Baldwin
Family Christmas
Jess and Mabel Baldwin were the parents of fourteen children. They raised their family during the depths of the Great Depression in Oklahoma. Hoping to find better work opportunities to care for their growing family, the Baldwin's moved to Arizona in 1934. After spending a few years in Arizona, the family finally settled in southwestern Colorado. Money was always tight for the large Baldwin family, but they never went without food and shelter.
Grandpa Baldwin especially loved Christmas and tried to make it a special
time for his children. On Christmas Eve after
the chores were done, the family would gather for dinner. Grandma was a wonderful cook and Christmas Eve
dinner was always a feast. After dinner and while
all the kids were helping Grandma clean up and do dishes in the kitchen, Grandpa would sneak presents
around the tree in the living room. He would then slip
outside, put on a beard and red hat, and peek into the window so that the kids
could see “Santa.” The Baldwin children would look out the window into the night to see Santa as he turned to leave and would always hear him call out “Ho, Ho, Ho" as he left. Afterwards, the family gathered around the Christmas tree to find the presents
underneath that had been secretly left by Santa. Or, sometimes Santa left the big bag of presents at the front door instead of bringing them in and leaving them under the tree. The Christmas tree was always a "real" tree covered with shinny silver tinsel and a few treasured glass ornaments.
A grandson remembers Santa handing presents in through a open window. Only Santa’s arm was seen as he handed the presents through the window at Grandpa’s house.
Some years Grandpa enlisted the help of a friend or older
family member. Then Grandpa could be
with the family when they saw Santa at the window and heard him call out “Ho, Ho, Ho” after leaving a bag
of presents at the front door.
The presents left under the Christmas tree or in the bag at the
front door consisted of a small brown paper sack for each child with an orange,
apple, and hard Christmas candies. Santa
would also leave one present for each child which consisted of some small toy
or gift.
This was the only time of the year that the
children in the Baldwin family received
an orange. The smell of an orange always
reminded them of Christmas.
This was the only time of the year that the
children in the Baldwin family received
an orange. The smell of an orange always
reminded them of Christmas.
Even though the Baldwin family had little in the way of money, Grandpa and “Santa” always made Christmas special and fun for the family.
Grandpa Baldwin may have loved Christmas so much because it was on Christmas Day in 1917 that he married his sweetheart -- our Grandma!
Merry Christmas to All
