Now that it is getting close to Christmas I am starting to get in the Xmas spirit and thinking about the days when I was still living at home with my folks and working. All the stores would decorate their windows really beautiful with xmas scenes and Christmas music played everywhere you went in town shopping. Along the streets there were plenty of decorations on the light poles and elsewhere. Some going over the street all the way through the downtown area. I use to love to go from store to store looking at all the displays that made it a winter wonderland. I lived in San Jose CA. so there was no real snow but you still had the feeling of snow with the way the windows were decorated. Some had Santa's workshops and others a scene with snow. A lot of them had moving parts that actually pulled you into the scene when you stood there gazing at them. Sadly I don't have any pictures from then, as it was in the late 1940's, and it was black and white film plus I never thought to bring a camera to town. The picture shown is one I found on the webof a Marshall and Fields store. Some displays had trains running through the scene and Santa at work which was neat.
At work we had a contest of building little ginger bread and candy houses, so during our breaks and before and after work we would work on them until they were finished. We put a lot of detail on them with paths, little fences and trees out of candy. It was also time when busnesses would send over goodies for us to eat such as all kinds of candies and cookies. I was a long distance telephone operator so we had to work on all holidays, so the extra spoiling was nice as we really worked hard on those days. It is quite different now, but then if we didn't work then no one could call their families.
