Well, all is nearly prepared in most homes for Christmas on Thursday. However, there is always time for a tiny amount of last minute shopping. Reliable Market is busy making fruit baskets for last minute gifts, or a calendar, Peter Simon’s yearly masterpiece is always nice. The Vineyard calendar makes a swell gift and the Holiday Shop in Vineyard Haven has a nice selection of items. Jen Wool and Dan Leventritt have decorated in front of their place. The boats were packed with people going to and from the mainland to shop for Christmas last weekend, also some folks got a head start traveling off-Island for the holiday to be with their families.

The 36th annual Solstice Party held by Katherine Long and the Jacksons was as usual a huge success. The wide array of people who attended was very impressive, the conversation was delightful and the food prepared by many chefs was nothing short of superb.

On Sunday we will officially be into the winter season and here is hoping it will be mild. Also, we will have reached the shortest day of the year, and soon they will be starting to get a tiny bit longer each day. Seed catalogs have begun to arrive in the mail so you can start planning your garden after the holidays.

Malcolm Hall, his wife Judy and family from Oklahoma City wish all their Vineyard friends a very happy holiday season. Malcolm will be starting his okra seeds after a house full of family and guests return to their homes.

Shopping has been difficult at best, however, we are managing. If you are in the Providence area and have Portuguese blood you must make a pilgrimage to the Taunton Street Bakery in East Providence, truly a delightful experience. Their orange cake is a specialty at this time of the year and it is out of this world!

Rev. Cathlin Baker, minister of the First Congregational Church, reports that on Sunday at 3:30 p.m. the church led by director of music and organist, David Rhoderick and guest conductor Phil Dietterich invite you to enjoy a very festive performance. Come and enjoy a moving prelude and traditional carols by the choir and guest performers. The choir will also invite the audience to sing along with holiday favorites. A reception follows the concert and doors open at 3 p.m. Admission is $15 and students are free. All proceeds benefit operating expenses of the church. For more information, call 508-693.-2842. Also, you may choose to attend one of the two services Wednesday evening offered by the church. Music begins at 4:30 p.m. and at 5 p.m. the annual Children’s Pageant will be held at the Agricultural Hall. The Joyful Noise Choir, made up of school children from all over the Island and directed by Brian Weiland, will provide music for the service. Following the pageant, she extends an invitation to all those who would like to attend the traditional candlelight worship service in the church at 10 p.m.

Nic Andre of Old County Road reports that his grandparents Manfred and Sabine Buettner of Kuehlungsborn, Germany, a town on the Baltic Sea that he says is much like the Vineyard with a busy summer and a calm winter, will visit. This is not their first visit here as they enjoy the lifestyle on the Vineyard. They find the people here great and always feel welcome wherever they go. They are going to be staying for the holidays and will depart in January.

Bob Luskin of Washington, D.C., reports that his wife Charlotte Fallon and her children Nathalie and Miranda and his sons Cass and Peter wish their Vineyard friends all the best for the holidays and good wishes for the New Year. Also Rosemarie Tedeschi and her sister Dianne Carbone send their best to everyone for the holidays.

Sal Laterra arrived last Wednesday to visit Phyllis Meras at her Music street home. Sal left on Monday after they attended several parties while he was here and has gone to be with his children and grandchildren for Christmas and the New Year. He wishes his many Vineyard friends all the best for the holidays. Ed and Jane Konicki of Webster, and Ava and Naomi Plakins of Doylestown, Pa., echo that holiday wish to all their Vineyard friends.

Walter Smith, an antique dealer and good friend from Augusta, Ga., called me last Friday to tell me at an antiques show in Atlanta, Ga., in a vendor's booth just three tables away from his was a statue he reckons was about three feet tall. No one knew much about it, where it came from nor could they read the sculptor's name. He told me it caused such a commotion that he walked over and not only identified the sculptor but also told folks where he lived, that he had met him and the location of the gallery it was first displayed. It was a Tom Maley original, he says he could tell from its distinctive style. He told me that it truly is a small world. He, his wife Lisa, daughter Megan and his son Bruce and his wife Angie send their best to all of their friends here on the Island.

Linda Alley reports that tomorrow will be the next to last Winter Farmers’ Market at the Agricultural Hall, 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Now is the time to get those last minute holiday gifts from your favorite vendors.

On Dec. 22, 1949 the school presented its Christmas program the same afternoon it closed for the holidays. As the school was without heat due to an electrical failure, the exercise was held in the Agricultural Hall. The play Mother Goose Land was presented by students Joan Merry, Walter Vincent, Alice Churchill, Virginia Bardwell, Winifred Alley, Peggy Scott, Rita Alley, Constance Morrow, Meg Wilkinson, John Alley, George Churchill, Shirley Burt, Margaret Duquette, Dixon Rogers, Robin Elwell and Veronica Kelly. Christmas carols were sung by the entire school and recitations given by the students. Miss Helen R. O’Donnell, teacher for all four grades, directed the program with the assistance of Lydia Drew. Refreshments were served by the PTA.  

Happy birthday to Janice Manter, Jeff Dando, Pat Hughes and Logan Russell today; Rosalie Powell, Ray Gale, Shane Laderoute, Laura Edelman and Sally Huebscher tomorrow; Cathy Weiss, Alex Goethals, Emma Conley and Fausta Edey on Sunday; Barbara Silk, Mary Lou Delong and Carol Brown on Monday; Mark Clements, Cecelia McCarthy, Wendy Gray and Dr. Caroline Flyer on Tuesday; Ann Howes, Holly Coyne, Marg Luening and Gabriel Robinson-Lynch on Wednesday; Steve Vages, Chris Bird, Christina Montoya and Michael MacLean on Thursday. Happy anniversary wishes to Bob Bunch and Sandra Polleys.

Well, that is all of the social news for this edition. If you have any news about the holidays and guests at your house, please call or email me. We want to take this opportunity to wish all of you a very Merry Christmas and a Happy Holiday season.

Send your West Tisbury news to: alleys@vineyard.net.