Friday Funnies

Even Santa has to make these stops . . .

Especially after all the cookies and milk!

Enjoy your weekend, Everyone.

New England Village Comes "Home"

In addition to setting up a display outside our apt entry, there's a larger display inside. Grenville has set up a winter village by our living room window. New windows were installed earlier this year, now there's a full window shelf he can use for the village. 

The "New England Village" depicts the buildings and people of the New England area with its many churches, lighthouses and the farm areas. Our village was started when we were still living in our native New Jersey, years before we thought of relocating to NH. 

Grenville started collecting these Department 56 pieces in 1996 because he liked the theme. It was a bit out of place during the 12 years we lived on the VA eastern shore, and was only set up once. It's right at "home" now in our New England apartment.

Thanks to several well-priced eBay purchases and great deals at a favorite local thrift store, we added to the village this year. If this expansion continues, the village could become a city. Recent additions have included several businesses, houses and many new figures. 

The village includes a butcher shop, sign company, boat works, hook and ladder company, stove works, bed & breakfast, fish cannery, cutters and sleigh works, and the Nashua Manufacturing Company, in honor of the mill apartment building where we now live. There's also a lighthouse, church and town hall.

There's also a train that's not running this year because of space. However, next year, the village green will be enlarge to include the rest of the train car and track.

Setting up the village has been a fun task this year. It will remain set up throughout this winter season and it already has the snow.

For those not familiar with these collectible villages, Department 56 is a manufacturing firm well known for its collection of various lit Christmas villages, ornaments, giftware, and Snowbabies figurines. It is owned by Enesco and has been based in Eden Prairie, Minnesota since the late 1980s. Department 56 was founded in 1976 and celebrated its 40th anniversary this year.

It's called Department 56 because that was the number assigned to the wholesale gifts import division of its former owner, Bachman's, a Minneapolis, MN retail florist.

Do you have any holiday or winter collectibles in your home at this holiday time?

Celebrating Christmas All Year

It's as unique as its name. 

The National Christmas Center in Paradise, PA lets visitors experience the  history and traditions of Christmas customs and traditions throughout the world and the centuries. 

According to its mission statement, the Center is dedicated to preserving and sharing mementoes and memories of Christmases past.

Exploring the museum is entirely by a self-guided tour which can take up to 2 hours because there's so much to see and read about. Life-sized indoor exhibits showcase Christmas history, traditions, customs and celebrations. The tour winds through 15 exhibit rooms that cover over 20,000 square feet. Grenville and I toured the entire exhibit space, but didn't take photos in every area.

Galleries include a 1950's Night Before Christmas and 1950s Christmas Morning, Christmas Around the World, 1950's Woolworth's 5 & 10, Antique Emporium, Santa's North Pole Workshop, Tudor Towne Animated Storybook Village, a street of vintage Christmas Memories, The Art of the Nativity, and a realistic Journey to Bethlehem along a simulated cobblestone path.

In addition to the exhibit spaces, display cases are filled with hundreds of Santa figurines and Nativities, toys, collectibles, posters, and other holiday collectibles.

Several exhibits and displays trace the evolution of today's Santa Claus from Saint Nicholas, Bishop of Myra, Turkey, 300 AD.

My favorite exhibit was the Woolworth's 5&10 which was filled with so much vintage merchandise and fixtures some of which I remembered from my childhood. According to the display info, these items had been collected over a 10-year period and all are authentic. 

This exhibit was filled with so much vintage memorabilia that I spent over 30 minutes in this room. There were decorations for the home and the tree.

The Woolworth store always included wrapping paper, ribbons and, of course, toys, including the "elf on the shelf."

The Toyland Train Mountain exhibit featured a tree so large that its branches extended to the four corners of the room. Nestled underneath a very large mountain is an assortment of villages and snowmen figurines. Several trains run throughout the mountain railways.

Several exhibits showed Santa in his workshop surrounded by toys and elves. Animated bears and reindeer made toys in "Santa's North Pole Workshop" exhibit.

The First Christmas exhibit led visitors through simulated cobblestone walkways to follow in Joseph and Mary's footsteps to celebrate the true meaning of Christmas.

The National Christmas Center is located in Lancaster County in PA Dutch Country. It's open weekends only in March and April, daily May through January. While very informative and interesting to adults like ourselves, very young children would have a difficult time. There's a wealth of information to read about the exhibits.

Home Holiday Decos

It's that time again when our apt entry has become a gathering place for holiday and winter decorations, including lots of snowmen. This is an overall photo of the entry.

There's a group of snowman sitting on the shelf surrounded by a lot of Buffalo snow.

On the floor below, several more snowmen are gathered along Santa, penguins and a nearly hidden frog.

Last week, we helped decorate the Christmas tree in the apt lobby. We wore our holiday hats to get into the spirit of the season.

We hope your pre-holiday events are merry and fun!

Early Christmas Gift

She made her debut on Dec. 15, two days earlier than expected and before Christmas — introducing our newest family member.

Proud, happy (and exhausted) parents with their new daughter.

The newest grandchild was shared among the delighted grandparents who were all were at the hospital awaiting her arrival. 

Christmas is a time of happiness, joy and love. Our family is especially thankful for this holiday gift.

Friday Funnies

Tis the season . . .

Don't let your holiday spirits deflate . . . Christmas is almost here.

Enjoy your weekend, Everyone.

Coming Soon

We haven't shared this news, but we will soon welcome a unique pre-holiday gift 🎁 with the arrival of a new granddaughter in December. 

Grandma and grandpa (that's us) were busy the past few months buying a selection of outfits at local thrift stores. Mickey Mouse is a longtime favorite of mom-to-be. 

Snowy Monday

It certainly wasn't much snow compared to other U.S. cities, which are buried in snow. But, Nashua, NH, had its first measurable snowfall Sunday night into early Monday morning. 

According to forecasters, the city received a little over 4 inches of snow. For the first time this year, the Nashua River was showing some icy patches. 

The shot below was taken from our 5th floor apartment window while the snow was still falling.

By mid-morning, the snow had ended and most of the river ice had melted as temperatures rose to near 40 degrees.

Of course, Grenville and I are still hopeful for a white Christmas. After all, there's still time 🕰

Friday Funnies

Maybe these weary shoppers lost their heads over holiday shopping ?

(Not to worry, these "shoppers" were in the Salvation Army thrift store here in Nashua, NH).

Enjoy your Weekend, Everyone.

Festival of Trees 2016

In what's become a holiday tradition here in Nashua, NH, the annual Festival of Trees display is on display at the Hunt Memorial Building this month.

Non-profit organizations, businesses, and school groups decorated more than 30 trees in whatever way they choose to showcase their group.

The trees were displayed in the main reading room, small reading room and foyer of what was formerly the city's library. They included a wide range of ornaments from the traditional to the unusual.

Visitors voted on their favorite tree and could place bids to purchase them. Monies from the auctioned trees will be used for preservation of the Hunt Memorial Building.