The Gift I Didn't Get!

A Christmas Poem by Peter McArthur, 1904

I Have presents by the dozen,

Meant to make my Christmas glad.

From each uncle, aunt and cousin,

Best a fellow ever had.

There's a keepsake from my mother,

Father sent a check and yet,

I am thinking of another

Of the one I didn't get.

There are gifts from all the fellows,

Pipes and things a chum will send:

There's a tie, all reds and yellows,

From a girl who calls me friend.

You would think me far from sighted

If you saw them all and yet.

I confess, I'm most delighted

With the one I didn't get.

She told me it was ready,

She'd prepared it long before:

I'd been calling on her steady

For as least a year or more.

She told me all about it.

And her eyes with tears were wet.

And I'm happy, never doubt it,

For that gift I didn't get.

Her attitude was altered

When I called on her last night,

But my tale of love I faltered.

And I guess I did it right.

And this little rhyme is written

'Cause I'm full of joy--you bet!

For a frosty little mitten

Was the gift I didn't get.

How to Build a Barrel Stave for Winter Fun!

       It is not necessary to have a steel runnered sled to attain great coasting speed on a snowy hill. A bobsled can be built of an ordinary 2×12 inch plank and barrel staves which will pass anything on any hill, especially in deep snow. Besides the material just mentioned all that will be needed are a few pieces of 2×4 and a couple of carriage bolts.

       Saw a piece of 2 x 12 plank into a length of about 6 feet. If you cannot secure 2 x 12, two 2 x 8’s laid side by side will do the trick nicely and make a good stout body for the runners.

       Under the backbone of planks, cross members of 2 x 4’s are placed and spiked thoroughly as shown in the accompanying illustration. Two tiers of the two by fours will be required to lift the bob far enough above the ground to give good snow clearance. On the front cross beam the lower 2 x 4 is separated from the upper by a few washers, and is pivoted on a good 1/2 in. carriage bolt so that the runners will be able to turn when they are put on.

       Under the 2×4 cross members, fasten with spikes a piece of 2 x 8 plank. This is the final thickness of the cross members and is wider than the rest so that the runners will have bearing forwards and backwards. Saw out between the runners, which are of ordinary barrel staves, and the sled will be ready for use. A good scheme for finishing the sled to make it weather and ice proof is to paint it with boiled linseed oil, wiping the surplus off. The sled is then ready for use.

       The boiled oil, if generously applied to the runners, will make them especially tough and will most certainly increase the speed of the sled, as snow is wont to gather on the runners in weather which is this sled’s special forte; namely, light snows freshly fallen—just when the coasting fun is keenest!

The bobsled shown above, built of ordinary lumber and barrel staves, can outspeed the fleetest of stell runnered bobsleds in freshly fallen snow. Note the arrangement for steering the sled by pivoting the forward runners on a large carriage bolt.

Color this Christmas Angel and Include It in A Journal

Description of Coloring Page: This Christmas angel is framed by a boarder of holly berries and leaves. She has large wings and holds an ancient instrument in her hands. Click on the coloring page to download the largest version of this coloring page.  

       You can also print it as a cover of a book and include many of the Christmas hymns and poems posted on this blog. Give your book as a gift or keep it full of special Christmas memories. Take pictures of your family and friends to paste inside your book of holiday memories as well. This makes a special keepsake that you will enjoy sharing year after year.

Don't forget to drag the png. or jpg into a Word Document and enlarge the image as much as possible before printing it folks. If you have a question about this coloring page, just type into the comment box located directly below this post and I'll try to get back to you as soon as I can.

A beautiful sample art journal about "Journal Your Christmas"

The Colonial Christmases of Early Americans

       Christmas celebrations in New England were illegal during part of the 17th century, and were culturally taboo or rare in Puritan colonies from foundation until the 1850s. The Puritan community found no Scriptural justification for celebrating Christmas, and associated such celebrations with paganism and idolatry. The earliest years of the Plymouth Colony were troubled with non-Puritans attempting to make merry, and Governor William Bradford was forced to reprimand offenders. English laws suppressing the holiday were enacted in the Interregnum, but repealed late in the 17th century. However, the Puritan view of Christmas and its celebration had gained cultural ascendancy in New England, and Christmas celebrations continued to be discouraged despite being legal. When Christmas became a Federal holiday in 1870, the Puritan view was relaxed and late 19-century Americans fashioned the day into the Christmas of commercialism, spirituality, and nostalgia that most Americans recognize today. Read more...

Traditional, Colonial-style Christmas
 decorations at Williamsburg.

       "The first century of colonial life saw few set times and days for pleasure. The holy days of the English Church were as a stench to the Puritan nostrils, and their public celebration was at once rigidly forbidden by the laws of New England. New holidays were not quickly evolved, and the sober gatherings for matters of Church and State for a time took their place. The hatred of "wanton Bacchanallian Christmasses" spent throughout England, as Cotton said, "in revelling, dicing, carding, masking, mumming, consumed in compotations, in interludes, in excess of wine, in mad mirth," was the natural reaction of intelligent and thoughtful minds against the excesses of a festival which had ceased to be a Christian holiday, but was dominated by a lord of misrule who did not hesitate to invade the churches in time of service, in his noisy revels and sports. English Churchmen long ago revolted also against such Christmas observance. Of the first Pilgrim Christmas we know but little, save that it was spent, as was many a later one, in work. . . .

       By 1659 the Puritans had grown to hate Christmas more and more; it was, to use Shakespeare's words, "the bug that feared them all." The very name smacked to them of incense, stole, and monkish jargon; any person who observed it as a holiday by forbearing of labor, feasting, or any other way was to pay five shillings fine, so desirous were they to "beate down every sprout of Episcopacie."

       Judge Sewall watched jealously the feeling of the people with regard to Christmas, and noted with pleasure on each succeeding year the continuance of common traffic throughout the day. Such entries as this show his attitude: "Dec. 25, 1685. Carts come to town and shops open as usual. Some somehow observe the day, but are vexed I believe that the Body of people profane it, and blessed be God no authority yet to compel them to keep it." When the Church of England established Christmas services in Boston a few years later, we find the Judge waging hopeless war against Governor Belcher over it, and hear him praising his son for not going with other boy friends to hear the novel and attractive services. He says: "I exhort mine from Christmas keeping and charge them to forbear."

       Christmas could not be regarded till this century as a New England holiday, though in certain localities, such as old Narragansett, an opulent community which was settled by Episcopalians‚ two weeks of Christmas visiting and feasting were entered into with zest by both planters and slaves for many years previous to the revolution." Alice Morse Earle

• Exploring Christmas Craft Books by Folks at Colonial Williamsburg

       Many American Colonists did actually celebrate Christmas but this depended entirely upon their history, beliefs and location. There were many Christians who were not Puritans and there were also Puritans who were not so particularly restrictive about holidays. As with much history, the records often reflect only a few opinions; so it is wise to remember that one must study a larger spectrum of civilization in order to glean a more accurate record of events and culture.

 Part 1, of American Colonial Christmas.

Decorative Color Designs for Furniture

Many floral patterns and one white rabbit.

Bouquets and singular blooms.

Butterflies, owls, tulips, roses, and daisies.

Have a question about the illustration? Just type it in the comment box and I'll get back to you as soon as possible. I only publish content that is closely related to the subject, folks.

Attractive, vintage coat hangers for a child's nursery

       Trace these early 1930s designs on transparent paper and fold paper over for the other side of each hanger. Use wood about 3/8 inch to 1/2 inch thick and jig-saw out. Then sand off all sharp edges shaping them to graceful contours. Decorate designs in center with water colors, paint or lacquer.

Vintage Nursery Crafts:

• How to make a little somethin' somethin' with buttons
• Very stylish vintage nursery from Mallory's blog

Little Miss Muffet Jig-Saw Puzzle

       Download and print the above image of Little Miss Muffet on heavy stock paper, bright white is best. Lepage on wood1/4 inch or even 3/8 inch thick, if you prefer, and jig-saw on black lines. You can also make your own puzzles by tearing pictures from advertisements or magazine covers, drawing in the black lines and sawing out. Try it with a map of the United States cutting out on state boundary lines.

"Little Miss Muffet" is a nursery rhyme, one of the most commonly printed in the mid-twentieth century. It has a Roud Folk Song Index number of 20605. Read more...

• Paper Jigsaw Puzzle Templates for private use only, non-commercial by Kathy Grimm
• patchwork picture puzzle mysteries at freepuzzlesforkids