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When Children were Children
The true art of
gifting
By Sharon Hopper
Oh Oh! First day of shopping for the Christmas season. Golly when I was
a kid there were no such stores like Walmart, Target, K Mart and the
like. But we had F.W. Woolworth and Ben Franklin dime stores. I always
wondered why they were called dime stores, because even in my younger
years the cost of everything was more than a dime other than candy or
gum. And the term Black Friday was not in anyone’s vocabulary. It was
the Christmas season and the parks and stores were decorated with Santa
and the Manger Scene. Angels were everywhere and our school sang
Christmas Carols. The spirit was high in anticipation of the Holidays
and the surprises we received.
My mom and aunt would take us kids to town and park in a lot and we
would walk several blocks to the shopping area which would be about
three city of blocks of stores in our small town. The music played and
the stores were all decorated up for the season. About every week I
would walk though the dime stores looking for that perfect gift for my
mother, grandmother, dad and brother. It was expected that I would
purchase those gifts and with my own money that I had to save. My
mother would match my money for the remaining gifts that I had to
purchase.
There would be children poking around all the counters while the
parents often went to the bigger department stores. It was very unusual
for us to be hand in hand with our parents. No one worried about being
lost or stolen if you were above the age of eight or nine. And we
always were given a time and place to meet. Often my cousin and I would
go shopping and we had our little brother or sister to watch while the
moms did their “Santa” things and that made it far more fun to have my
cousin for company.
My favorite place to meet the mom’s was the Woolworth food counter
where I would usually get an ice cream float. That first day was a
“look” and “wish” day. I could wish all I wanted but I knew that my
presents would only amount to a special item and some school clothes. I
did not get very many items under the tree. My dad would never have
gone in debt for Christmas. He was far more frugal than that. I think
that mom would take her packages to the car while I looked around the
stores. I never really saw them. Well… until I found the hiding place
at home. Shopping was really different but so was Christmas.
I remember finding a Jewelry box that I wanted to get for my Mom and I
really had to sell dad on the idea that it was the perfect gift because
I needed a bit of extra money. To this day I still have that pink lined
box in my dresser drawer. We did not get so much so our presents meant
a lot to us back then.
As children we learned the true art of gifting. Shopping resulted in an
honor and happiness, not a stress related job. Golly I wonder what
happened to Christmas? I am sure we had other types of religions and
even some atheists, but no one seemed to care if we sang Silent Night.
You see I sincerely believe that kids are missing the real meaning of
Christmas and the true message of giving. Such a shame. I really loved
to shop for others during the holiday. I will always say “Merry
Christmas.”
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