There were two events to be celebrated. The first was the birth of the baby, and a son at that, so that now they had one of each. Congratulations-such as ‘Clever girl’ on the telegram from her 5 Newcastle friends; best wishes; plants; and chocolates arrived at the hospital for Cyn.
When she and Charlie came home from hospital, and Cec and Linda returned from their stay at the Ganders, the Costains celebrated Christmas a bit late, and Cyn later sent her mother the usual list of the loot!
Cec, Cyn, & Lindy’s Christmas Presents 1952
From:
Grannie. You know!
Gunborg. Blanket holders– they are green plastic ducks & their beaks open on a spring & hold the blanket & then there are ribbons attached to tie it to the top of the crib. (We don’t need these now- she keeps under the covers nicely)
Coloured wooden toy shaped like this [see above] There are coloured wooden rings to fit over the post & she loves putting them on and off.
Dan. “Stripey to the Rescue”-a nice little book but a bit old for her, so I have put it away.
Wooden Build – a -Train – this is a dear little train which takes apart & puts together very simply & with big pieces. Linda quite can’t quite manage the building yet, so she can “unbuild” it very successfully! She pushes it along and says “Woo-hoo” like trains here do!
Amy etc. 3 woolie jackets for Charlie- all the same pattern as the ones she sent before – two little blue ones & one bigger white one with a blue edging. A white lamb for Lindy. She is quite fond of it but prefers her old pink bunny & the Teddy Dottie sent her – but on the whole she doesn’t bother with that kind of toy much.
Connie & Leonard– A scarf for Lindy – very nice & soft & warm – camel hair coloured. Illustrated for us – a year’s subscription I presume & am I embarrassed as we only sent a card!
Mrs. Allan – Hankies for Lindy- they are done up so cutely to look like a little folded umbrella.
Jessie & Norman – Panties for me – very pretty white ones with frills!
Diary for Cec.
Dress, cardigan & toys for Linda! The dress is a sweet little white silk one & fits her nicely now. It is quite plain except for a little embroidery on the skirt & has a little round colour & buttons down the front. The cardigan is just lovely – the prettiest one I’ve seen.
It is white with pale pastel pink, blue & green knitted in every few rows like those jumpers Anne made for me ages ago. It is a bit big which is nice too. The toys are really a little young for her but will come in nicely for Charlie- a rattle like a bird in a cage & a pink plastic phone which is a rattle two & a comb & ring in pink to match.
Miss Lefroy – “Animal ABC” for Lindy & a little book for me.
Irene – Diary for me.
Tie for Cec– dark red & gold – a bit startling I think but not too bad & Cec is wearing it!
Bib for Charlie.
Blue sandals for Lindy. These are rather sweet little things made of kind of plastic material but unfortunately are too small for her. She got so mad when we couldn’t get them on & tried to take them away – she howled & demanded them back & kept trying to put them on, so we had to make them disappear! Hope she will have forgotten them by the time Charlie gets them!
Nan. Play Balls– this is a clever toy to0- a stick on a stand & hollow coloured plastic balls which thread on it. This is a bit like Gunborg’s but more difficult so I put it away for a rainy day! Nan said in the letter that my present was coming with a little one for Charlie, but they haven’t arrived yet.
Granny & Grandpa Costain – Socks for Cec- nylon.
Gloves for me – very pretty white wool ones with a tiny bit of red embroidery with pearls! Writing paper for me too.
Panties for Linda – very sweet little pink ones with embroidery! Did I tell you Granny C. had also sent her a pair of white overalls to match her white corduroy coat & a sweet little lace trimmed bonnet? Two little bonnets really- a tiny one for the baby.
Margie, Cy etc. – Cigarettes for Cec.
Chocolates for me (in hospital)
Blocks for Linda – these are hollow square ones with pictures on, that fit inside each other.
Rattle for Charlie.
Mrs. Burrough– Plant for me (in hospital)-pretty African violet.
Dottie – Magazines for me- Vogue- Ladies Home Journal etc.
“One Upmanship” for Cec- a funny book
“Peter Rabbit” Hankie, Toothbrush Apron for Linda. Lindy just loves “Peter Rabbit”- she calls him “Petey” & he & “Baa-Baa” are her two favourites & I’m afraid are getting a little worn looking!! The apron is a little big, but sweet.
Auntie Muriel– Calendar for us all.
Bar– Brooch for me- pretty & small
Golliwog for Lindy- just tiny (about 4”) and made of pipe cleaners- has a red & yellow coat.
Til & Lois– Petticoat for Linda – so sweet & grown-up – white silk with lace edge & shoulder straps!!
Tile & ashtray for us a greeny-yellow pottery. Cec & I think they are rather horrid, but apparently C’Zelma does them & sells them.
Lu, Pete,etc. Panties for Lindy – just like Granny C’s but white!
Notepaper for me.
Crackles for Charlie.
Phyl Douglas– Notes for me (in hospital)
A Trix– White baby jacket for Charlie – very nice – a bit big & in fact Linda has been wearing it although the sleeves are short!
Lea, Wendy etc.- “Mother Goose”– a nice little nursery rhyme book with pretty pictures.
Mary & Bill Stuart– Dress & panties for Linda. These are really lovely- handmade by Mary of pale blue, white-dotted Dayella with white smocking – just right in size- maybe a little big.
Daddy & Lindy to Mummy.
Sweater – long sleeved, buttoned down the front- dark red with tiny white pearl buttons & very nice.
Nylons– goody-goody!
Slippers– I got these early to go into hospital. They are black quilted satin & are both elegant & lovely & comfy.
Cutting out scissors– a lovely pair from Singer’s.
Pulley Cec made for me in the basement. Did I tell you about it? He made it & fixed it up all as a surprise for me while I was in the hospital – wasn’t it perfectly sweet of him?
Mummy & Linda to Daddy–
Cigarettes box of 50
“Murder Must Advertise”
Wool scarf (grey) These were surprises!
2 Shirts- u.shorts & 3 prs socks he had to have & we got together!
Daddy & Mummy to Lindy –
Cleaning Set – Cec got this while I was in H. It is just cute- a little mop, carpet sweeper, broom, dustpan, hand mop & duster – also a tiny apron – so that she can help me clean! She loves them & carpet sweeps with great energy!
Rubber car with Donald Duck in.
Blocks made of wood with alphabet & pictures on.
Doggie playing a little xylophone which pulls along on a string and goes “plink-plonk”! She gets a lot of fun out of this & is just beginning to get the idea of pulling – she much preferred to push things at first but will do both now.
Dolly – a cloth doll with a rubber head about 1 1/2 feet long – it is a boy doll in blue pyjamas & she has him in bed with her. Before Christmas she seemed crazy for “babies” but now she seems to like her wooden toys more. [I always thought, after I started reading Dr. Spock at the age of 8 or so, that this doll, Tommy, was psychological genius on my parents’ part. Tommy was about the size of my brother, so not only did I now have cleaning tools to help my mother, I also had a baby to dress and cuddle and put to bed.]
Musical book – this is a musical box in the form of a book with the story & pictures in the front. We chose “Mary had a little lamb” & think it is lovely- Lindy is a bit doubtful! she can’t quite turn the handle yet.
Lee, Jim, & Barry– Wooden toy to pull – it has a little bell & tinkles as she pulls it.
I think that is all! Aren’t we all lucky? Particularly our little daughter! Poor little Charlie didn’t get anything from Mummy and Daddy you’ll notice, but we’ll make up for it later!
A Family History in Letters 