Christmas decorations are of many kinds. Many good society people prefer to rent a public hall or assembly room when they are going to give a dance to 500 people, rather than turn their home upside down for a week. Perhaps the "old man" kicks. I don't blame him. If well heeled I should say, "Go and have your fun; all you want; but don't disturb my easy chair. I will pay the bills, but be careful, my dear wife and daughter."

At these events the florist has a great chance to display his skill and taste, and his work shows to. the greatest advantage, as the halls are generally bare of any permanent decoration and well repay the florist's work. Here is where your wreathing of laurel the best of all comes in. Pillars and balconies are draped with wild smilax, chandeliers and gas jets are adorned with holly branches, the mistletoe bough hangs in some convenient nook, and the evening has all the features of old England (except the accent of the people) a hundred years ago. Christmas, once so coolly kept in this country, is now the great festival of the year with Jew and Gentile alike. We often hear from our patrons when we are taking an order: "We want it to look and feel real Christmassy, you know." They hardly know themselves what that is, but the feeling runs in song and legend, and that Christmas is associated with holly and red berries. "The mistletoe hung in the castle hall, the holly branch hung on the castle wall."

Work with Wild Smilax.

Laurel and leucothoe are always used in wreathing and are very effective, looking much richer than wreathing of ground pine. The magnolia sprays are fine on panels or walls and should not be crowded, but should show their fine outlines.

Holly is prettiest in branches and sprays, and there are lots of places to use it.

The wild smilax is the greatest acquisition of all. Just wound around pillars, covering ceilings, or on the outlines of arches, it is grand and becoming.

Church Decoration for a Wedding.

There is usually a stage in the hall and there is a place to make a palm display of the finest kind. If flowering plants are used they are usually colored azaleas and poinsettias. The latter is now a standard decorative plant in many cities, and always wanted in decorations around the holidays. It is associated with Christmas as much as the holly berries, and with us is known as the Christmas flower.