'Shoppers rush home with their treasures'

Have you finished your Christmas shopping yet? Of course not, right? Everywhere we look we are reminded there aren't many days left and "soon it will be Christmas Day." 

I love that old song, "Silver Bells." It was first seen on the silver screen in the movie, "The Lemon Drop Kid." I like the William Frawley version from the movie. 

"Chuck it in, chuck it in

"Or Santa will give you a Mickey." 

A Mickey referred to Mickey Finn, a drink that would render the one who imbibed unconscious. 

The song was sung during a scene in downtown New York City, a few days before Christmas.  

Bob Hope and Marilyn Maxwell try to correct Frawley's understanding of giving to others at Christmas. We see a montage of pictures; a cab driver wishes his taxi was a sleigh, a little girl looks through a telescope and thinks she sees St. Nick, a vendor sells roasted chestnuts (I want to try those some day.) 

Then all the shoppers on that busy street sing in chorus, "Soon it will be Christmas Day." 

Dad and I used to watch "The Lemon Drop Kid" every Christmas Eve when I was in high school. Now, that movie is a staple for Linda and I every Christmas season. 

I love that scene from "The Lemon Drop Kid" because it reminds me of Christmas shopping when I was a child. 

In those days, we didn't go to a big box store to do our shopping. Big boxes came from little stores. 

Not long ago, on Facebook I shared an old black and white photo that reminded me of my home town. At first I thought it was Main Street in the 1940s (years before I was born). It pictured lavish street decorations and what looked like dozens, maybe a hundred automobiles crowding downtown shortly before Christmas as shoppers lined the sidewalks, dodging in and out of stores, carrying their packages filled with things they were giving as Christmas gifts. 

Then, someone pointed out it couldn't be my home town because all the cars were headed the same direction and our Main Street was two-way up and down the big hill where our business district set. 

Oh, well. That photo generated a lot of comment on Facebook. It seems many of us are nostalgic for the Christmas shopping we remember or that we have seen in "The Lemon Drop Kid" and other movies. 

Times change and in the words of Jane Wyatt, the mom on "Father Knows Best," "Why fight it?"

I hope my grandchildren have happy memories of shopping with their parents. It might be going to the big box store or looking online for toys they want. I'm afraid they won't share my joy of watching the huge electric train set dodge in and out of tunnels and past miniature villages that I watched every year in the toy department of a large department store, but I am sure they will have other happy memories to share.