell us that a mixture of turkey and pluin pudding and mince pies is food for ft would-be suicide. My own only ■ complaint of this dietary is that the list of eatables is not long enough. At the best Christmas dinner to which I ever sat down, there were both a turkey and a goose on the table and an enormous round of spiced beef on the sideboard. Enough, some economist has said, is as good as a feast, This may be true for valetudinarians, but ihe rest of us prefer a feast. i' You may say that this is greedy, but X contend that, like receiving presents,

eating makes us unselfish. If you want to see a group of incredibly un-selfish-looking human beings you have only to go into a dining-room on Christmas Day in which old and young are seated round a table laden with enough food to overfeed a family of lions. Benevolence is written on every countenance. No one displays a shade of ill-temper even if the child-

ren begin to fill the air with the 'most ear-torturing sounds from trumpets and whistles found in Christmas crackers. Sitting at a meal consisting of poached eggs on toast, one would feel bitterly rewards children who created such a din. Faced with the excess of food on the Christmas table, however, one can work up a kindly smile even for a friend’s particularly horrid little nephew who is turning one’s home into a Gehenna. Hence the desire for superabundance

of food cannot be so reprehensible as is sometimes thought. In its way, it is an expression of faith in the universe. • Nature is obviously abundant, and we realise this during one meal ou Christmas Day. For the rest of

the year, we live as though Nature were a niggard, though, so far as I can see, science has now put it into our power to provide feasts for every family on tihe planet. It is devoutly to be wished that Father Christmas., among his many gifts, would give each of those grownup children, the world's statesmen, a copy of a magical plan for doing this. Meanwhile, how pleasant—for those

who have them—are the turkey and the plum-pudding and the mince-pies and the' presents and the holly and the mistletoe. .But the pleasure .should be spread. And here are a few ideas for those Who wish to make the gift not only

exciting, but appropriate:— Hobbies for Gifts: Small portable typewriter, box of really good watercolours, box of best drawing pencils, pocket chess board, plasticine, rare book beautifully bound, loose-leaf notebook, set of garden tools, gathering basket, flower scissors, piece of collectable china, foreign stamps, antique candlcsnuffers, tennis racquet, box tennis balls, outboard motor, Rogeta’s “Thesarus,” etymological dictionary, rhyming dictionary.

Gifts not Merely Material: A trip somewhere, order on florist for monthly or weekly flowers, card for beauty treatment at a favourite specialist’s, perma nent wave, term of danc-

ing lessons, course of golf lessons. For the Day You Stay at Home: Woolly warm negligee, silk bed-jacket, playing cards, book of card games, reading table with adjustable section. For the Day You Go Out: Cretonne parasol, Japanese oiled pa per umbrella, gay porch awning, shopping bag. steel or let

spectacle case, opera glasses, fan, golf score, bathing-suit bag, riding crop, riding boots, pair of mocassins, rafiia or straw bag, steamer rug. For Beau Brummels: Tie press, trouser uress, portable eoat-hanger, golf socks, a'man’s shoe-polishing outfit, belt

buckle, sweater, brocade dressing-gown, pyjamas, evening muffler, pocket comb, shoe trees, watch chain, flat gold knife for evening wear, walking stick.

A Traveller Outward Bound: Small aromatic . salts, lavender water ia atomizer, set of shoe bags, toothbrush holder, folding drinking-cup in leather case, small square pincushion full of pins, leather case with folding coatluingers, small pocket magnifying glass, folding bedroom-slippers, wool scarf, large but light weight, air pillow, pocket compass, fountain pen, pocket penknife, travelling clock, pocket flashlight, camera, folding umbrella, silk covers for suitcase-tray, dressing-bag. small sewing case, writing case, pocket dictionary—French and English, Italian and English, etc., flat clothes-brush in case, travelling mirror in case, tiny calendar, flat silver pencil for purse, collar box.

For People who Motor: Stop signal, car clock, ornamental radiator cap, auto repair kit, folding seat for car, picnic case with vacuum bottles, etc,, vacuum jar for foods and liquids, electric pipe and cigar lighter, automatic windshield wiper, food muff, robe, spare tyre, spotlight fox windshield, spark tester, tour book, running-board mat, leather cushion, driving gloves.

For Campers and Hikers: Camp knife, large flashlight, waterproof match-box. grate for outdoor cooking, long-handled toasting forks, folding table with pronged legs, sun glasses (dark or yellow ones), field glasses, pocket automatic lighter, aneroid barometer (giving elevations), a good book ou camping, cardigan jacket, microscope, individual salt cellars, wrist compass, sheath knife and case, fishing rod, trout flies, combined corkscrew aud bottle opener, knapsack, twin cooking pans, detachable handle,

The Housewife's Happiness: Coloured smock, egg slicer, set of different-sized scissors, set of fruit-knives with coloured handles, glass salad plates, pewter bowl and candlesticks, tea caddy, coloured damask tablecloth, small kitchen cabinet, pair of fine blankets., set of breakfast china, graduated copper saucepans, pewter pitcher, silver pitcher, stainless steel game set. knife sharpener, newest can opener, glass rolling pin, copper coffee urn or percolator, bronze vase.

In a Man’s World: Set of razors, bathroom scales, safety-razor sharpening device, bedroom clock with radium figures, gun-cleaning outfit, cigarette case, cigarette holder, cigarette box, brass barometer, accurate thermometer, humidor, good pipe.

To Ono Fond of the Sea and Ships: Etching of ship, ship book-ends, ship model,, binoculars, ship's lantern, ship’s clock, globe, compass, atlas, surf board, salt-water soap.

The Music Lover’s Holiday: Selection of phonograph records, a favourite opera score, rolls for the player piano, music case, miniature scores of favourite symphonies, music cabinet, book of piano duets.

Gratifying a Taste for Tools: Hand grindstone, set of four screwdrivers in ease, electric soldering iron, pocket tool cases, set of drawing instruments, set of curves for drawing, micrometer, slide rule, radio tool set.

For Growing-up Girls: Her own umbrella with initials, small suitcase, Chinese lacquer box, silver or gold thimble, sports tarn, shower cap, bath slippers, box of assorted coloured handkerchiefs, clock for dresser, set of toilet articles, spangled scarf, silver picture frame, swinging wooden frame, silver leather cardcase, brief case, manicure set, pair of sceilt bottles, gold pencil on ribbon, sealing.wax and seal, trinket box with small drawers, initial pins for monogram.

The Frivolous Girl: Ear-rings, pin for hat, beads, vanity box, evening comb, evening bandeau, fancy garters, lingerie, fancy bobbed-hair comb, slipper buckles, small evening bag, lingerie clasps, set of sachets, set of bracelets, electric curling iron, georgette evening handkerchief, artificial flower for coat, metal flower for evening dress, fancy box foi bath dusting powder, bath salts, flowered hatbox for closet, ring, eiderdown quilt, silk sweater, embroidered shawl, beaded bag, boudoir cushions, chiffon negligee, cretonne dress cover. ‘

And Her Sensible Sister: Tailored pocketbook, monogrammed handkerchiefs, bedside bookshelf, bedside lamp, covers for bureau drawers, box of coloured sewing silks, printed silk scarf, collar and cuff sets, dressing gown, pendant on coloured cord, electric hair-drier, leather memorandum book, desk calendar, coloured leather belt, fur neckpiece, desk pencil sharpener, gold initials for pocketbook, leather hatbox, bar pin, shoe box, cedar chest.

For a Good Child: Doll's tea set, magnet, laundry set, doll’s trunk, top, kimono, coloured cubes, stone building blocks, paper dolls, fur mittens, woolly cap and scarf, little gill’s purse, jumiungjack- tumble doll.