Always on My Tree

I don't know why I'm compelled to save what I call "Misfit Memories" (memories no one wanted), but I do.

Maybe it's the thought that something meant so much to someone at one time, only to be forgotten or lost when they pass.

This mish-mash of paper and tinsel is no exception. I found them wrapped up in a bag this past summer.

Escape to Christmas

Merry Christmas to all who celebrate today.  And even if you don't celebrate, I think you'd still enjoy a visit to The Escape Hotel in Ft. Lauderdale for a Christmas dinner, circa 1950's. All for the paltry sum of $3.50. Bon Appetit!

Home For Christmas

When I was a kid, aside from the magical appearance of the Sears and J. C. Penney Christmas catalogs in our mailbox, nothing signaled the oncoming of Christmas more than the appearance of commercials promoting record album collections of Christmas music from K-Tel, Reader's Digest and Time-Life.

One particular album that fascinated me was the 1977 "Home For Christmas" album.

It wasn't the song content that fascinated me, although I loved Christmas songs, it was the pop-up interior.  The commercial boasted it was a "wonderful, unique decoration for under the tree, or as a holiday centerpiece" while songs by Tony Bennett, Doris Day, Johnny Mathis, Ray Conniff and Mahalia Jackson played in the background.  

We never mailed away for things when I was a kid.  Plus my mom already had her staple of Christmas albums from A&P and Firestone she played while we decorated the Christmas tree.  So I never had this album or its pop-up house.  Until this summer when I found it at a garage sale.

I was already familiar with the cover, so I'd kept an eye out for it at sales for years.  I'd come across it before, but the interior was always missing.  Then I found this one in mint condition.

Uncanny Finds -- Christmas Edition

I've previously blogged this can, but it's been nearly 10 years, so it deserves another look.

This can of powdered A&P Egg Nog was still about 3/4 full when I found it, hinting at its potability.  "A Sterilized Product".  Thank God it can't reproduce.

 

Mary with Santa

 This past summer, I came across this vintage Real Photo Postcard of a young girl with Santa Claus.

Saving Life Savers

I'll be the first to admit I've come across some weird things at sales.  I'll even admit to buying some of those weird things.  This is one of them.

Angels We Have Heard on High

I've been very lax about publishing any Christmas content this season (I know, big surprise), but I'm off this week, so hopefully I can give you some last minute presents.

Today I'll show you some Christmas angels I've bought over the past year.

Up first is this Timco light-up angel from the 1950's or '60's. It was made in Japan.

Saturday Evening (Christmas Blog) Post

It's been a while since I posted a magazine, but this one had so many great ads and Christmas ones to boot, so here it is.  I picked this magazine up at an estate sale over the summer.  It has a lot of issues, not the least of which is the red ink bled through most of the ads.  But they're still fun to look at.  And of course with the ads come my poor attempt at humor.  Please bear with me.

And so, here it is, from December 8th, 1951, The Saturday Evening Post (ads only).

Cover art by John Falter who did a number of covers for The Saturday Evening Post.

Let's Get this Christmas Thing Going

I know you've been asking, where's Tom been lately?

Okay, you probably weren't asking that, but I'm back after a mostly on-hiatus November.

Let's kick off the Christmas season with a few finds from the past year (and there were a lot of them).

Up first are these 3 "melted plastic popcorn" decorations.  They're actually called "Glitter Plaques".  They date from the 1970's.

Revlis Starlite Christmas Tree

There's a neighborhood garage sale in Affton, Missouri that's held annually in June to which I've been going since discovering it about 3 years ago. It's an older neighborhood and always seems to bring out some good items. This year, I came across a beaten up box filled with what appeared to be white branches to a Christmas tree.  Further digging revealed they were indeed that and that the box also held the trunk.  It looked similar to the silver aluminum trees I'm more familiar with having 2 sections of trunk that fit together with holes drilled into the trunk to receive the varied sized branches.  The needles weren't aluminum, but rather plastic or vinyl. 

It wasn't marked with a price, so I asked the woman who was hosting the sale.  She said $10.  Not knowing if all the branches were there, I was a bit hesitant and put the tree back.  As I was getting ready to check out with my other items, her husband whispered, "I'll let you have it for $5".  So I went home with it.  Setting it up, I found it was missing just one branch which didn't really affect the look.  I put it away in our attic and almost forgot about it until this past week.  I dug it out and set it up and decorated it using just red, green and gold glass ornaments and an atomic tree topper (another garage sale find).

Santa's Surprise Book (The Surprise is the "Follow the Dots" Are Really Easy)

The week of Christmas is upon us already.  If you need something to put you in the spirit, here's Santa's Suprise Book, courtesy of Walgreen (or Walgreen's, as we always called them).

Surprising Die Cuts

I picked up this vintage plastic wreath a couple years ago and it has sat in the box since then. Normally, we hang a "fresh" wreath, but to be honest, I usually wait until a few days before Christmas to buy one because they go half-off (yes, I'm cheap).  So I thought I'd hang this plastic one in the interim this year.

Trashed Santa

 Not a Santa that went on a bender, but rather a Santa literally thrown in the trash.

Last winter I while driving my daughter to school, I saw a debris pile in front of a house being renovated.  Actually, what caught my attention was a large dollhouse next to the pile.  I thought my youngest daughter would enjoy that, so I stopped to pick it up. After loading that up, I glanced through the other items thrown out and saw a Santa Claus figure covered in snow and leaves.  I initially dismissed it as a modern decoration, but figured I might as well take a look.  As it turned out, it was a Harold Gale piece, made most likely in the 1950's.

Here he is, still covered in dirt and leaves.  He stands 22" tall to the peak of his hat.

Merry Christmas (in Ads)

While the above "00" was meant to be a place holder for the ad, it's appropriate today.  Wow, that went quick.  And while I didn't get anywhere near the number of posts out I wanted to, please accept my Christmas wishes and this minor offering of more vintage advertising from the slicks I bought a couple years ago.

Christmas Slides In: The Office Christmas Party

I found time (a little) for one more post this season.  From a slide lot I bought a year or so ago comes this look into an office Christmas party circa 1966.  I have no time to provide commentary so make up your own captions.

Merry Christmas!

Cool Toys I Never Got for Christmas

As kids, we know Christmas is all about the toys.  What did you get, what did your siblings get, what did your friends get? The anticipation to present opening was overwhelming to me. Fortunately, my family opened presents on Christmas Eve, so I didn't have to spend a sleepless night, although it made for an anxious day.  Occasionally, my mom would break down and let us open one present early.

But let's take a step back from the actual day (or eve).  Christmas really started for me around September when the Sears and J.C. Penney's catalogs arrived in the mail.

I immediately perused their contents, flipping quickly to the back where all the treasures awaited.  With pen in hand, I began circling what I wanted, never considering the price, size or age-appropriateness.  I'll admit, I aimed high, many times knowing I wouldn't get my circled desires.  There was always the largest slot car set, a train, or the latest electronic gadget.  But Christmas is about dreams, right?

I hit a sale this summer that didn't show much promise and to be honest, I almost didn't go in. But I know "you never know", so I committed to it.  I found a few things of passing interest before heading to the basement.  It was a cluttered, dark space, but there was enough down there to pique my interest.

At the end of the basement, I found a closet door. Opening it, I was stunned to see stacks of vintage games and toys.  Among those were some I recalled circling in a catalog long ago.  I built my pile and took it to the owner.  He charged me $2 a piece and I was delighted to pay.

I've paired up some of the toys from that sale along with their catalog entry that I had once circled.

Shoot Out in Space:

E.T. Will Be Home for Christmas

I found this ornament over the Summer.  It seems odd to me, but shows the breadth of the marketing push behind E.T. in the early '80's.  I decided to bring him home.

Alpine Village Electrified Ginger House

I've long been a fan of the kitschy plastic 70's Christmas decorations.  Of course, they were what I knew in my formative Christmas years.  They were all over the Woolworth's I shopped at every Christmas.  This plastic Alpine Ginger Bread house is a great example of how Christmas decorations began changing in the '70's from the traditional paper and cardboard houses (Putz) into the more (then) modern plastic versions. I've had this one for years, a dollar find at a long ago garage sale.

Christmas Is...Wondering What's on Television

My childhood revolved around the television set.  What was on tonight?  What was on this coming weekend?  Who's on Fantasy Island this week? What's on now?!

The holidays ramped up my television obsession.  When is "Rudolph" going to be on?  What about Charlie Brown? Will this be the year without "The Year Without a Santa Claus?!"

It all started on Thanksgiving Day with the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade.  This was generally followed by an afternoon of odd assorted animated specials.  Sometimes they were those "Famous Classic Tales" like "The Mysterious Island" and "Gulliver's Travels", sometimes the similarly-themed "The Famous Adventures of Mr. Magoo" with Magoo playing the main character of classic literature, and sometimes it was those oddball Lutheran Television cartoons like "Christmas Is..." featuring "Benji" and his dog "Waldo".  This flex-disc mail giveaway promoted its appearance on local St. Louis television station KSD, channel 5 at noon on Christmas Day.

Seems We Just Get Started and Before You Know It...

Sorry, two Carol Burnett references in one week.  But as I was saying, Christmas is already here!  Those 25 days went quick.  Welcome to Day 25 and a Merry Christmas!

I found these animatronic Mr. and Mrs. Claus last summer at the annual Gramond Street sale in Affton, Missouri. It was the same sale where I previously found this Harold Gale piece.

They weren't as cheap as the Harold Gale I bought there (I only paid $5 for that).  The seller was asking $50 a piece, but I got them for $75 for the pair.  They were part of a department store display in Ohio made by the Creegan company. In speaking with the seller (who turned out to be one of the largest collectors of animated Christmas figures in the St. Louis area), he had purchased them as part of the closing of the Creegan company in 2010.

Like husband and wife team Harold and Viola Gale, George Creegan and his wife JoAnn started their own company that manufactured puppets and animatronic figures which were used in department stores around the world.  George Creegan even starred in a local Steubenville, Ohio children's show called "Creegan and Crow".

Creegan also provided the animatronics to the Mr. Rogers attraction at Idlewild Park in Pennsylvania.

A large number of animatronics were lost when The Creegan Company warehouse burned in December of 2013.

JoAnn passed away in 2003. George passed away in January of this year.

A couple of their designs, along with a Harold Gale Santa opening a treasure chest I picked up at the same sale, are now on display in my front window.

Merry Christmas and thanks for following me this month.  See you in the New Year!