Distributing Christmas Presents

The Christmas tree and the timehonored stocking are the oommon and generally satisfactory methods of distributing Christmas presents, and so often have tliey been celebrated in song and story that they are likely to retein a íoremost place so long as rhymes stand for reasons and tradition exercises its iufluence over the incagination. Moreover, there is variety even in Christmas trees. Here is the little one, set in its green stand covered with moss, for the darling only child ; and the faniily tree, covered with a heterogenous colleetion of articles, from the knitted shoes for (he baby to the ' ' dress-pattern " for the ' ' girl, " and the Christmas-party tree comic, which grows juniping-jacka and tin whistles and Japanese oddities ; and the Christmas-party tree serious, which displays embroidered handkerchiefs, elegant slippers, curious sleeve-buttons, and even sets of coral and gorgeous bracelets. ïhen there is the church Christmas tree for the poor and the church Christmas tree for the children, the first of which deals in stockings and comforters, and the latter in cheap dolls and boxes of caudy, varied by books aud oranges, which last must be conBidered the most sensible. But though you can hardly improve upon the idea of the Christmas tree for persons in whose hard lives few poetical associations find a place, yet, socially, we sometimes want a method to vary tlie monotony and cause a surprise. To effect this, a figure of Santa Claus is sometimos dressed in the long coat, great beard, and fur cap, all tufted with snow (or cotton batting) and introdncfid into the drawing-room, provided with a huge pack from which he distributes his gifts. Another way is to have a ship arrive and unload its cargo, among which is a package for everybody present. Christnias suppers sometimes close with the introduction of a huge bean pie, which the host anathematizes for not making its appearance before, and laboriously cuttiog into it diecovers paper parcela insteui of a savory inside. An amusing method is to have them come in the form of spiritual " manifestations. " A curtain is drawn across one end of the room, the company sit round in a circle, each one provided with a number, and ask the spirits to favor them vnth some manifestations. Mounted on steps inside the curtain the distributer throws one parcel after another over its top, so that it will f all upon the table with much clatter and confusión. Each parcel being numbered and folded in several papers, it takes time to find the right owner and to open, and then they bpgin to come "thicker and f aster." Not a little f un and mixing-up ensues, immeasurably heightened where the company are unaware of the purpose of the sitting, and have sat down for a regular seance.