PUTZ STYLE CHRISTMAS VILLAGE

OUR FAMILY GOT ONE OF THESE PUTZ-STYLE CARDBOARD CHRISTMAS VILLAGES AROUND 1969. WE DISPLAYED IT UNDER OUR TREES THAT YEAR AND THE NEXT. FOR SOME REASON AFTER THAT IT WAS RELAGATED TO MY SISTER'S BEDROOM. WELL IN 1993 I MOVED BACK HOME FROM TENNESSEE. I ASKED MY MOTHER IF I COULD HAVE THAT VILLAGE SINCE IT JUST SAT IN A BOX FOR THE LAST 20 YEARS. SHE SAID YES. I'VE DISPLAYED IT, OR PARTS OF IT EVERY YEAR SINCE. HOWEVER LONG AGO THE ORIGINAL BOX IT CAME IN, AND THE ELECTRICAL LIGHT STRING DISAPPEARED. SO I'D ALWAYS KEPT IT IN AN OLD COWBOY BOOT BOX, AND USED A MINI-LIGHT STRING TO LIGHT THE BUILDINGS WITH.

THIS PAST SUMMER I HAPPENED ACROSS AN IDENTICAL SET STILL IN THE ORIGINAL BOX, AND ONE SMALL FORTUNE LATER IT IS NOW MINE. IT IS GOING TO HAVE A PLACE IN A NICE SMALL VILLAGE ON OUR HUTCH THIS YEAR. HERE ARE THE PHOTOS OF THE SET (INCLUDING THE FIRST PHOTO OF THE LAST YEAR IN 1972 THAT IT WAS EVER PUT ON DISPLAY IN OUR HOME):

















AS YOU CAN SEE BY THE PHOTOS THE SET FROM THIS YEAR IS IDENTICAL TO THE SET WE GOT IN 1969. MY DAD COULDN'T REMEMBER WHERE IT CAME FROM, BUT I'VE BEEN TOLD PROBABLY EITHER SEARS OR WOOLWORTH'S. I'M NOT SURE WHO PRODUCED THIS SET. ALL IT SAYS ON THE BOX IS "MADE IN JAPAN", AND NO. 1041.

THIS WILL BE OUR FIRST CHRISTMAS WITHOUT EITHER ONE OF OUR PARENTS BEING ALIVE. SO THIS VILLAGE WILL BE LIT IN THEIR MEMORIES! I LOVE YOU BOTH MOM AND DAD!!!

MICKEY'S CHRISTMAS CAROL READ ALONG

MICKEY'S CHRISTMAS CAROL READ ALONG:



MICKEY'S CHRISTMAS CAROL ZIP FILE

MERRY CHRISTMAS

CHRISTMAS SLIDE SCANS FROM OUR HOUSE 1968

I FINALLY FIGURED OUT HOW TO USE MY SLIDE SCANNER SO HERE IS A PHOTO OF MY OLDER BROTHER, YOUNGER SISTER AND MYSELF GETTING READY TO GO TO CHURCH THE SUNDAY BEFORE CHRISTMAS DAY 1968:

>

HERE'S A NIGHT SHOT OF OUR CHRISTMAS TREE FROM THAT SAME YEAR. THIS WAS OUR LAST REAL CHRISTMAS TREE. MY DAD FELL INTO THAT TRAP OF BUYING ONE OF THOSE AWFUL SILVER, ALUMINUM FAKE CHRISTMAS TREES. THAT IS WHAT WE USED FOR THE NEXT 2 YEARS UNTIL FINALLY THE FALL OF 1972 W. T. GRANT'S WENT OUT OF BUSINESS, AND MY DAD GOT A 7 1/2 FOOT ARTIFICIAL TREE ON CLEARANCE FOR $10.00 THAT IS STILL ONE OF THE BEST ARITIFICIAL TREES I'VE EVER SEEN. I PURPOSELY DIDN'T CROP THIS PHOTO BECUASE I WANTED TO SHOW THE WING ON THE WALL JUST ABOVE OUR HEADS. IT'S A SET OF THOSE FLYING DUCK/GEESE THAT WERE POPULAR BACK IN THE 60'S AND 70'S. BTW - YOU CAN JUST BARELY SEE THE LITTLE CHRISTMAS VILLAGE LIT UP UNDER THE FRONT OF THE TREE. IT IS ONE OF THOSE CARBOARD VILLAGES THAT LOOK LIKE THE GERMAN "PUTZ" BRAND VILLAGES. I STILL HAVE IT, AND PUT IT OUT EVERY CHRISTMAS NOW:



HERE'S A PHOTO OF THAT AWFUL SILVER CHRISTMAS TREE. FOR SOME REASON MY DAD DIDN'T THINK IT WAS EMBARRASSING ENOUGH THAT THE FAMILY HAD TO SEE THE SILVER TREE. THAT YEAR HE DECIDED TO SET THE TREE UP IN THE FRONT LIVING ROOM WINDOW. I GOT REVENGE ON IT THOUGH. I SOLD IT ABOUT 6 YEARS AGO ON EBAY FOR ALMOST $200.00....LOL:



I SOLD THE COLOR WHEEL WHEN I SOLD THE SILVER TREE A FEW YEARS AGO. ALL I COULD FIND WAS A PHOTO OF THE BOX IT CAME IN (BELOW IT IS A PHOTO OF THE BOX THE TREE WAS IN. THE PRICE TAG OF $5.95 WAS STILL ON THE BOX. IT CAME FROM A STORE CALLED "GRANDWAY" THAT WAS THEN IN THE BUILDING WHERE OUR K-MART HAS BEEN THE LAST 33 YEARS):







THESE ARE KIND OF SIMILAR TO THE DUCKS I WAS TALKING ABOUT ALTHOUGH MY PARENTS WERE A LITTLE MORE DETAILED IN BOTH THE BODY AND THE WING DESIGNS:

"THE NIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS" SEE, HEAR, READ #251

"THE NIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS" SEE, HEAR, READ #251::



THE NIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS ZIP FILE

VINTAGE CHRISTMAS - SPINNER ORNAMENTS & PUTZ STYLE HOUSES

HERE'S A COUPLE OF PHOTOS OF THE VINTAGE CHRISTMAS SPINNER ORNAMENTS MY LATE PATERNAL GRANDMOTHER GAVE ME. THESE WERE ALWAYS ON HER AND MY GRANDFATHER'S TREE EVERY YEAR THROUGH THE 1960'S AND 1970'S. ALONG WITH A COUPLE STRINGS OF 1960'S BUBBLE LIGHTS THAT DIDN'T SURVIVE THE 1980'S. BACK WHEN EVERYONE STILL USED EITHER C-7 OR C-9 CHRISTMAS TREE LIGHTS, THESE WOULD HANG ABOVE THE BULB. THE BULBS GOT SO HOT THAT THE HEAT WOULD MAKE THE LITTLE PROPELLER INSIDE SPIN LIKE CRAZY. I'VE TRIED BUYING SOME MORE OF THESE RECENTLY. THEY NORMALLY GO ANYWHERE FROM $20.00 EACH TO AS MUCH AS $200.00 FOR A SET OF 12 STILL IN THEIR ORIGINAL BOX. THEY BRING BACK FOND MEMORIES, BUT NOT ENOUGH SO TO PAY THAT KIND OF MONEY FOR THEM....LOL.






HERE'S A PHOTO OF THE PUTZ STYLE HOUSES I INHERITED FROM MY PARENTS. THESE CAME TO OUR HOUSE SOMETIME IN THE EARLY 1960'S. MY DAD CAN'T REMEMBER FROM WHERE OR WHEN EXACTLY THEY WERE PURCHASED. BELOW IS A PHOTO OF THE 5 I HAD OUT IN MY HOME THIS YEAR. IT IS A SET OF 8, BUT THE OTHER 3 ARE PACKED AWAY SOMEWHERE IN STORAGE.

ELVES FARTING "12 DAYS OF CHRISTMAS"

Farting Elves: 12 Days of Christmas | Funny Jokes at JibJab

Some Family Christmas Slide Scans

I often talked about the great Christmas' when my Brother got the Marx Battleground Playset, and I got the Marx Fort Apache Playset. Also the year before when my Brother got a Dicky Tracy Gun Set, and I got a Western Gun Set. Well I recently inherited my Dad's ten boxes of slide trays, and I've been scanning them into my PC. Ah the great memories. Here's the scans of those two great Christmas':

CHRISTMAS 1963:



CHRISTMAS 1964. MY SISTER, MY BROTHER AND ME SPORTING MY DANIEL BOONE PAJAMAS. OH YEAH. THIS IS THE YEAR WE GOT OUR RACETRACK TOO:



HERE'S CHRISTMAS 1962 MYSELF, MY SISTER AND MY OLDER BROTHER WITH HIS BIG SHOT GUN HE BROKE THE FIRST DAY...LOL. DIG THE FAKE SEARS CARDBOARD FIREPLACE:



THIS IS CHRISTMAS 1967 WHEN MY DAD BOUGHT ONE OF THOSE UGLY ALUMINUM CHRISTMAS TREES. THE ONLY GOOD THING ABOUT IT IS THAT BACK IN 2003 I WAS ABLE TO SELL IT ON EBAY FOR $105.00. WE USED THIS UGLY THING FOR TWO CHRISTMAS' UNTIL OUR LOCAL W. T. GRANT'S WENT OUT OF BUSINESS, AND MY DAD GOT A 7 1/2 FOOT, GREEN ARTIFICIAL TREE FOR $10.00. HE USED THAT TREE EVERY YEAR UNTIL HIS LAST CHRISTMAS IN 2008.



THIS IS A CLOSE-UP PHOTO OF MY DAD'S PARENTS CHRISTMAS TREE FROM 1962 IN WHICH YOU CAN SEE A COUPLE OF THE VINTAGE SPINNER ORNAMENTS THAT I INHERITED BACK IN 1997:

Harry Simeone Chorale "Sing We Now Of Christmas" (20th Century Fox Records FOX 1007 1959)

I thought I'd share the cover scans of this LP that I just found on ebay. I read on Amazon, at the page for the re-release of this recording on CD, that the new CD does not include the lyrics as they appear on the back of this LP cover. So I thought I'd do some high res scans of the lyrics for you, and try to set them up in pages containing the lyrics of 4 songs each. Here are front and back cover scans of the LP I bought. After that are the 8 Lyric Pages, and a 9th page that would be the last page of a CD Insert Booklet:

Christmas Through The Years 5 LP Box Set (1984 Reader's Digest RDA-143A)

Here's a set I'm working on now. I have the songs all ripped to my PC, but none of the files are tagged yet. Once I get that done I'll be sure to share the links in my YUKU Forum. Here's what the box cover looks like:

A CHRISTMAS RE-SHARE (I Thought I'd Bump This Up)

ON DECEMBER 23, 1954 CBS AIRED A LIVE SHOWING OF CHARLES DICKENS' "A CHRISTMAS CAROL" STARRING FREDRIC MARCH AS SCROOGE/BASIL RATHBONE AS MARLEY'S GHOST/MUSIC BY BERNARD HERRMANN/SINGING BY ROGER WAGNER CHORALE. THIS RECORDING WAS TAKEN FROM THE DVD OF THE KINEOSCOPE OF THAT AIRING. THE SOUND QUALITY IS NOT THE BEST, BUT YOU WILL NEVER HEAR THIS PERFORMANCE ANYWHERE ELSE AGAIN I'M SURE. ENJOY!!!




"A Christmas Carol" Starring Fredric March As Scrooge Zip File


"A CHRISTMAS CAROL" STARRING BASIL RATHBONE AS SCROOGE & FREDRIC MARCH AS THE NARRATOR. SHOWN IN DECEMBER OF 1959:







"A Christmas Carol" Starring Basil Rathbone As Scrooge Zip File

There is also an LP Of "A Christmas Carol" with Basil Rathbone as Scrooge, and the Lyn Murray Singers that I have not been able to acquire. Here's are examples of the front covers from 2 different releases of the LP:





I've heard these LPs are desireable because of the Christmas Carols the Lyn Murray Singers perform that are included at the end of side #2 of the LPs.


Kiddie Records Weekly has shared the older 78rpm version of this record HERE. It is basically the same recording as the 33rpm 12 Inch LP Version without the Christmas carols that are on the LP B-Side.

HAPPY CHRISTMAS EVE!!!

Well here it is Christmas Eve 2009. As we approach the big Day I just want to say how much this time of year makes me realize how much I miss my parents. They're spending Christmas together this year in Eternity. My Dad just died last September, and my Mom died Thanksgiving weekend of 2004. They'll have plenty of company with all 4 of their Parents, my Aunt Ila and her husband Bob Lees, and as of 2 days ago my Aunt Carol who was my Mom's Brother David's wife. Oh yes and also my oldest cousin Steve who died in 1998 from his lifelong struggle with CF, and his youngest nephew Donnie who was killed 2 years ago in Iraq.

We don't have our big 60 person Christmas Day gatherings any longer. However as time goes by those who have passed will start up the tradition all over again up there. We miss you all, but we know you are all in a much better place now! Love you Mom and Dad and everyone!!! Happy Christmas Eve!!!

Bing Crosby "The Small One/Orson Welles "The Happy Prince"

You can find this great recording shared at my YUKU Forum linked above!!!


I ALSO HAVE FOUND A COUPLE OF COPIES OF THIS RECORDING THAT WERE RELEASED IN NEW ZEALAND. HERE ARE THOSE COVER SCANS:

THIS ONE IS A 12 INCH 33 RPM LP FROM MCA (THE BACK COVER IS INDENTICAL TO THE LP I SHARED SCANS OF ABOVE EXCEPT FOR THE RECORD STOCK NUMBERS):



THIS ONE IS A 10 INCH 33 RPM RECORD FROM COLUMBIA RECORDS IN NEW ZEALAND (THIS ONE IS JUST THE STORIES WITHOUT ANY SONGS BY BING):





I GUESS THESE TWO STORIES ARE VERY POPULAR IN AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND. THE MAN I BOUGHT THE NZ RECORDS FROM SAID THAT THESE TWO STORIES ARE STILL PLAYED EVERY CHRISTMAS DOWN THERE! I'VE SEEN COPIES OF THE LP GO FOR OVER $50.00 ON EBAY.


YOU CAN ALSO FIND THIS AND MANY OTHER RECORDINGS FOR SALE IN CD FORM AT MY BLUJAY PAGE LINKED IN THE RIGHT HAND COLUMN OF THIS BLOG!!! ALL OF MY CHRISTMAS CDS ARE NOW ON SALE FOR ONLY $5.50!!!