Teddy Bear Christmas

Recently, I found this tiny, 5 inch tall vintage aluminum Christmas tree, dating from the early 1960s. Maybe it was intended for a funky, modernist dollhouse. It's now the perfect size for my little Peng Peng polar bear.

It's Almost Here!

For those who have been tormented by my Christmas peek posts, the wait is almost over: only 5 days to go, and all will be revealed!


Merry Almost-Christmas!

Santa Welcomes You To Toyland

Here's a peek at an antique toy exhibit I just put in at my library for Christmas.
(Sorry the pics are not the best: it was hard to get good images through the glass and around the awkward angles...)

 

Mounties and sailors and bears...oh my!

 

An aeronautically themed corner.

 

Dollies and tea sets have always been great Christmas gift ideas.

 

I spy a Steiff kitty, Little Orphan Annie, Mickey Mouse, 

and a ray gun...

 

...and a soldier, a sailor, ninepins, and a dolly.

The Lone Ranger keeps watch over a china head lady doll 

who appears to have fainted.

 

Antique German Santa Postcards

Ooooh: look what I found today while poking around at the local antique mall: two gorgeous German Christmas postcards, circa the early 1900s, featuring their rather stern and forbidding-looking version of Santa:

How different these are from our modern Santa! These guys are tall, skinny, their coats are blue, and they appear to be most definitely un-jolly. If you're wondering what's up with the sticks, well, according to my German friends, these Santas typically came bearing not only toys, but switches to beat the bad children with! (As if Santa wasn't already scary enough to most little kids...)

Antique German Santa Christmas Ornament

The famous psychiatrist Eric Berne once said, "Human life is mainly a process of filling time until the arrival of death or Santa Claus." That's perhaps a bleak and rather reductionist outlook, but I have to admit, I do spend a lot of time looking forward to Santa's arrival each year.

As a fan of the big guy in red, my holiday collections include a large assortment of Santa themed Christmas ornaments. In fact, my tree is decorated solely with Santa pieces, mostly in blown glass. I think I just like the tidiness and symmetry of a single decorating theme; but I suppose it's possible my Santa tree represents some subconscious "sucking up" to the great gift-giver himself. After all, what could be more flattering to him than an entire Christmas tree covered with representations of himself? Maybe my Santa tree inspires him to leave me extra presents.

Anyway, here's one of my favorite Santa ornaments, made in Germany circa the 1920s. The clear glass ball houses a teeny tiny Germanic Father Christmas, along with a couple of itty bitty bottle brush trees and some fake snow. It's like a little Christmasy world in there...