Christy has decreed that for the little children’s sakes, and in order to preserve the Santa-Christmas present connection, there should be no gifts under the tree serving as decorations all through December as in the past,. In addition, we should minimize the use of such time-saving strategies as Christmas bags and the filling of pre-wrapped boxes that get saved from year to year. It is necessary, therefore, to get the wrapping operation in gear now, and I have dragged all my favorite papers, ribbons, and labels up from the basement. Rochester friends, please do not “just drop in anytime” until I give the all-clear signal, because I’m making quite a mess. Gift wrapping is no chore for me, however. I love to make things look trim and beautiful and don’t even feel the pangs of loss and desolation as ripped paper mounts in a pile on Christmas morning in a fraction of the time it has taken to create the perfect and bountiful tableau. Going back 50 years, I was the designated wrapper of presents in my family; in fact, I even wrapped the gifts I would receive a few days later from my parents. My mother would hand me boxes and say, “This one’s for Elaine…and this one’s for you, so use some nice paper that you like.” Although this may be hard to believe, I didn’t mind and actually keep that scene as a happy memory. I wasn’t even tempted to peek or shake. An extreme example of this willingness to suspend the normal curiosity of childhood occurred the year I was in sixth grade. There appeared in the living room of our tiny apartment a large box-shaped object covered with a sheet and pushed against the wall; my mother cautioned us not to touch or peek at it. I exclaimed, “I know it must be a television!” since by 1955 a t.v. had appeared in most of our acquaintances’ homes. My mother said, “It could be a washing machine…” and I believed her. I’m pretty sure my sister also resisted the temptation to look during the next few days leading up to Christmas. Joy of joys, it did turn out to be a television, proving to a child who still dwelt in The Land of Magical Thinking that virtue is rewarded and not peeking had turned the box into a treasure chest in which we would discover The Lone Ranger, Lassie, and Shirley Temple re-runs.