Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1902-11-15
THE CHRISTMAS BOX
NOW rs THE TIME TO BEGIN
THEIR FILLING.
One Way Of Cheering the Homesick
Who Cannot Be With
You.
Written for The Evening Star.

Written for The Evening Star
The Twentieth Century Christmas Box
includes one whole month of sentiment and
surprises, so the Christmas fairy who
wishes to prepare one for the approaching
season must be up and doing. The distin-
gushing feature Of this idea is that the
box must contain a present for each day
in the month, beginning with December /
and ending with New Year day. and 1t
goes to the absent member of the family,
one who is so far away that 1t becomes in
expedient ito go home for Christmas" 1t
Is a capital holiday scheme. calculated to
go far toward curing Christmas homesick-
ness.
AT our boarding house" said the woman
with the idea last winter there was a
little school teacher who lived so far away
from her home that she couldn't make the
trip, and her family gladdened her heart
with one of these boxes. She was to open
just one gift each day, and only the one
marked with the date, and to say that she
was in a rare state of expectancy all the
month is putting it mildly. Every morning
she appeared at breakfast in q glow of
happiness from the subsequent revelation in
the shape of some unexpected mysterious
article folded about with tissue paper and
violet ribbon. One morning it was a book
of verses, and another it was a sprig of
something brought from the grave of the
Brownings, or it was a passe-partout pic
ture of some faSorite author, or it was a
bit of pottery or a tiny bit of bronze, all
trifles which the little school teacher loved
and appreciated, sent by her dear ones,
who knew her tastes 1t was the sentiment
In the box that fascinated every one, and a
small mouse-colored woman was trans
formed into a positive luminary. The box
proved wholesome and widely influential
a factor in that boarding house that at
Christmas time a tree materialiZed, and
even the grouty old bachelor who abomi-
mated noisy children bought q beautiful doll
for the little girl who had never done any
thing but what disturbed him.
A Multitude Of Ideas.
There Is multitude Of ideas ready to
clamor for attention directly a box of this
kind is in course of preparation. Suppose
1t is for dear boy or girl who is away at
college. Let the box itself be lined inside
with bright cretonne with pockets around
its four sides. In the bottom of the box
Is placed the New Year gift. This may be
a calendar for the year. On this is built
layer upon layer of gifts, the nature of
which must depend upon the means at
hand and the character and tastes of the
recipient If there are seven members of the
family at home then there Is a charm in
each one presenting four gifts, each select
ing certain day in each of the four weeks.
Even though the gift is not expensive there
is the delight In opening mysterious pack
age and the more unexpected 1t Is the
greater the charm. The best present of all
is Of course for Christmas day, and indeed
there may be one from each member of the
family on that occasion. Even a very use
full and practical article which seems to
have little sentiment attached may take on
holiday air by association with tissue pa
per and tied with ribbon and some clever
sentiment in verse added. In the pockets
for the shoes is place for pair of COM
FL fohl l-y,iSf tod hn1 chn fnr h
stantial pair of slippers, and there is a
place to tuck away a laundry bag and a
silk handkerchief and a scarf pin, in fact,
everything that suggests itself. If 1t is no
more important than box of bonbons. A
canned plum pudding will serve appropri-
ately at Christmas time. but it is not wise
to place food that may prove perishable in
the box unless 1t Is placed near the top, so
that an early date may entitle it to atten-
ton. A Christmas box of this description
is warranted to keep it's recinient in a glow
of expectancy during the uGlidays and to
be the next best thing to a family reunion,