Christmas centerpieces dress up your Yuletide table. The possibilities are unlimited, so experiment with many materials during the few days you are home before Christmas.

What’s new, Carolyn Shehan, page 4

Christmas, Jane Brintlinger, page 7

Quick to make, Marilyn Mound, page 8

Belle Lowe goes to market, Jean Redman, page 9

Gift guide, Mary Vandecar, page 10

Holiday tables, Gwen Olson, page 12

Your electives have a future, Mary Vandecar, page 14

Is there a Santa Claus?, Mary Anne Larson, page 16

Felt, Carol Krebill, page 18

Heard at Frisco, Dorothy Will, page 19

Chafing dish hot, Kay Scholten, page 20

Trends, Donna Mumford, page 22

When Belle Lowe, Department of Foods and Nutrition, visited Europe last summer, she was primarily interested in the background and source of European food. Her tour included a study of food markets in each country.

If your Christmas budget won't stretch far enough, use your imagination instead. What you need is a bag of felt scraps, a needle and thread and some good ideas to make many welcome Christmas gifts.

Late news from every field of home economics was available to Julie Brogan, Home Economics Council president, when she attended the American Home Economics Association convention in July. Here are the "convention quotes" she jotted down for HOMEMAKER readers during her busy convention days in San Francisco, Calif.