This charming straw ornament was picked up years ago by Sarah in Santa Fe, NM. It has proven to be remarkably sturdy over the years, and has been witness to many memorable Christmases, including the one that we call the QVC Christmas. It was the year one of the grandmothers, who happened to be a huge fan of shopping on QVC (Quality Value Convenience – a television shopping show) sent some very memorable gifts.

The boys each got a pocket knife. These were grand multi-tool knives, Swiss Army knock-offs that included among other things a corkscrew, a screwdriver, a tiny saw, and 2 knife blades. Sounds reasonable but – ALL of the boys got the pocket knife, including the 5-year old. To make matters worse, the knife blades were dull and wouldn’t stay in the locked position, unlike the corkscrew which seemed to perpetually be in the locked position.

Each of the girls, including the 3-year old, got a Vanna White doll, 11.5 inch Barbie knock-offs of the hostess for the popular game show “Wheel of Fortune”, that came with an array of evening gowns and teeny tiny shoes. Initially appealing, issues quickly became apparent. First, the very small snaps were hard to manipulate, especially for the youngest. This issue resolved itself quickly as the snaps became detached but created the new issue of the dresses not staying on. The shoes wouldn’t stay on either. But the worst was that the heads kept popping off, which distressed the 3-year old to tears.

It was quite a morning – little shoes and doll heads littering the carpet, boys eager to find something – anything – including chair legs, to whittle with a knife too dull to cut butter, a crying toddler. Most years this same grandmother sent very suitable gifts for the children. I can’t remember any of them.

Historical note: Why QVC? This was before Amazon, which started in 1995 when Jeff Bezos began selling books on-line from his garage. In 1997 he expanded and began to sell other items. Humble beginnings for what is now a massive worldwide online retailer.