Christmas Eve and All is Well!

All is well in our home this year, and we hope that all is well in yours!  We’ve  decorated our home, done a little baking, attended a local church choir’s Christmas musical presentation, delivered Christmas presents to our grandchildren, shared a bit of Christmas cheer with some neighbors and we’re ready for Christmas Day!

Here’s our Christmas tree as viewed from the second floor of our home.  We’ve been collectors for years…and we have many, many Christmas ornaments.  They’ve been purchased for us by friends and relatives and we’ve bought quite a few on our many road trips.  One of them was made by our ‘little boy’, back when he was just 9 years old!  Several have been handed down through the family, including one beaded angel that dates back to the Civil War.

Another collection is focused on Santa Claus, in particular, miniaturized scenes  such as this one with Santa and his sleigh, (plus his bag), full of toys.  I collected a number of these back in my days with Montgomery Ward.  The company would hold an annual arts and crafts show and one of our company's officers envisioned and built these masterpieces just to unwind over the summer!

Here’s Santa with snowshoe's & pole's, escorted by a friendly black bear! He's wandering through the Smoky Mountains with his pack of toys to deliver to good little boys & girls!

I would never have the patience (or the imagination) needed to envision and then build these Christmas collectables… I would just go bonkers!  First you have to acquire or construct all of these bits and pieces and then you have to have a vision of what you want to create.  Finally, bit by bit, you have to assemble this miniature scene…ensuring that it really looks good and will stay together.

This is yet another Santa and his sleigh…with lots and lots of toys!  The artist who created these scenes actually wrapped the tiny packages in these various tableaus. 

This is one of Laurie’s favorites…Santa being pulled through the snow by a big St. Bernard!  As indicated by his scarf, he’s moving along at a brisk pace…such is the magic of Christmas…

Finally, this is one of our favorite Santa collectables… One challenge I had when these Christmas minatures were displayed for sale was that the executive who built them reported to another serious collector, her boss, who was a senior officer of the company!  That put me at a serious disadvantage when these pieces went up for sale…he had the first look and just a bit more pull...  But once, just once, I did manage to get the jump on her boss and the horse and sleigh are the result… Fortunately, it was a friendly competition, as her boss saved my bacon on more than one occasion.  We’ll have to compare our Christmas collections some day!   

Laurie and I wish each and everyone a very Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays and a Happy, Healthy and Prosperous New Year!

Just click on any photo to enlarge it…

Thanks for stopping by and sharing the Holidays with us… HO! HO! HO!

Take Care, Big Daddy Dave