The check went into a coat pocket and the day went to the counters: the mirror nobody needed, luggage upstairs, the parade going by outside.

The small ones went into stockings or under the tree with a tag in pencil: something red for the kitchen, something for the windowsill, something for the man who had his own mug.

The ornaments came down from the attic in the same box as every year, the Santa went back on the mantel, and the dogs kept the hearth.

Small things, found one at a time and kept quiet until morning. Every one of them is different, which was the point.

Then the good things came out: the platter used once a year, the pitcher, the teapot, the glasses on their tray, and dessert plates that never matched, because they came from different grandmothers.

Some families spent the whole check on one thing. It was decided in spring, talked about all summer, and wrapped last. A Grandma Moses print is here too: her great-grandson Will painted the parade in chapter II, and in 1947 her Sugaring Off became a bestselling Hallmark Christmas card.