This Teddy Bear Figurine stands about 3 ˝ inches tall. He is wearing a red and green striped sweater with a red and blue stripped scarf and blue mitten gloves. To keep his feet and head warm he has black boots and a red stocking cap with white trim and a white snowball at the end. On the ground by his boots is a small present wrapped in purple with white dots and a gold ribbon on it and near the present is a small sprig of holly. The Mini Globe rests on his back and inside is another Teddy Bear wearing a party hat and red bow tie playing a drum. A simple shake will cause the snow in the globe to whirl around the gifts as if in a snowstorm. Select this link to view our Unique Christmas Gifts.
The Making of Toys.
Toy making is a large industry in the United States. For a long time almost all manufactured toys came from Europe. The French made costly and beautiful toys, such as lovely dolls with fancy costumes. The city of Nurnberg was the center of toy making in Germany. Until the end of the 1800’s there was not a doll factory in the United States. During World War I, only a few toys could be imported from other countries because ships had to carry soldiers and supplies. As a result, toy factories sprang up in many places in the United States. Since World War I the United States has placed a high tax on imported toys. Today, Winchendon, Mass., is the greatest toy making center in the country. Select this link to view our Christmas Figurines.
Snow Globes
A snow globe is a transparent sphere usually made of glass enclosing a miniaturized scene of some sort, often together with a model of a landscape. The sphere also encloses the water in the globe; the water serves as the medium through which the "snow" falls. To activate the snow, the globe is physically shaken to churn up the white particles. The globe is then placed back in its position and the flakes fall down slowly through the water. Today's snow globes sometimes have a built-in music box that plays a Christmas carol. Select this link to view our Unique Christmas Ornaments.
“‘Twas the Night Before Christmas,” Poem History:
Clement Clarke Moore, a professor of Greek and Oriental Literature at the Episcopal General Theological Seminary in New York City, wrote “‘Twas the Night Before Christmas,” also called “A Visit from St. Nicholas,” for his son Robert in 1822. Robert liked to ride his pony, Lightening, in the woods and one day, he and his pony took a spill. Since his pony had broken 2 legs, they shot it. Robert loved his pony so much, so he did not try to get well, and each day he called pitifully for Lightening. His father had been working on a dictionary before the accident and thought if only he could write a Christmas story that would interest his son. He had written many books for college students, but never a children’s book. He finished writing “Twas the Night Before Christmas” on Christmas eve. As he started to read, a few lines at a time, Robert responded with a tiny smile and by the time he was through reading the Christmas poem, he said, “Read it again.” Again his father read the story of a visit from St. Nicholas. This time when Moore finished reading the holiday poem, Robert asked if their tree was up. When his father said it was, Robert asked to see it. Moore’s holiday poem is now a classic American Christmas story. Despite the reason he wrote it, Moore was a private person and was embarrassed by the popularity of his Christmas poem. The Sentinel, the Troy, New York newspaper, published “Account of a Visit from St. Nicholas” in 1823, but Moore did not acknowledge writing the Christmas story until 1837 when he published the holiday poem in a book under his name. In 1863, the cartoonist Thomas Nast created images of the Christmas story. We associate these images with the Christmas story even today. Clement C. Moore spoke modestly of his Christmas poem but it is a special present to us all. Select this link to view our Other Christmas Figurines.