Tuesday, October 18, 2005

Santa shopping spree!

My morning started very well - I found several really cute Santas - two that reflect the growing population of baby boomers spending their winters in warmer climates. Check these out:

Tiki Santa
Santa in the pool

If you click on them, you'll go straight to the page I found them on at a Nautical store. There was also a cute little pink flamingo Christmas tree if you need a whimsical gift for Grandma, hehe.


Cookie Jar Santa

The third Santa I fell in love with this morning was this Cookie Jar Santa. I think he will spend December on my Christmas table. We always have plates and tins and packages of tempting cookies sitting there. I think this Santa could help us hide a few to eat on New Year's Eve.

If you're a Santa collecter, I hope you're enjoying the season as much as I am. We're only a short time away from hauling out the storage boxes and displaying all our men in little red coats. Between now and then is the perfect time to find additions while you have the time.

Thursday, October 06, 2005

I think one of my favorite Santasthese nesting Santas have the cutest expressions. It must be the tilt of the head and the big eyes. I have found more really precious art dolls at this site. As soon as I decide which ones are my favorites, I'm going to make a list for the kids so they can do their Christmas shopping for my gift.

They are just one example of the dozens of Santas at RussianLegacy.com, which specializes in Folk Art like this, especially nesting dolls. This set of 5 Santas is about $22. They're made of wood and hand-painted in Russia. They ship about a week after you order. I'll post pictures of others as I find them. Not all the great Santas are nesting dolls. Most are carved wood and many are the tall, slim Santas in the International style that's been so popular this last decade. My post about the $1000 Santa has a picture that is a good example of the quality workmanship this import company represents.

The link above and the photo link both go to the online mall where I found these. The mall has the entire product catalog of Russian Legacy, not just Santas.

Wednesday, October 05, 2005

Gotta get my butt in gear

It's getting to be that time. I have to start clearing space in the livingroom, family room, dining room and office for the annual Santa migration. Dozens of Santas are sleeping in storage tubs in my garage, nestled in tissue paper and plastic grocery bags, waiting for that magic moment when suddenly, IT'S CHRISTMAS!

I also have to find all the digital photos I took last year when I was putting them away for the season. I knew that I wanted to showcase the collection, so I took the time to photograph most of them. I must have downloaded them to my laptop, because they aren't here in this PC. There are two favorites that I'm anxious to show because I found them in two different flea markets in two different parts of the world and have never seen similar ones.

The first is about 6-7" high and is Santa sitting in his chair, relaxing with a cup of coffee (or tea) in his hand. If you lift him up, there's a place to put incense so that the smoke circles out of the coffee cup. It's especially wonderful with a coffee related scent like vanilla or hazelnut. If I don't find the pix, I'll take another one.

The second is similar in that they both probably came from the same manufacturer and time period although I'm ignorant of both. This one has Santa baking cookies or bisquits in an old fashioned pot-bellied stove. The stove door is open, there are bellows and Santa has a black smudge on his face if I'm remembering correctly. For this one, the incense goes under the stove. When it's lit, the smoke is coming out the stove and it creates a wonderful whimsical scene.

All this talk of Santa is motivating me to get started. I can at least grab the box of the Santas I gathered in February on our winter vacation. I know I don't have photos of them. My favorite there is Grateful Red. Soon, I promise.