Christmas at the house on Ella Street.....

From as early as I can remember, I have loved Christmas Trees !  My dad worked for the power company, so he was out in his big line truck every day. Throughout the year, he would spot what he deemed a perfect Christmas tree, and when it was time for us to put up our tree; he would cut it down (with his hand saw, of course) and bring it home tied on top of the line truck. 

My mother had old ornaments that they had saved for years, and some that my grandparents had put on their Christmas tree. One was a parrot made out of a piece of construction paper and colored by hand, and my dad had made it back when he was in First Grade.  That parrot always had a special place on every Christmas Tree. The ornaments were very delicate, and carefully packed away every year and put in large boxes on the top shelf of the bedroom closet. 
The garlands were next, and then the tinsel (actually made of tin back then, and very breakable) went on top. 
On the top of the tree was a very old ceramic-type of Christmas Angel, and she also had a little golden light  that illuminated her. 

The only kind of lights that we ever had on our Christmas tree were Bubble Lights. How I loved those Bubble Lights ! In the evenings, we turned off all of the lights in the front room, and just enjoyed the lights from the Christmas tree reflecting in the shining ornaments.  
Mom would put on the Bing Crosby Christmas Carols record on the little phonograph, and as we listened to White Christmas, and watched the flickering Bubble Lights; the world was perfect.

Of course, underneath the tree were the boxes of presents , all carefully wrapped by my mother, some to be opened on Christmas Eve, and some not until Christmas Morning.  
On the old buffet (that had belonged to my Grandmother) was usually a plate of homemade fudge, and a very, very old wooden church that my German grandmother had brought over when she came to America in 1901. 
I have no idea how long it had been in her family before that; but it had a music box inside that we could wind up and it played "Silent Night".   
The little church was painted white and sparkled with something that looked like snow. Inside was a little red Christmas light that made the cellophane windows of the church light up.  

Even though our house was nothing special, when Christmas came; it was a Magic World all of its own.....