The Glacier reporter. [volume] (Browning, Mont.) 1953-current, 1953-12-25
MISS BUTTON PLANS
FOR CHRISTMAS

twice, and last year she learned
a lesson about Christmas shop
ping.
She had never really meant to
be late with it, for Miss Button
is like a careful general who
spends longer preparing for his
campaign than actually fighting
it, and proceeds in the most or
derby stages. But the advent Of
an uncle from India who was to
spend day with her, had thrown
her into such flutter of expec-
tations and preparations, that
Christmas might almost have
come and gone unnoticed, had
not the uncle come and gone
first. Then, of course, there was
small period of recovery from
this masculine invasion, and aft
er that Miss Button opened her
daily newspaper one morning and
saw, slashed across a page Of adj
vertisements: SEVEN DAYS TO
CHRISTMASw
So Miss Button was a general
who had been caught mapping.
But she rallied her mental forces
and financial resources with dash
and determination, and made for
the shops.
1t was not that she was too late
to shop. The trouble was far
more complicated than that. In
that last week before Christmas,
presents to herself from her
friends and family had trickleG
in by every post. True, they were
mostly inscribed: "Do net open
until Christmas Day." but Miss
Button, who is integrity and
obedience itself in most matters,
is utterly without conscience in
the matter of Christmas pres
ents.
At one time, it must be said,
she put up some sort of resist
ance to temptation. She would
keep the parcels for few days
or at least a few hours - feeling
them and pinching them and oc-
casionally trying to open the ends
and peep. But since she always
succumbed in the end, she had
latterly taken to doing so at the
beginning, and the postman's
back would scarcely be turned
before she would get to work in
a ruthless and unthrifty way with
the scissors.
So last year it was bound to
happen. The presents which had
been sent her early became con-
fused with the presents she had
bought late, and in the ensuing
muddle Miss Button had no no.
ton at all which presents had
been sent to her by whom, and
which she had bought to send.
Fortunately Miss Buttons rel
atives and friends are all gifted
with kindliness and good humor,
so when Miss Button inadvertent-
ly sent the handkerchiefs given
her by Aunt Ermintrude, on to
Aunt Matilda, who had original
ly helped Aunt Ermintrude to
choose them for Miss Button, it
was considered a very good FAM
lily joke and no harm whatever
was done.
Likewise, when she thanked her
friend Miss Rockingham for
some nylons which Miss Button
had actually bought herself to
give to Miss Elite, Miss Frock-
ingham's only reaction was to en-.
deavor to trace to which of Miss
Buttons other friends Miss But
ton might have given the photo.
graph frame which had actually
been Miss Frockingham's gift to
her.
And since so many of Miss But
tons friends knew each other,
and since the whole episode was
so unlike Miss Buttons careful
planning, an almost uproarious
Christmas was had by her small
CIRQUE, and the Postmaster Cen
eral must have netted a fortune
in the very literal general post
which ensued in attempts to re-
store the situation.
However, inspite of all the gal.
ETY., Miss Button felt it was one
of those things that Should Not
Happen.
So this year she began her
Christmas shopping in late Sep.
TENDER, and by mid-October it
was completed, including wrap.
ping paper, ribbons and stickers
that may so innocently prove her
undoing.
When Miss Button regarded
them, and regarded the presents
which they were to wrap, berib-
bon and bestick, and considered
hat there were more than two
months to go before she Shout
get down to the happy business
it was too tantalizing to be en-.
dured.
So one pleasant evening. when