My first Christmas, 1933

 

This is the Christmas card that my folks sent out the year that I was born, 1933, and I thought I’d send it, along with my best wishes, to each and every one of you reading this.

I was just 10 months old when that photo was taken...living in Plainfield, New Jersey with my four older sisters. Of course I don’t remember that Christmas but I do remember many of them as a child. We would wake to find a Christmas stocking at the end of our beds filled to overflowing with tangerines, nuts, raisins and candy mints. Of course we ate our fill and that sufficed for breakfast.

The actual opening of gifts would come when Mother and Dad had joined us. We had far fewer gifts then and each one became a treasure. Dad would play Santa and Mother would collect the ribbons, bows and wrapping paper. It was a “waste not, want not” era then and Mother would carefully fold everything and put it away for the next year.

When I remember those Christmas days in the 30’s and 40’s I realize how simple life was then. We had seven mouths to feed. It was a time of our country’s depression and then World War II. We had few frivolous possessions but we lacked for nothing. Love, laughter and respect for each other were in abundance and it is those things that I wish for all of you...my blogger friends.