Dad Loved Christmas!

Original Western Auto Christmas Catalog Pages From 1950's and 1960's. Click on page to enlarge.

Today I woke up remembering how abosolutely WONDERFUL our Christmas's were growing up in the 1950's & 60's because of Dad. Dad made sure we had the best Christmas he could possibly provide on his limited income. What really saved our Christmas was the local Western Auto store.
The owner of the Western Auto Store in Nevada was Mr. Nickademous (I think that is spelled correctly?) he was a wonderful man and he gave Dad and Mom credit to buy Christmas toys for us. Each year they charged Christmas and paid for it the entire year monthly.
I will NEVER forget the 1st Thursday evening in December when Western Auto had set up it's toy isles (before Wal-Mart Nevada Merchants around the square were open late ever Thursday evening. Also in the 50's and 60's absolutely nothing was open after 5:00 p.m. including the food markets! and this was before QT!)
Dad loaded us all up in the car and we got to shop and tell them the ONE toy we wanted for Christmas. Then Dad and Mom would go back the next day and 'LAY-AWAY" all our Christmas toys! I remember on Christmas Eve Dad would pick up the big box of toys and "try" to sneak it in the back door! This was impossible with 6 kids always lurking about!
One year in the early 60's Dad bought a silver alumimin Christmas tree. He chose Blue blubs for the entire tree and it was so pretty!
I will never forget the year I got my big walking doll! She was in a big long new doll box. I LOVED that doll and still have her! I will NEVER FORGET "the new doll smell!" I had to make her a new dress for once in 1970 I was babysitting with Shelley, she was about 2 and I had just mopped the hardwood floors and she slipped and fell and her clothes were wet. I did not have any dry clothes for her, so I took the dress off my walking doll and put on her! I never got the dress back for some reason. OH the Good Ole Days!
What Christmas means to me even to today is Dad and how he made it SO SPECIAL FOR US KIDS!