My favorite holiday decorations are a combination of
whimsical, vintage and on the edge of creepy.
A little kitsch doesn’t hurt either.
Examples include these guys from Halloween (CLICK ANY PICTURE TO ENLARGE):
And this adorable little girl:
Some favorite Christmas ones:
I love vintage (or reproduction vintage) postcards and ephemera. These festoon either side of our fireplace:
But this year, I think I’ve found the best. A few days ago we wandered into a new Asian
grocery store in our neighborhood.
Mostly what you’d expect and we were happy to have one so near. But…one section was odds and ends – dishes,
cookwear, utensils, etc. On a top shelf
were a few things left over from Christmas including this fellow:
So how could I resist?
All the plastic, the fold-down reindeer, the directions on the box that
implore you to “Please take the body of the elderly. Do not take the first, to prevent injury!” So, for $3.99 we brought him home. And only when we got him home did we realize
the true magic of this Santa. Under the
sleigh, there was a battery slot! He
does something! I didn’t know what – I hoped
that the accordion moved and maybe some music.
But he went beyond my expectations.
This is what he does (click to play video):
Listen to the children sing!
And observe the locomotion! And the ghastly
light up face! BLUE! He’s more than I could have hoped for.
You now have proof that I’m completely nuts. And I won’t blame anyone for steering clear
of me in the future (at least around the holidays). But I can’t deny that he delights me in some weird
and wonderful way.
Happy New Year to you all and I hope that you have your
decorations put away before us!
I've just been sitting here, nothing but the shusshhh of the ice machine and the low roar of the furnace, doing what I can only describe as a "CHACKLE" at the dear darling SANTA!
ReplyDeleteIt would be a sorta giggle, as well, but if I put in all those GGGGGGGGGs I wouldn't know how to pronounce it. You just DO beat all, Sweetpea, with all your finds and kooky taste and descriptions to heehaw over. See, now I've used FOUR versions of laugh, and Milton Berle shoulda been so blessed.
I've always thought of your little Halloween ones, the delicate, hesitant small girl and her bevy of friends, as CREEPLY art, like a fey version of those old museums all over the South, filled with thousands of primitive religious paintings and boards and signs and lit-up Lords' Suppers, all seemingly painted in an afternoon, by a horde of kindergarteners in a Kool-Aid religious frenzy in Vacation Bible School. Say, if Tim Burton and an old AME preacher got together on a project, and turned out an army of cute as pie little Muertos.
And the DIRECTIONS!! I've laughed til my face hurts. I want that. I'll have it laminated and wear it as a Life Alert necklace, for when I can't find my way home.
Thank you, Miss R! I knew you’d laugh at him, too. I love you comparing me to those odd little collections that reside in those little private ‘museums’. I’ve always loved them and wished they had gift shops like the big, public museums so I could buy reproductions. And this line: “if Tim Burton and an old AME preacher got together on a project” describes those places to a proverbial T.
DeleteHello Kim,
ReplyDeleteWell, we played the little film.....
We saw Santa go blue in the face......
We have noted the Halloween/Kitsch/Scary/Fun/Vintage decorations with which you decorate your house .......and we have notified the authorities! When the men in white suits appear they have promised yo be gentle and kind......go with them quietly and all will be well!
Happy New Year!
Jane and Lance – well, I DID warn you! I’ve been expecting those fellows in the white coats for years. They are very tardy! I can’t tell you what it means that you visit here. I feel so honored that the authors of my two favorite internet destinations (Hatthatt and Lawn Tea) always visit me and comment. Bless you both and stay well.
DeleteMr. Kim surely loves you to the moon and back!
ReplyDeleteHe does, indeed!
Delete