30 Dec 1942
John Griffin to Parents / Arlington, VA
Dear Dad and Mother
Christmas now is just a memory and we are back to normal routine once more. We had a very nice Christmas even though our furniture had not arrived and we had to buy a new set of decorations and lights for the tree.
We wish to thank you very much for the lovely gifts. Dot thinks the book you sent her is bout the perfect gift. She has wanted that book for a long time. I also enjoy the one you sent me too. I've read part of it already and it is very good. Paul went for that little merry-go-round to the exclusion of all the other toys, and Bob enjoyed the gift from Gord very much too. This was more than enough and then for Dad to send the $10 besides, I almost feel as though I should return it. We have been under heavy expense for so long that I wonder whether I'll ever be in a position again where more money is coming in than is going out. For this reason I did take the $10 and bought Paul an all-wool snow suit which he needed very badly. We are also going to get Bob a snow suit when we can find one that will fit him. All of your gifts were very much appreciated and went a long way towards making our Christmas a very marry one.
Christmas Eve we invited the Longenechers (he used to work with me in Los Angeles and now has a big job back here)over and Dot's father and Mother. Dot cooked a ham and we served dinner on a plate - we had no table). We only had two forks so the rest of us had to suee spoons. We had a roaring fire in the fireplace and all in all spent a very enjoyable evening. Christmas morning after breakfast we went up to Dots' mothers and from there to Longeneckers for Christmas turkey dinner. As usual we all ate too much and then had to go home and sleep it off.
We all fared well as far as gifts are concerned. I got shirts, ties, sox, hankies, some movie equipment from Don and Madge, etc. Bob got a desk (I bought an old one from the former tenant and refinished it - it really looked swell), a phonograph, a half dozen paint and crayon sets, and a lot of story books. Paul got blocks and some toys similar to the merry-go-round outfit. Dot got perfume, slips, books, etc. I guess Santa was pretty good to us even though we did have to cut down a lot this year. They had a candy shortage here so all the candy we had was some home-made that Dot fixed, which was just as well.
The Sunday before Christmas we had a real snow storm with below zero temperatures. Bob and I coasted on a hill out in front of our place and had a swell time. Two days later though it turned warm and started to rain and has been raining ever since. I see out the window now that the clouds are on the move so maybe it will let up for a while. I has been awful muggy and there is a lot of flu going around.
Monday our furniture arrived and we worked until 2 am Tuesday getting it unpacked and in the house. Everything came through in fine shape. Nothing was lost or broken except a lamp, and that was badly cracked when it started. There is an awful lot of work to be done by way of cleaning, making curtains, etc. Dot bought material for curtains for the front bedroom and dining room, and it came to $15. We have three bedrooms, kitchen, and bath besides to do.
We are going to try and rent out the big bedroom. It will cost us over $200 to furnish it (beds, mattresses, blankets, sheets, bed spreads, chests, chairs, etc) not to mention rugs. It will take a long time to get it back in rent though I suppose that is better than not trying to do anything about it.
Again, thanks a thousand for all the Christmas [presents]. We really do appreciate it.
John
We have never received Elsie's package yet. She sent it to Ben's place and he forwarded it sometime before Christmas but it has never arrived. The ten pin set has not arrived yet either.
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