The commonwealth. (Scotland Neck, N.C.) 1896-1929, 1900-12-20
CHRISTIANS GIFTS.
What to Give And Not to Give.
SOME SENSIBLE SUGGESTIONS.

Mrs. W. H. FELTON, in Atlanta Journal.
The time is Is near at hand when
the proper selection of Chistmas gifts
must be performed-or disappoint the
great majority of little children in the
land. And it is puzzling business
with lean pocket to fall back upon,
and must be somewhat perplexing to
make a choice where money is plenti-
full and abundant.
At the risk of appearing cynical, ]
am going to say there is an immense
waste of money on useless trifles.
l have seen homes absolutely clogg-
ed with toys, rattles, drums and all
manner of noisy things, which had nc
value, except to amuse children for q
few hours, and after the newness wore
off, they failed even to amuee or salts
fy the owners.
One sensible city mother whose hus-
band felt it duty to crowd the hearth
on Christmas eve night with a buggy
load of such yalueless things, once told
me that she regularly turned over q
new leaf on new years day, and swept
every broken toy into the open fire,
regardless of expostulatlon or entrsaty
Those that were kept whole and were
respected by their small owners, she
set away in a large closet Tor rainy dav
helps to amuse her gang but the brok-
en- affairs she, cremated as sensible re-
lief to the feelings of the household.
She said she was unable to check the
waste of mouey at the start, but she
surely could get rid of the bother at
the end of the holiday week.
Children need but few toys to make
a Christmas time happy to each oi
them. A surfieit is like overindul.
gence in appetite-it is unhealthy and
unsatisfying. Something to use or
work with has been always more com
forting to children than noisy things,
go far as my experience goes.
As far back as can recol)ect (and 1t
has been long time ago). I was
asked by my father who was a partner in
a country store. what I wanted most on
a certain Christmas morning, I look
ed over the stock which covered lot
of things reaching from prunella shoes
to bar iron and black molasses, and
provoked a hearty laugh by select
ing a small pair of cotton cards as the
sumum bonum of my desires with q
whole store to choose from.
My black nanny was beautiful
spinner of cotton woolen thread, and l
had been rebuked so often for tinker
ing with her cards that 1 resolved to
own a pair, and sit by her side to sing
and card cotton rolls according to her
style of doing the work. It made me
as happy as child gets to be, when
the cards were handed over, and over
and could carry them to nanny fol
a greasing and delightful occupation
as I regarded it. Toys, except dolls
were scarce in those early days, and my
good bachelor uncle brought me a
bought doll" from Augusta when be
event to market"
The doll fully satisfied my pride in
doll-baby- ways, but the cotton cards
made me even happier because they
stood for something that meant some
thing, even in my childhood.
If parents or friends can discover
what children are most anxious tc
possess In the way of tools or to satisfy
real wants in these industrious efforts,
they will accomplish far more than in
the bestowal of promiscuous toys to be
counted up and merely looked at on
Christmas morning.
I am averse to toy pistols, guns, etc.
as presents for little children. Fire
arms are dangerous for grown men and
boys-and should always be handled
With caution by those who have some
experience Cf not age), In the business
Mery Christmas there are newspaper
accounts of serious accidents by slacl
handling of guns, cannons and pistols
to ,njure others and themselves also
And again, it begets an unhealth,
longing attached to them. They keel
people uneasy whenever the house Il
filed with firearms in ln-experlencec
hands.
But the majority of people give pres
onts to others than children, as WI
tnow. and there is keen satisfaction II
being gracefully remer bered by thos'
who think OF you in affection and gen
nine interest, but these presents shoult
not be expensive enough to create
sense of serious obligation in the mine
OF the recipient, especially where pov
ertv prevents a return in kind. Amonl
kindred there is wide latitude OF course
and all rules have exceptions, but
flower or bit of personal skill and In
| anstrv is often more satlfying than ez