SHOW HIGHLIGHTS
HOST BIOS:
Carol Duvall

ON TV NOW
Visit the Program Guide to see what's on air now.
Find an Episode
Episode Topic
Or was shown during

See what's on DIY
DIY Shows A-Z
(a listing of all shows)

  • Holiday Shoebox: Santa Key, Fun Holiday Letter, Snowmen
    		•


    By Carol Duvall

    PHOTO
    PHOTO
    PHOTO
    There was a delightful idea in the Shoebox today that was sent in by Kay Burgdoff of Hastings, Mich., and it all came about when her young niece moved from Michigan to Colorado. Kay made a small red felt stocking with a white cuff and tiny poinsettia decoration; then she stitched a green and gold loop on the top for hanging it on the front door. Inside she stitched a length of red ribbon that had a house key attached to the other end. That's the Magic Key! And what is a Magic Key? It a key for Santa so that he can open the front door and have easy access to any houses that do not have a chimney for him to use! Inside Kay put a short poem to explain to Santa just in case he didn’t know what it was for, and the stocking was then hung on the front door for him to find on Christmas Eve. What a fun idea and one that should certainly calm the concerns of any 3-year-old who lives in a house without a fireplace.

    Kay also mentioned that she obtained her key at the lumberyard where they make duplicate keys. Just for the asking they were willing to give her any that they had that hadn’t turned out just right. I would guess that any place that makes these duplicate keys would also have some available...just in case you don’t have any "who knows what this fits?" keys laying around the house.

    PHOTO
    Christmas letters to friends and family have certainly become a popular way of keeping folks up to date on family happenings during the year, and with the availability of copy machines, the idea of including photographs of people and events has become even more popular. The copy of last year’s Christmas letter from Jane Paul of Gilbert, Ariz., really had us smiling--although Jane wrote that when we saw it, we might think it was obvious that she was unemployed and had entirely too much time on her hands. It was very funny.

    Jane wrote to explain that when it came time to do the annual letter, she was a bit annoyed with her daughters for not having supplied her with what she considered enough recent photographs of the grandchildren to include. So, she gathered up some sock monkeys and dressed them up (some of the outfits even matched the ones her grandchildren had) and posed them in various activities...reading, being read to, playing, etc. In the center of the sheet of photographs was a picture of Jane and her husband with the caption, "Lonely grandparents find solace with surrogates." We all thought it was an absolute hoot and are betting that this year, Jane receives more snapshots of the grandchildren than she can possibly use!

    PHOTO
    Some time ago on our show one of our guests--I believe it was Jane Beard--made a line-up of very small, very cute little papier mache pumpkin baskets over a balloon base. This was enough to give Jean Clavert and her daughter Aleece Hildrebrand of Olympia, Wash., an idea when Aleece’s children needed something to take to school for the holiday festivities. The photograph they sent shows all 49 little snowmen baskets lined up ready to party. Jean said her husband sawed off golf tees for the noses and she and Aleece painted them white with black eyes and wire handles. They were the cutest things. It is no wonder the children loved them, although Jean and Aleece admitted to being pretty sick of paper strips and glue by the time they were finished!