Deck the Halls

Christmas in 1970 found Mom working away at at the jigsaw in our home workshop. That season, she cut out dozens of little ornaments from of thin sheets of plywood. She painted them in bright colors and bedazzled them with hints of glitter. There were the requisite Santa Claus, reindeer, snowman and Baby Jesus, along with musical instruments and candy canes. But the best ones were cartoon likenesses of each of us six kids. Throw in a Green Bay football helmet, Popeye, a bottle of coke and a can of Coors and our family’s tree was amazing enough to warrant a story in The Salt Lake Tribune.

Mom also built a little doll house filled with so many details you couldn’t take it all in with just one viewing. A family of snowmen rested in their wee little beds. There was a mouse, a Christmas tree, all sorts of tiny presents and a coal burning stove. Mama and Papa even had a tiny chamber pot next to their bed. On the snow-covered roof, Santa had arrived with a team of reindeer. No amount of glue could keep the reindeer from busting off causing Mom to curse her creation throughout the whole holiday season.

In 1975, our living room got a makeover. We had new drapes installed on our large living room windows. They were elegant gold swags with sheers and tasseled, braided  tie backs. That year, Mom decided that our old traditional holiday decor would clash with the drapes and came up with a new holiday theme. We went to Redwood Nursery and got a white flocked tree. Frank strung a few tasteful strings of gold lights and Mom adorned the boughs with nuts and birds. When it was finished, we kids just rolled our eyes. 

Seventies fashion was the death knell of Christmas wonderment on Pueblo Street.