Christmas Collectibles: Santas, Nutcrackers and German Pyramids
Spruce up your holiday gift-giving with Christmas collectibles that will be treasured for generations. With holiday spending likely to be down this year, one might consider "gifting" your family a special Christmas ornament or heirloom that joyfully re-surfaces each holiday season.
For years our family has been exchanging Christmas tree ornaments until our extended family had grown so large that the complicated logistics simply overwhelmed the satisfaction in finding a unique ornament for each family member. Rather than add to the gifting stress that occurs at this time of year, we decided to concentrate on finding a Christmas collectible or heirloom that we could use to decorate our home and gift to other families.
Among our favorite collectibles are the hand-made Santas from Lynn Haney. Lynn has been making elegant Santas since 1987 from his studio in Lubbock, Texas. Each year we spend a good hour or more with Lynn at one of the National Gift Shows discussing his new additions to the growing Lynn Haney collection. For instance, we were much impressed with this year's Candy Cane Santa. Or how about last year's Santa with the German pickle which we reordered again for one of our clients. These 18" to 24" Santas (and several larger ones) are carefully hand-crafted by Lynn's elves which work tirelessly to produce these stunning pieces of art.
Another favorite are the hand-crafted nutcrackers from the Erzebirge mountains in Germany. While there are many Chinese knockoffs, the craftsmanship of an authentic German nutcracker is worth every penny. This year we assembled a collection of the Seiffen nutcrackers that were made from the descendants of Frederick Fuchtner who is generally credited with creating the first nutcracker in 1870.
Another family favorite are the German wooden pyramids that spin perfectly as the wind turbulence from lighted candles turns a propeller that makes these two and three level pyramids circulate. The precision and elegance of these hand-crafted German pyramids never ceases to delight young and old.
This year as you ponder how to celebrate your holiday season, think about buying something that will become a treasured heirloom for your family.
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