Christmas at the Trimbles' by Maud Van Buren

Name: Christmas at the Trimbles'
Author: Maud Van Buren

Christmas at the Trimbles' unfolds in three parts, following the elderly Ephraim N. Trimble and his young wife Kitty as each secretly shops for the other's Christmas gift, both fixed on the same object: a swinging (tilting) silver ice-pitcher. In Part I, Mr. Trimble drives his mule Jinny into Rowton's store in Simpkinsville the day before Christmas, arriving before dawn to beat the crowd. He banters with Rowton and hires a boy nicknamed "Pop-Eyes" to hold his horse. Browsing the silverware, he recalls his lifelong aversion to swinging ice-pitchers, rooted in boyhood visits to Judge Robinson's house, where the judge's stern mother-in-law, old Mis' Meredy, presided over such a pitcher and made him uneasy whenever he was told to "be seated." He also recounts the story of Aleck Turnbull, who once sat on a musical rocking chair in that same parlor and fled in embarrassment. Despite his dislike of the pitcher, Trimble decides his wife Kitty admires the style enough that he must buy one for her, refusing any price reduction out of sentiment. He reminisces about Kitty's earlier gift to him, a side-saddle, and about his first wife, Mary Jane, contrasting her plainness with Kitty's charm. He has the pitcher engraved with a bold inscription and arranges for it to be sent to Paul's shop for marking, then heads home. In Part II, the same morning, Kitty Trimble goes to a store in Washington, having slipped away while her husband is out, guessing he's gone to buy her a large Christmas present. She talks with Mrs. Blakes, Mrs. Phemie, and the shopkeeper Mr. Lawson, considering gifts like a silver card-basket or Cupid vase before also settling on the swinging ice-pitcher for Ephraim, despite knowing his stated dislike of "swinging ice-pitcher" people, which he associates with old Mis' Meredy and with corrupting influences like railroads. She recalls a story of "crazy Mary," who was fatally struck by a train after staring at its headlight. Kitty also considers and rejects other gifts (a rocking chair, a smoking pipe, saddle-bags) before committing to the pitcher, having it inscribed "Ephraim N. Trimble, from his wife, Kitty," economizing on the wording ("lovin'" instead of "affectionate") to save money, since she is paying for the engraving herself from her egg money. Part III takes place at midnight and into the early morning on Christmas. Ephraim fills a borrowed stocking with small gifts and sets up his ice-pitcher gift on the mantel, delighted with himself, then falls asleep and dreams confusedly of Mis' Meredy transforming into tilting pitchers repeating "be seated." He is woken by Kitty crying in the dining room, having gotten up early and found, laid out, both her own purchased pitcher and his identical one, each inscribed for the other person rather than from them, since the shipping and marking became crossed between the two stores. They realize the mix-up: Rowton's shop never marked Trimble's pitcher in time and mistakenly sent a note apologizing and promising to mark it after Christmas, along with a slip bearing the intended inscription "To my darling wife, from her affectionate husband." Kitty, moved and a little ashamed at her own frugality in wording her gift, insists on returning her pitcher in exchange for practical items she writes down for her husband to buy: a silver-mounted briarwood pipe and smoking set, a pair of "overhauls" like ones another woman had given her husband, and fine tobacco, using up the full value of the returned pitcher including the cost of the added inscription. Ephraim rides off before breakfast with her list and the pitcher to exchange it. The story closes sometime after these events, with Ephraim now smoking his silver-mounted pipe by his hall's ice-pitcher, chuckling privately over the memory of the mixed-up Christmas gifts, while Kitty, watering her geraniums, catches his reflected smile in the pitcher's silver side and asks what amuses him; he answers only that he is contented.

By Maud Van Buren · First published 1927 · Genre: Comedy, Domestic Fiction, Romantic Fiction · 9,059 words

First lines

_Ruth McEnery Stuart_

PART I.

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Christmas at the Trimbles' is listed on Textopian as a short story by Maud Van Buren, dated 1927 CE.

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Work type: Short story
Author: Maud Van Buren
Date: 1927 CE
Language: English
Genres: Comedy, Domestic Fiction, Romantic Fiction, Regional Fiction, Holiday Fiction
Length: 9,059 words
Structure: 1 section, 98 paragraphs
Reading fit: Easy (6th Grade)

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Genres

Comedy — The narrative is fundamentally structured as comedy, with the central plot revolving around the humorous irony that both spouses independently purchase the identical ice-pitcher that the husband has repeatedly mocked throughout the monologues, creating escalating comic misunderstandings and resolution.
Domestic Fiction — The work centers entirely on marriage and household life, exploring intimate dynamics between spouses through gift-giving, personal shopping choices, and tender moments within the home, making domestic relationships the primary subject matter.
Romantic Fiction — The narrative emphasizes spousal love and affection, with both characters motivated by deep devotion to please one another, culminating in touching moments of physical affection and emotional intimacy that form the emotional core of the work.
Regional Fiction — Southern dialect pervades the entire text with distinctive vernacular speech patterns, local place names (Simpkinsville, Washington), regional social customs, and cultural specificity that create strong regional character and atmosphere.