(3 of 3)
The spirit was preserved, too, in muc of the last-minute riot and ritual. Across the country, shopping lists were being compiled and presents assigned with furious abandon (September's determination to find just the right beaded bag Minnie-Louise gave way to mid-December's impulse to settle for the first handkerchief displayed on the first counter passed). Old friends were elbowed aside in favor of a moment from the salesgirl, debutantes came out and went back in again and tuxedos were hauled out from attics and demothed. Christmas everywhere was clearly just around the corner, no matter where the corner was.