Christmas at Woolworth's

                   CHRISTMAS AT WOOLWORTH’S



         What a lovely drink is a cup of hot cocoa, with a marshmallow to float in it!

         This is one of my memories of Christmas shopping at Woolworth’s Five and Ten Cent store.  For people too young to remember the old ‘Five and Ten’ let me tell you about it.  It was a wonderful place!  You could buy practically anything there.  You could buy jewelry, mousetraps, cosmetics, socks and underwear, toys, dishes -- any number of things, all at bargain prices.  You could even buy a pet if you wanted a goldfish or a canary or a little green turtle. 

         There was a booth with a piano and someone who would play the sheet music you were thinking of buying.  How those canaries did sing while the piano played! 

         When I was a child I would save my money for weeks hoping to have enough for Christmas shopping at the Five and Ten.  Two or three dollars was enough. 

         Taking my wish list I set about my errand.  A gift for the teacher, a glass relish dish for my sister and a teapot for my mother.  Pretty hankies for my aunt and new notebooks for my brother and father.  And a present for the grab bag at school. 

         When the shopping was done, I sat at the lunch counter and enjoyed my cocoa.  Then,  my tummy warmed by my cocoa and my heart warmed thinking of the pleasure my gifts would bring, I hurried to catch the bus back home.  The wrapping was still to be done, using stickers I had to lick that tasted like Christmas hard candy.  With my gifts carefully hidden I was ready for the big day. 

         281 words