Evening star., 1903-12-19
I IOUSE=
HOLD
LINTS

| I'm A
Again. the burning question OF the hour
in many families is. How shall we distribute
the gifts this year7 In some homes the
Christmas tree never withers. or. If 1t does.
there is a fresh one each season to replace
It All its gay fruitage. packed away after
each recurring holiday is ended, reappears.
to be joyfully greeted as old acquaintance
neer forgot. There is the same dear
Christ-child for the top OF the tree. the
familiar smile still upon His lips His
| golden hair a nimbus for His brow. There
| are the same tinsel garlands and balls.
ornamental candles and artificial fruits.
japanese figures, gilded nuts and glitterfng
stars. In many Philadelphia families there
| are also elaborate stage settings for the
base of the tree, miniature villages or farm
| scenes, with tiny ponds made from mir
! ror on which ducks ride serenely, and li1i-
putfan men and women, dogs, horses, cows
| and fowls disport themselves in seemly
| manner. With these trees, which remain
up during the entire holiday week, the real
gifts, new each year are usually grouped
| about it, daintily wrapped and plainly
| marked for distribution.
| In other homes the good old-fashioned
| hanging of the stocking In the chimney
| corner has never gone out of favor, each
one plainly marked with its owners name,
| that st. Nick may have no difficulty in dis
| tinguishing Baby Mays from grandfather's
| Sui other methods where there chill
| dren--and pity 'tis to have a home without
| children on Christmas day-the French
| fashion of setting out the shoes obtains, or
| the good saint himself comes with his pack
TO distribute his gifts. Christmas arch
| OF ladders, heavily trimmed with greens
| and holly, and the gifts fastened to the sew
| eral runes, is also a popular substitute for
| tree. In this case the services of one Of
| the small boys has to be called into play,
In hn 1.l1
In homes without children the breakfast
| table Is usually the approved time and
place for the exchange of remembrances
rare indeed is the mother who has not in
years bygone experienced an unhappy aft
| ermath of Christmas festivities not nomf-
mated in the bond. The unusually early ris-
ing of the small fry, the consumption of
unlimited sweets, to the exclusion Of break
Iast, nave sufhced in conjunction with the
natural excitement attendant upon the day
10 prlng about by night demand for the
FAMILY medicine chest, if not the DOCTOR
one wise California mother, the owner of
quartet of robust lads, last year decided
TO try new plan. The stockings were all
hung as usual in the wide library fl eplace
put before the children retired they were
told that the doors wouldn't be unlocked
until after an early breakfast. The Chi
ma boy cook was accommodating and a
simple but hot and nourishing b. eakfast
was ready in advance of the usual hour.
The children. though happily excited, fell
upon their porridge with almost the usual
relish. Then. when all were ready, mother
headed her small procession, while father,
uncle and China boy, bland and smiling,
brought up the rear, all keeping step to the
singing of a Christmas carol The doors
were thrown open, and in the library warm
and bright eight plethoric stockings, each
resting on it's base of mysteriously shaped
parcels, invited immediate attention By
this means the children escaped their usual
upsetting the long morning stretched be-
lore them for the examination of their
gifts, while the routine work of the house
hold was not interrupted in the least and
the cook had abundant opportunity to
spread himself on the Christmas dinner
Lookout for Fire.-Every year comes the
shocking report of some tragic death by
fire. The tree is overturned, a candle sets
fire to the gauzy drapery of a Christmas
fairy" the diaphanous wings of an "an-
gel. or, most frequent of all. the inf1arn-
mable cotton batting so often employed at
Sunday school private festivities to rep
resent snow Children are tricked out to
represent frost kings and elves Santa
Claus uses it for beard and coat, and all
without thought that an overturned can
die or contact with gas jet would in an
instant turn the merrymaker thus adorned
into human torch. There are accidents
and fatalities enough in the ordinary course
of events without tempting Providence in
our thoughtless efforts at providing amuse-
ment Even without the cotton wadding it
IS the part of wisdom to have heavy
blanket close at hand for use in an emer-
gency, as also If lamps are used, a big
bucket of sand or earth. This latter
scheme, by the way, is an excellent one
When one is frying crullerS the holiday
oly-books. Many house has gone up in
smoke through the upsetting of a kettle of
fat. At one of the largest cooking schools
pan of earth is always kept in reserve for
use In case of an accident of this kind
Nuremberg Christmas Tree.-For those
who live In small quarters, and yet want
something "Christmassy," a little Nurem-
berg Christmas tree proves a good invest
ment especially as the same tree answers
from season to season. 1t is only about a
yard high, including the wooden pot in
which 1t stands, but with it's score of tiny
candles 1t sends forth real bit of Christ
mas cheer
For Christmas Dinner Favors.-For Christ
mas dinner favors the tiny copper jardin-
1eres holding miniature fir or holly bush
lead-though every whim, fad and fancy
seem to have been anticipated and provided
for. The auto" is much in evidence either
In ceiluloid bfsque or compositon-very
small to hold individual ices or larger in
nickel, wood or satin-covered pasteboard
for bon bons. There are reindeer in abund-
ance drawing sleds of frosted almonds or
candied fruits, besides brave showing of
candy Santa Clauses peeping out of CANDY
chlmneys, with candy packs full of candy
resting on their plump backs.
Christmas Menu Cards.-Flowers are spe-
cially popular this year for menu cards
though large square cards show quaint lit
tie Dutch maidens upon a gray ground
work. and still others show pretty coach
scores in bright colors.
Coin BoXes.-A new accession to the list OF
Christmas boxes are tiny round and square
boxes to accompany gifts of coins These
are decorated with holly and have tons
which slip aside to show a round opening
In the center with a four-leaf clover on q
red seal and a place for the coin Still
more elaborate are white satin paper boxes,
nned with white velvet and decorated with
holly. having similar round indentation
for holding gold coin. The all-paper
boxes cost 10 cents and the finer ones a
quarter
Japanese Napkins.-Effective and appro-
pirate for wrapping Christmas parcels are
the pretty japanese napkins with the deco
rations or holly In red berries and gilt
These may be purchased at 10 cents a hum
dred. --
Holly Ribbons.-Other dainty things for
making up into Christmas gifts are the
wide ribbons with the designs of holly
leaves and berries upon them. Some come
In plain edges, while others are finished
with narrow line of red or green
The Christmas Dinner.-Unlike Thanks.
giving, there are no hard-and- fast lines TO
tell us what we must have in order to
accord with tradition. So long as II ia a
red-letter meal and merry" its Constituent