Scintillating rhythm of "Manhattan Towers" drifts across the empty stage. Suddenly there is a burst of loud, bouncy music, and the stage is alive with bustling people in red and green costumes. A street sweeper, in a dazzling white uniform, saunters jovially across the stage, and a policeman waves and whistles frantically at a noonday shoppers. The scene is typical of a busy thoroughfare in New York.

When your mother was a little girl, often seamstresses stayed in the house for a week to outfit the family each year. Then the inside of a dress was just as finished as the outside. Those seamstresses took pains to finish each seam so that they could be sure it wouldn't ravel. Recent graduate research at Iowa State has taken guesswork out of seam finishing. Findings will mean no more unnecessary sewing or hopelessly raveled seams for the modern dressmaker.

Your dream home may be a house of plastic. Think of it, you'll step into your plastic house, find yourself in a room furnished with intriguing plastic chairs and decorated with delightful plastic-treated wallpaper and draperies.

Gift Wrapping Specials, Patricia Keast, page 3

What’s Afoot, Margaret Schaeffer, page 4

Finish That Seam, Barbara Short, page 5

Dance Club in Action, Patricia Binder, page 6

Plastic, Plastic, Everywhere, Marjorie Miller, page 8

Vidhyalaya, Universidad, Universitat, Peg Piaggi, page 9

What’s New, Nancy Voss, page 10

Cooks’ Christmas Favorites, Ruth Behnke, page 12

Alums in the News, Jane Novak, page 14

Here’s An Idea, Carol Dee Legg, page 16

Make It a Record Christmas, Barbara Short, page 20

Your Christmas packages can have that "something special" look. Wrapping individuality is a quality that can be obtained without spending a lot of money for elaborate materials or staying home nights from Christmas activities.