Dad was very into photo Christmas cards of us kids when we lived in Montana, and there are enough of these images to make up their own page. The remainder of the Christmas photos I found were the snapshots on this page.

Mom dated this first picture 1951, but, comparing it with some of those below, I think it must have been 1950. I just look noticeably younger. The setting is Momoo and Popoo's living room at 2314 Watson St. in Houston. Those boys who seem very interested in my present-opening are my cousins Bubbie and Don. Mom and Dad (along with vintage TV!) are in the background:

The following group is from Christmas, 1951, (Mom had dated the one on the lower left to that effect, and I'm wearing the same dress in all of them.) Another clue: there's no Joan! which there would have been in 1952. The location is again Momoo and Popoo's house. The top left shot features cousins Don and Junie, with Popoo holding me. Mom, Dad, and myself are in the top right, and Momoo, Popoo, Mom, and me are in the bottom two.

Here are three shots of Christmas, 1954, at the Watson Street house (according to Mom's dates). On top is one featuring all the Greenstein cousins (as well as Momoo and Popoo's vintage TV again)—Don, Joan, Bubbie, Kathleen, Junie, and Nancy. The one below it is just of me and Joan, intent on new toys. The last one shows Joan, with a good look at that famous "kids'" table. Was it possibly new that Christmas?

Here is another picture from Christmas, 1954, although the date Mom put on it was January 24, 1955! Momoo certainly kept her decorations up a long time! I'm sure I was thrilled to be included in this picture with Mom and my very grown-up-seeming cousins, Nancy and Junie, and their VERY stylish petticoat-supported circle skirts:

On the left below is a photo dated 1956 and featuring a multi-generational family group—back row: Don, Aunt Muriel, Junie, Uncle Donald; front: Popoo, Uncle Harvey, Momoo, Aunt Myra. On the right is another 1956 photo of Don and Junie with Momoo. I'm not entirely sure this one was taken at Momoo's house; it might have been at Aunt Muriel and Uncle Harvey's.

My cousin Nancy, oldest of the Greenstein cousins, has these memories of Christmas at Momoo's and Popoo's:

"I remember when she purchased the dining room table (later at your mom's house) and chairs.  My, was she proud of that. Each Christmas she placed a Christmas scene around a round mirror on the table.  She whipped Ivory Snow Laundry Flakes (soap), made the snow and placed little crystal birds around the scene.  It was my favorite part of  Christmas there. I helped her with the scene as I got older.  She always made such little things seem so special."

Here are a collection of pictures and slides taken at our first Christmas in the house at 3835 5th Ave. South in Great Falls, in 1955. The whole family at the table is framed by two of Joan (note the "logs" canister behind Joan—these pictures were taken after Santa!).

Here are a few pictures which might have been aborted Christmas card photo attempts, from this 1955 Christmas...

Now for a really great collection of slides which show some very special toys when they were brand new! First, I seem very intent on my new game, Ropes and Ladders, which certainly provided hours of entertainment over the years to more than one generation of the family. Note also the classic "American Logs."

Here's another shot of the logs, as I'm VERY intent on yet another present:

What a haul! The saucer sled got a lot of use while we lived in Montana, and I have some memories of the cooking sets and the little sewing machine. And how about that Howdy Doody game!

And here's what it looked like when almost everything had been opened! What a mess! Note the yellow tea set in the foreground; it gets put to use soon (see the next slide).

This last snapshot was taken after some cleanup and features our friends Annie and Tom Akerberg, children of good friends of our parents. I kept the shot this large to provide as much background detail as possible, since it was seriously underexposed. Note the matching pajamas Joan and I are wearing. Those may have been presents that we changed into before our friends came over.

Here is another assortment of photos, these from 1956 (some were dated)...

Here is a cute picture of Joan and Popoo at 2314 Watson in Houston. The development date was February 1958, so it must have been taken on our trip to Houston for Christmas, 1957 (note Nancy's graduation photo in the background on the shelf):

And, finally, this adorable shot of Joan. Mom dated it 1955, but what she's wearing doesn't match the other 1955 snaps, so I wonder if it might have been 1956 instead? At any rate, what a great expression of Christmas joy!

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