European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - December 19, 1988, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Wre a by produced Christmas card printed in London in 1840s. Others Hal this years Laler when Colele in a Bond Soreo dry self with the object of ii know the exact ,ne1 Lambourne a Ura Torand an expert 1 Christmas cards in me example of Cole s someone else which Ambourn said were sold someone y were Colo s work v Cote s cards Little duller said. Historian Oliver Savage they hardly caused a revolution. Even Hough they were on Sale Christmas cards caught on so Little hat Savage says the next 20 years added nothing to the record one of Queen Victoria s painters. W. Dobson sent Christmas sketches instead of letters in 1844. The world s second Christmas card is ally buted to we Edgley in 1848. Still nothing much happened. The Christmas card As we now know it owes its birth to the enormous improvements in the postal services which were then taking place said Hunter Davies another historian of the subject. First came lha Penny Black the world s first postage stamp in 1b4q. Then Street Corner mail boxes novelist Anthony of Day decorations includes using some care to avoid accidents. Weakness Low blood f Obrems can occur trom  Plant poinsettias can be Aalto officials say that ii 1 is swallowed it can Comfort while1 the Naves can cause an is in some people in danger is tire with j other greenery a try to keep the tree As moist As to Fible. The consumer product sately com Rii Sion urges. After bringing it Home Cut Oil a few inches of the base and place it in water. And keep tha tree Well watered when in use. Buyers should avoid dry Trees of course. A Good test is to pull of some Needles and see ii they resist. The harder they Are to pull Oil the belter. Ii the Cul part of the tree is Sticky wish resin that s a Good sign. Try bouncing the tree on the ground a Trollope s idea in 1b55. Then technical advancements in the 1850s which made. Color printing possible on a mass scale. The first recorded use of the term Christmas card appeared in punch Magazine in 1868. And then in the London times in 1871." Davies wrote. Bui with All the conditions in place printers and publishers soon moved in and the great Boom was on Savage wrote. So much so thai by 1880 Britain s postmaster general had to Appeal to people to mail Christmas cards and letters Early to ensure delivery. More Ihan 4.5 million were sent Hal year and mailman kept delivering them Inlo the Early hours of Christmas morning. In 1870 Only six Small firms produced Christmas cards. They were so Basic that in 1880 a printing firm organized a contest. To improve the Standard of Christmas card  it recruited distinguished artists from the Royal Academy of Arl As judges and Drew 5,000 entries. By the 1 b80s cards were so popular 1hat just one firm produced about 2,500 different designs. By 1895 it was estimated that 200,000 Christmas cards had been designed in 30 years in Britain alone. The first american Christmas card appeared in the 1850s. Showing a Santa Glaus people with presents and in inc background a negro servant laying the Christmas dinner Davies said. The earliest business Christmas cards were also developed in America. One from the 1830s shows a be whiskered anger winged stockbroker with the verse i Hope you will not think it strange i i Fly from the Stock Exchange to bring you the news surprising that All the new year Bonds Are  bit a Shower of falling Needles cells you that it s too dry. When going to bed or leaving the House turn Oft lights on Trees and other decorations the commission said. And never use candles on Trees or near greens chock All lights for broken bulbs and. Frayed wires before installing them. And discard any damaged airings. Never use lights on a metallic artificial iree., a faulty string can cause the entire tree to become charged potentially causing an electrocution. This Typo 61 tree can be. Brightened by a so Leighl shining on it. Other safely suggestions from the -. Safety commission include. Arl Ilicia Snow sprays can irritate the lungs if inhaled. Read the directions carefully and follow them. Wear gloves when decorating what sunglass Angel has to avoid irritation to eyes and skin. Use plastic tinsel rather than the. Leaded kinds which could be  ingested. In Homes with children be especially careful of using frag Ste decorations of items with Sharp Points or which resemble Candy of food. A. Before lighting any lire make sure Immings and wrapping paper Are Clear of the area. Do not Burn wrappings in the fireplace. Dealin with Holiday overspending los Angeles times Les Kirschbaum. President of mid continent agencies inc. One of the largest debt collection agencies in the United Stales says Christmas Over spenders often fall into one of several character types. Among them. Depression spenders. Espousing the Motlo when the going gets Tough the Lough go shopping they buy to boost their emotional Sale. Me Loo buyers. Not having the financial resources to keep up with the Joneses they rely on credit cards to do so. I gotta have it buyers. They must have one of every lad product and usually Are avid viewers of Home shopping network. Cashless buyers. They refuse to carry Cash no matter what the circumstances. They Wilt charge a pack of chewing gum. ,. Credit card collectors. They accept every card offered to them and like to show Theoli in Public. To overcome these and other tendencies financial experts Oiler the following lips to keep Holiday shoppers from Over extending themselves set an Overall budget for Christmas spending based on what you can afford and stick to it. Make a list of whal gifts you will give of see if it meets the budget. Avoid Spur of who moment  keep a running lab of whal you Ore spending and compare Hal with your budget. Consider attaching a slip of paper to the Back of each credit card and. Write the amount of each Purchase on it As you go along. Beware of deferred payment plans. Even though you won t have to pay for a while you could incur enough in. Finance charges to double the Cost Al your merchandise. Consider drawing names among family members to decide who will give gifts to whom. If there s any doubt Aboul what you can afford Don t use credit at All. Just use Cash. Or 19, 1988 the stars and stripes