My friend Robert B. and I used to spend many lazy summer evenings on his front porch playing the old card game War combined with the wooden US map puzzle (upper right on Vintagetvs' illustration). Win a trick and you win a state to add to your collection.

We had many variations to make the usually boring and long lasting card game shorter and more interesting plus we learned the 48 states, their locations, shapes and capitols.

Sounds boring compared to today's juvenile distractions but we had fun playing it plus while playing we could plan the adventures we would do the next day such as take a bike ride down to the harbor and catch a cool breeze as we watched a banana boat unloading on Pratt Street. We hoped to see but never did see a boa constrictor grab a stevedore.

As a Dutchman, I got intrigued by the book "Wilhelmina" among the gifts, as at that time (1941) Wilhelmina was Queen of the Netherlands (in exile in London). I could not imagine that a book for children could have anything to do with Queen Wilhelmina. It took me some time but I finally found the book, and to my surprise it did have a dutch connection! The book in question is: Wilhelmina - a little dutch girl by Janet P. Johl, illustrated by Rosalie L. Lane.
In it an illustration which depicts Santa Claus' name giver: Sinterklaas.

From the Berkeley Daily Planet's obituary for Charles Rawson Collier (1935-2011): "Charles had a mischievous enjoyment and childlike enthusiasm for inventions, creations, and disruptions of the norm."

Full obituary here.

Christmas gifts are not supposed to be B&W.

From eBay.