31 DAYS of SANTA CLAUS Day 1 Vintage Santas from the 50's and 60's

It might seem a bit early to be talking about Santa Claus, but if you've been to just about any retail establishment, you'll see that they are way ahead of me.

Not only is October the time of year for me to bring out my collections of cornhusk scarecrows and those crazy foamy plastic Jack-o-lanterns with the electric bulbs, it also the best time of year for me to start working on my Santa Claus gourds, cypress knees, a various ornaments featuring the jolly old elf.

This year I am doing something extra that I am really excited about. I will be posting a daily blog on my progress along with a bit about the Santas I collect.

Early this year I subscribed to Myquilyn "The Nester" Smith's blog "nesting place" at thenester.com and I purchased her book, The Nesting Place. She started the 31 Days writing challenge on her blog and many of her followers signed up to participate.

Visit these sites and check out all the topics and posts that interest you.

So, read and enjoy, follow the blogs, and don't forget to share them with your friends on Facebook and Twitter.

AND NOW...

DAY 1

I should start with a brief story about how and why I started collecting Santa Claus figures, paintings, plates, ornaments, postcards, etc.

My sister, who is one week short of being four years older than I, was given a Santa with a molded plastic and a velvet suit for her first Christmas. We also had a Santa head cookie jar that smelled like Lizzies since before I came along.

Then I received a Santa Claus head that you could hang on the wall and when you pulled the gold knob under his beard, a tinny music box played "Silent Night". I believe it was my Ne Ne (Mother's mother) who gave me a small rubber faced Santa doll with wire arms.  Other Santas, like one I made in school and one my first grade teacher were also added to our meager collection; however, every year we looked forward to them emerging from their boxes my parents kept stored in the attic.

Mother gave Gina her Santas and me mine once we had a home of our own. And, knowing what Gina's Santas meant to me, Mother surprised me one Christmas with one of each plus the hard plastic Santas, sleighs and reindeer that belonged to my NeNe. The Santa head cookie jar might not smell like Lizzies, and the Santa with the velvet suit might now be as worn and dingy from play as the original, and although I never remembered seeing my NeNe's house at Christmas, but I am still excited every year when they emerge from the boxes I keep stored in the attic.

I did, of course, create a Santa Claus today while trying to figure out how to create a button and a permalink.

Yes, it is very tiny...but it still took me over an hour until I made him just they way I wanted him to appear, but most of that was learning how to use Adobe Illustrator...AGAIN!