Can't you imagine her throwing aside her scissors and spool-bag to
help the dear saint "tackle up" and load the sledge? And who knows but
she sits behind as he drives over the roofs of the universe on the
blessed eve, and holds the reins while Santa Claus dispenses to
favored chimneys the innumerable pretty things which he and she have
chuckled over together months and months before the rest of us knew
anything about them?

This is not a fact. It can't be proved in any way, for none of us
knows anything about the Santa Clauses or their abode. There is no
telegraphing, or writing to the selectmen of their town to inquire
about them; they haven't even a post-office address. But admitting it
to be a fiction, it is surely a pleasant one; so, as the children say,
"Let's play that it is true," and proceed to see what Mother Santa
Claus has in her basket for us this year. We will first pull out some
easy things for the benefit of little beginners who are not yet up to
all the tricks of the needle; then some a little harder for the more
advanced class; and, at bottom of all, big girls not afraid to dive
will find plenty of elaborate designs suited to their taste and
powers.

Here, to begin with, is something nice for papa's pocket:


A POSTAGE-STAMP HOLDER.

Cut two pieces of perforated board, or of stiff morocco, two inches
long by one and a half wide, and stitch them together, leaving one
end open. If you choose the board, a little border in cat-stitch or
feather-stitch should be worked before putting the pieces together,