When I reminisce about past Christmases I feel very fortunate to have had so many happy times during the holidays. Not until I was older did I realize that this is not the case for everyone and that the holidays are not a time of pleasant memories for them. That realization made me appreciate all the more the memories I have of Christmas. I could probably write a book just on Christmas memories but one of my happiest was when I was a child living in Cleveland, Ohio.
Growing up in Cleveland, our family lived in one of the suburbs and when we went downtown it was a very big deal. I fondly remember taking the bus with my mother to go downtown and shop in the big department stores like May Company, Higbee’s, Bailey Company and occasionally the expensive store, Halle’s. We would get “dressed up,” which in those days meant wearing gloves and patent leather shoes. Of course at Christmastime this may easily have necessitated a change to boots and mittens.
To go downtown at Christmastime meant seeing the huge decorated tree at Public Square next to Higbee’s and seeing everything all lit up and decorated. I loved the crowds and the excitement that was in the air as shoppers hustled to go from store to store doing their Christmas shopping.
Twigbee’s
Inside Higbee’s on one of the top floors was a special shop called Twigbee’s, and my parents used to take my brothers and me there at Christmastime. No adults were allowed inside this shop and everything was set up in small scale so that it was a perfect place for children to Christmas shop while the adults waited outside the entrance to the shop.
It was a shop only for children where we would get to buy Christmas presents by ourselves. All the items were priced so that children could afford them and there were friendly store workers who helped us choose just the right gifts. I loved going there and today I wonder just how great those gifts really were, but no matter what, my parents always made me feel as though they were the best gifts anyone ever gave them. I learned the joy in giving and choosing something special by myself.
Mr. Jingeling
Another great memory I have of Christmas in downtown Cleveland was on the 7th floor at Halle’s. Rather than Santa Claus being there, one of his elves, Mr. Jingeling was there during Christmastime and I remember going to see him and telling him what I hoped I would find under the Christmas tree. He was a popular elf as he even had his own TV show beginning in 1956 and lasting 25 years. To this day I can still remember the tune that went with the show.
Christmas evokes a lot of memories for me but the best ones are the closeness I felt to my family as a child growing up and I treasure these memories today as the greatest gift I could receive.