A Christmas Break

Library of Congress:  American Homestead Winter, 1868, Currier and Ives.

In my childhood days, at Christmas time, school was out for the remainder of the year.  We children were so happy to get to stay home for several days.  We would go sledding in our large hilly yard.  We would make snow-men and snow-houses. We would take walks to the corner store for treats.  The snowy neighborhood would be full of children playing and families walking.  Then we would go indoors to play games and read by the heater.

My mother was home with us, as most mothers were in those days.  She did her usual routine of cooking, cleaning, and just puttering around the house doing projects or visiting on the telephone.  She helped us with our coats, mittens, boots, and hats. She served us hot soup, and grilled cheese sandwiches, to warm us up after being out in the cold air. 

We were always inventing fun things to do around the house and yard.  My mother did not have to entertain us or worry about our being bored. Often, we had just received new clothes, pajamas, and some fun toys for Christmas.  We were delighted to be able to spend days playing with everything.

Our house was all decorated in traditional, humble ways.  There would be a Christmas song book on the piano, opened up to carols we could sing.  We loved those old traditional songs!  This was our favorite thing to do each afternoon. Mom would be in the kitchen, working on the laundry, or sweeping the floor, and she would suddenly hear the sound her children playing the piano in the other room.  I can imagine her smiling face, even now. 

We had art supplies, pencils, paper, and paint.  We would go from one project to another, and then do some chores, cleaning up, and then have our meals at the large kitchen table. The days always went by so quickly and then Dad would be home from work.  This was the time for rest and a winding down of the day.

Our evening routine was always the same, whether we were on Christmas vacation, or enjoying a summer weekend.  Dad would visit with Mother at the kitchen table and have coffee and some treat.  Then mother would get our supper started, while Dad rested in the recliner.  We would go from room to room talking to Mom or Dad or just playing throughout the house until we got that wonderful call from the kitchen saying that "supper is ready!"

On these winter nights, after we children helped clean the kitchen, Dad would start a fire in the fireplace.  We would watch a television program with our parents and enjoy a quiet evening with the family. 

These special times during the Christmas season are common in many families throughout history.  This winter break at home is just like how it ought to be all year round. It is a happy, peaceful time. It is a time of resting from materialism and consumerism.  It is a time to be with family and to have a happy home.

 How wonderful it would be if we could continue this with the coming generation of children and grandchildren - showing them, by the way we live, how precious it is to create a haven of rest for the family in an old fashioned home.

Merry Christmas from the White House!

Blessings
Mrs. White

From the Archives -

It means Everything to be - Just a Housewife.

The Comfort of Home - The Light in the Window.

In Financial Trials We Need - Mothers With Christmas Courage.

Mrs. White's special book for homemakers:"Introduction to Home Economics:  Gentle Instruction to Find Joy in Christian Homemaking." Paperback, 200 pages. 

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