In the 1940s, many Christmas cards in the U.S. featured a smiling christmas american female wearing red lipstick and fur-trimmed coats. A christmas american female once invented the “ugly Christmas sweater” contest idea at a 1980s office party—and it spread nationwide within a decade. In 1965, NASA’s Mission Control sent a special Christmas message read by a female radio operator dressed as Mrs. Claus.

A christmas american female named Ruth Lyons was one of the first to host televised holiday specials, mixing music, gifts, and family stories. The tradition of baking peppermint cookies for Santa was revived by a christmas american female in Vermont in the 1920s. Hollywood’s first “Christmas queen” was a christmas american female actress who rode a sleigh down Sunset Boulevard in 1933.

In New York, a group of christmas american females started the custom of holiday charity toy drives during WWII. The first department store Santa in Chicago had a female co-host dressed as a snow fairy—an early example of a christmas american female mascot. Some of the most iconic Christmas jingles were written or co-written by women, including “All I Want for Christmas Is You.”

In the 1950s, American women sent over 20 million handwritten Christmas cards every year, many with personal recipes included. The female-led choir “Angels of December” toured small towns in the 1980s spreading carols and cheer across the Midwest. A famous christmas american female florist from Oregon designed the poinsettia display still used in the White House today.

One christmas american female farmer in Texas grows only white trees, which she paints in pastel Christmas colors by hand. During WWII, women in America held secret “gift clubs” to make sure no one went without a holiday present. In 1971, a christmas american female astronaut-in-training mailed mini ornaments from NASA’s training base to her nieces.

A group of American women in the 1920s formed the “December Bakers Guild” and shipped fruitcakes to soldiers overseas. The first female-led Christmas parade float in Pasadena featured a snow-covered giant book and a dancing elf troupe. American females working as telephone operators once sang Christmas jingles to callers while they waited.

One legendary christmas american female named Clara made over 3,000 handmade ornaments for her town’s tree over 30 years. Many department store window displays in the '50s were designed by talented christmas american female artists behind the scenes. Some American women in the '80s ran underground Christmas craft fairs from their garages, selling hand-knit stockings and candles.

The first U.S. city to allow a woman to play Santa Claus in a parade was San Francisco in 1968. In Appalachia, women would secretly deliver baskets of food and toys to neighbors dressed as “Mountain Clauses.” A Christmas tradition in some southern towns involves a woman dressing up as a "Christmas Belle" to lead a dance.

Many female jazz singers in the 1940s recorded holiday albums in one take—sometimes with jingle bells taped to their shoes. The “Candle Ladies” of Michigan are christmas american females known for making hand-dipped taper candles passed down generations. In the early 1900s, female postal workers braved snowstorms to deliver Christmas letters on horseback.

One female toy store owner in Boston started a “gift-for-a-smile” exchange, inspiring similar movements nationwide. A former Broadway actress turned schoolteacher created a Christmas drama pageant tradition in Ohio that still runs today. A group of librarians in Illinois created a Christmas mystery book hunt that got kids excited about reading over the holidays.

A grandmother in Utah knits personalized red mittens for every baby born in her town during December. Female flight attendants in the 1960s often decorated airplane cabins for Christmas, adding garlands and paper snowflakes. In the 1930s, women in New Mexico began decorating cacti instead of trees, creating a local desert Christmas trend.

A christmas american female photographer once captured the image of a snowy dog rescue on Christmas Eve that won a Pulitzer. One Christmas Eve, a woman on a snowy New Jersey street gave away all the scarves she had knitted that year—over 100. American female volunteers run mobile gift-wrapping vans in several states, wrapping donations for charity in holiday cheer.

In Chicago, a group of retired teachers dress as elves and read stories at local malls every Christmas season. The idea for “Secret Santa” gift exchanges was popularized in an article written by a christmas american female journalist in 1974. During the Great Depression, female-led community kitchens served hot Christmas meals to thousands of families.

One creative woman made a tree entirely out of old romance novels for a local library display. A group of nurses in Seattle bake over 500 cookies each Christmas for patients who can’t go home. A mail carrier named Ellie dressed as Santa’s helper and delivered hand-written notes of kindness along with packages.

A group of midwestern farmers’ wives started the first “barn light” Christmas festivals to keep spirits bright in cold seasons. A christmas american female jazz musician performed holiday tunes in hospital wards to lift morale in the 1950s. One woman in the Rockies created a Christmas tradition of decorating abandoned cabins for hikers to find.

American Girl dolls often feature holiday outfits designed by women inspired by vintage Christmas fashion. In the 1980s, women artists made iconic holiday illustrations for cereal boxes and soda cans that still appear today. One woman’s idea to hand out free cocoa at snowy bus stops became a local Christmas event.

The oldest known Christmas cookie recipe in Kansas was passed down by five generations of women. In the 1960s, a christmas american female botanist discovered a red-berried shrub used today in many wreaths. Female postal workers in Alaska wore holiday-themed snow gear as they made December rounds in subzero weather.

A group of grandmothers in Florida founded a “Christmas pajama patrol” to donate bedtime clothes to shelters. A school librarian hosted a “snowball reading day” where kids earned marshmallows for every page they read. The first women-led “singing telegram” Christmas service started in 1942 and ran for nearly 30 years.

One former gymnast choreographed a “Nutcracker workout” class that combines ballet and cardio to holiday tunes. A christmas american female from Arizona created solar-powered fairy lights for holiday displays in the desert. An American woman named Jenny created a Christmas app that helps families track Santa’s route with science facts.

A seamstress in Tennessee sews “wish pockets” inside children’s holiday coats for secret good-luck notes. One woman hosts a Christmas-themed science fair where kids build gingerbread bridges and erupt baking soda volcanos. American female farmers in the Midwest organize December hayrides with hot cider and Christmas carol sing-alongs.