Decorating the Christmas Table--with Department 56, Target, and Michaels

From bleecherreport.com,
Donald Miralee/Getty Images

We returned Tuesday from the Fiesta Bowl....sigh.  We shall speak no more of that.  Oh, yes, we shall!  Why not!?  Phoenix was sunny and warm; I spent time with a special friend from grade school who was also "down south to avoid the cold;" and the game was exciting.  I hope the kicker has recovered.  Virtually everyone we talked to commiserated with the kicker more than complained about the loss.

Needy kitten.

The worst thing about the Fiesta Bowl?  Returning home, to no family asking interminable questions, or grazing through the kitchen, or playing silly games that took up hours of time, or suggesting competing schedules that had to be reconciled.  Instead, we found just needy kittens and a cold house full of Christmas that had to be packed away for another year....

Boxes, empty.

My husband has cheerfully retrieved all the boxes from the storage area; he can do it cheerfully, because all he has to do is return to work, after a week off, to face 438 emails and 67 urgent phone messages, left despite the fact his message machine suggested leaving no messages at all.  I, who am not "working," have to put away a lifetime of memories and "things," all wrapped carefully and preserved in boxes so we can revisit them again next year.












I decided to share with you our Christmas table this year.  Now all my friends know that I don't like to cook.  But I love to have people over and I love to create a beautiful table.  I try very hard to buy nothing just for the table, other than candles, of course.  I try to use whatever I have in the house and put it together in a different way.  This year was a  bit different, since I used a wreath I purchased especially for the centerpiece!  You'll see.....

2010 "Elegant" Christmas Table.

In the past, when the hoards descended for Christmas dinner, I had to have two tables.  I generally did one that was "elegant".....

Elves from "Fun" Table,
Some Year in the Past.

.....and one that was "fun."  By fun, I mean, with toys, nutcrackers, Santas, elves, whatever.......

This year, there were only 10 for dinner, so only one table was necessary.  I threw caution to the wind, and decided to do something I had never done before.  I created a wild and slightly out-of-control color Christmas.  My inspiration and color palate came from both Department 56 North Pole buildings that I have begun to collect in earnest, and a Target Christmas ornament wreath!

Dept. 56 Christmas Stork and
Target Wreath.

The centerpiece this year was one of a Department 56 accessory I had bought our kids as gifts about 5 years ago, a tall, scrawny, feathery stork with a Christmas ball dangling from its beak.  I have two of these storks, since I am storing them until the kids have more permanent homes.  The one I used had billowy feathers that were still pristine white, though one of his long and pointed feet was broken!  I stood him inside a Target wreath that burst with color!  In order to hide the broken toe, I surrounded him with complementary-colored Christmas balls.  I also added a green and gold ribbon around his neck, and changed the Christmas ball that dangled from his beak, using instead a green and gold one suspended by a little gold wire.

Department 56, North Pole Village,
"Crayola Polar Palette Art Center," #56726

Nestled among the flocked "greens" that ran the length of the table were four Department 56 North Pole Village buildings, "Crayola Polar Palette Art Center," # 56726; "Glass Ornament Works," # 56396; "The Elf Spa," # 56402; and, "Santa's Reindeer Rides,", #56748.

Department 56, North Pole Village,
"Crayola Polar Palette Art Center," #56726

Scattered about were multi-colored bells I found on sale at Michaels, beaded chains, acrylic crystals from Target after-Christmas sales in previous years, small crystal "diamonds," and goblets full of bulbs and bells.  Nestled among the flocked garlands were Christmas tree ornaments and glitter flowers and leaves, most from post-Christmas sales at Target and Michaels in previous years.

Dept. 56, North Pole Village,
"Glass Ornament Works," #56396

Because my table featured bright and shiny ornaments, I thought it appropriate to include the Department 56 North Pole "Glass Ornament Works," #56396.  I do know I will never use "Santa's Reindeer Rides" again on a table.  The flying reindeer is too precarious and subject to damage while moving plates around.

I used my Christmas red napkins, added shiny red tapers I must have found in some past-Christmas sale, and I was done!  By the way, the menu was butternut squash/apple/curry soup, mandarin orange and praline pecan green salad, chutney chicken with wild rice, sweet potato casserole, Brussels sprouts, and home-baked Magnolia Bakery cupcakes.  Friends, with whom we have celebrated Christmas for 25 years, joined us. A merry Christmas, indeed.

Part One : Popular Toys by Decade, with Lemax and Dept. 56

Toys....Toys....TOYS

Lemax Collection,
"Toy Palace," #45093

Many of us define our best Christmases by the toys we found under the tree when we were children.  I remember my best Christmas.  I must have been about 4 or 5 years old.  Our bedroom was off the living room, and the tree was outside our door and to the left.  It was dark and it was cold and my brother and I were in the room together, whispering, trying to decide if we could go out.  Finally, my parents tapped on the door, and it was time. We ran around the corner, screaming, heading for the tree and the cache of Christmas toys.  I didn't know it at the time, but I know it now.  It was the best Christmas ever.  A red Flyer wagon!  A sled! A small bike with training wheels! A doll in a high chair!  And there were other packages concealing toys I don't even remember.  A haul.  A haul of everything  a 4 year-old could image possible.

Dept. 56, New England Village,
"Christmas Valley Toys and Dolls," #56677

I also remember my worst Christmas, at least in terms of presents.  I was probably old enough to be in junior high or high school.  Maybe the year was bad for my parents, and they didn't have as much money.  Maybe I had reached an age where they no longer understood me and what I wanted. Maybe I had changed and the old thrill was waning and I didn't even know it.  In any event, I remember a terrible letdown after opening my presents.  There were no surprises.  No fun and interesting new things.  Nothing I could call my best friend about.  An hour or so later I thought I must be missing something.  I went through the short pile again, and the best gift was a white slip.  A slip.  A white slip.  No, I still think it was a disappointing Christmas.  I don't know why, but it was, and still is.

Dept. 56, Snow Village,
"A New Bike for Christmas," #53409

You may think that, after many decades of living and working, much experience raising children, and a masters in humanities, that I should equate Christmas with something other than presents.  Of course I do now.  But my "memories" are of childhood excitement and joy and expectation and fulfillment, not of profound assumptions and concise logic.  My memories are of rushing and shouting and laughing and playing, not discussing the true values of Christmas.  I was a kid then!

Lemax Collection,
"Kringle's Toy Shop," #65395

So I started thinking: what toys were the most popular Christmas presents in decades past?  And when were some of our favorite and historic toys introduced?  I uncovered some surprises, which I enjoyed.  Hope you do too!

Dept. 56, Snow Village,
"Santa Comes to Town-2007," #55428

I have created a list of the most popular toys produced in every decade from the Victorian Age to the present.  The list was really long, so I am splitting it into two blogs.  In this blog, you will find the toys that children might have received for Christmas from Victorian times through the 1950's.  In several days I will put out a second blog, which I think is even more interesting, about popular toys from the 1960's through the present.

Dept. 56, Alpine Village,
"Spielzeug Laden," #56192

Information about the toys discussed in this blog came from two primary sources:   http://www.thepeoplehistory.com/toys.html and http://www.drtoy.com/toy_history/toy_history_timeline.html.

Dept. 56, Snow Village,
"Noah's Stuffed Animals," #799990

Victorian Times  If you were born with a silver spoon in Victorian England, you might have received Christmas presents from a real toy store like  J.D. Nichols, to the right.  Some of the toys offered:
1. A rocking horse dappled gray, with a mane and tail made from real horse hair
2.  A factory-made train set
3.  A factory-made toy soldiers
4.  A factory-made doll
5.  A Doll houses with toy fruit and vegetables, hats, and medicines inside
6.  A soft toy produced by Gund
7.  A set of Noah's Ark.  (Children were not allowed to play with toys on Sundays in Victorian times, unless the toys had something to do with religion.  Hence, the popularity of Noah's Ark figures, because they represented a story from the Bible and could be played with on the Sabbath.)

Lemax Collection,
"Toy Peddler," #62316

If you were a poor child in Victoria England, you might have received the following Christmas present:
1.  A doll made with clothes pegs
2.  A carved wooden boat
3.  A ball made from rags stuffed with dust.
4.  A  cheap factory-made toy, purchased from a market stall, like the ones shown in the Lemax "Toy Peddler," to the left.

Lemax Collection,
"Boys v. Girls," #74677

On the other hand,  poor and rich alike could play outdoor games, including tug-a-war, shown in the Lemax "Boys v Girls," to the right. Other games:
1.  Marbles
2.  Hoops
3.  Ball games, even football (soccer,) using a blown-up pig's bladder for the ball.
4.  Tiddlywinks, which became a craze in the 1890's!

Dept. 56, Snow Village,
"Lionel Electric Train Shop," #54947

Toys in 1900 To 1920  The early 20th century produced an explosion of marvelous popular toys.  The building of Scottie's Toy Shop, pictured left, has the date 1904.  And here is a blockbuster list of toys that would have been available:
1.  Teddy Bears, 1903, approximately
2.  Erector Set, 1913
3.  Lionel Trains,1900, a big event for model train and miniature village collectors!
4.  Lincoln Logs, created by the son of architect Frank Lloyd Wright, John Lloyd Wright! 1916
5.  Raggedy Ann
6.  Radio Flyer Wagon
7.  Tinker Toys, 1914
8.  Crayons, 1903
9.  Tin Toys (wind-up toys), early 1900's
10. "Sorry," trademarked in 1929

Dept. 56, Christmas in the City,
"Topsy's Toys," #799995

Toys 1920 to 1940-Though the US was in the middle of a recession, a few toys were introduced.
1.  Madame Alexander Dolls, 1929
2. Yo-yo's, 1929
3.  Miniature golf, 1926
4.  Golden Age of Comic Books, 1938
5.  Monopoly, 1934, though there were predecedessors dating from the early 1900's
6.  Baby stacking rings, 1930
7. View Master, 1939

Dept. 56, North Pole,
"LEGO Building Creation Station," #56735 

1940's Through the war years, toy production was specialized and profitable.
1.  Chutes and Ladders Board Game, 1943
2.  Silly putty
3.  Tonka Dump Truck, 1949
4.   Little Goldenbooks, 1942
5.  The Slinky, 1945
6.  Candyland, 1949
7.  Legos, 1949 (plastic interlocking bricks first introduced.)

Dept. 56, North Pole,
"Barbie Boutique," #56739

1950's  Just look at this list!
1.  Mr. Potato Head, 1952
2.  Hula Hoop (Started as a bamboo exercise ring in Australia, until Sham-O made it in plastic and introduced it in 1958, as the hula hoop!)
3.  Frisbees, 1957
4.  Ant Farms, 1956
5.  Barbie Dolls, 1959









REMEMBER!  Check back in a few days to find lists of the popular toys, listed by decades and years, from the 1960's through 2010!

Department 56 Christmas Village, Coca-Cola, and Some of the Best Marketing of All Time!

Dept. 56, Snow Village,
"Coca-Cola Brand Billboard," #54810

Would you like to know how popular Coca-Cola is?  Well, consider that the Coca-Cola trademark is recognized by 94% of the world's population, probably making it the most known commercial product on earth.  Or, consider that 7000 coke products are consumed every SECOND  of every day.  Here's another great bit of trivia:  in the 1950's, service stations were selling more Coca-Cola than motor oil!  Coca-Cola® Brand Billboard

Image from
http://www.drugstoremuseum.com/sections/level_info2.php?level_id=47

But it isn't just the product that makes Coca-Cola a great company.  It is their intensely effective product branding and marketing that has catapulted Coke into one of the most successful brands on the planet.

Dept. 56, North Pole Series,
"Ice Cold Coca-Cola,"
56873
Image from
http://www.dept56retirees.com/northpole.htm

No wonder that Department 56 partnered with Coca-Cola to create a series of licensed Christmas buildings and accessories.  To celebrate this partnership, I have picked out a series of Coca-Cola ads, posters, and other marketing devises that relate beautifully to the Dept. 56 items.  For me, this has been a walk down memory lane....though,  regardless of what my kids say, unlike Coke, I was not born in the 19th century.

Dept. 56, Snow Village,
"Coca-Cola Brand Corner Drugstore,"
#54844

In the Beginning....  On May 8, 1886, the drink that was to become Coca-Cola went on sale  at Jacob's Pharmacy in Atlanta, Georgia.  It was marketed not as a pleasurable fountain drink, but as a pharmaceutical.  It's inventor, John Pemberton,  claimed that Coca-Cola was not only what we might call the "Viagara of the day," but so much more.  He claimed it could cure not only impotence, but also morphine addiction, dyspepsia, neurasthenia, and headache. 

Image from
http://www.psdeluxe.com/articles/inspiration
 /100-old-coca-cola-posters/

A glass of coke cost $.05, and in the first year brought in $50 in sales, but had $70 in expenditures.  (I suspect it took Viagara even longer to turn a profit.)  Many soda drinks of the day did contain caffeine and/or cocaine, which probably did cure headaches.  On the other hand, rebound headaches would also ensure, drawing the customer back for another round of soda drinks!

Dept. 56, Christmas in the City,
"Coca-Cola Soda Fountain,"
#59221

This all changed in 1914, with the passage of the "Harrison Act," which banned the sale of cocaine and opiates in over-the-counter products.  From that time on, soda drinks were marketed only because of their good taste.  As the Liquid Carbon Company advertised:  "...it isn't medicinal, won't cure anything....isn't intoxicating or habit-forming--it's just flavory, fruity, snappy, sparkling, delicious."  Fountain operators started to leave drug stores and open their own soda fountains, or at the very least, shed the reputation of serving "habit-forming" drinks.  http://www.drugstoremuseum.com/sections/level_

info2.php?level_id=47

1900 Coca-Cola ad.
http://www.beautifullife.info/
advertisment/
history-of-coca-cola-in-ads/

Soda Fountains  Starting in the late 19th century, soda fountains had become very popular, the Starbucks of their time. They were the  crossroads of people from all walks of life, the place to see and be seen.  I just love Dept. 56's "Coca-Cola Brand Corner Drugstore," since one of the best jobs I have ever had was as a soda jerk during high school in a Rexall Drug Store in the 1960's.  As you walked into the drug store, there was a marble-countered soda fountain that catered to all the kids in the small community, as well as to the men and women who worked downtown in the banks, the groceries, the radio station, the lawyer offices, the stationary store, the clothing and shoe shops, the insurance offices, and the small restaurants.

Coca-Cola poster
from allposters.com

I made cherry, chocolate, and vanilla Cokes, malts and shakes, and sodas.  I sold Seventeen Magazines and wrap-around sunglasses, and I was cool.   

Dept. 56, Christmas in the City,

"Coca-Cola Bottling Company,"

#59258

Bottle Beginnings  At first, all Cokes were hand-made at the soda fountain counter, using a syrup concentrate from Coca-Cola, water, and sweeteners.  In 1899, though, three attorneys from Chattanooga came to believe that bottling would rapidly expand sales.  They purchased the exclusive rights to bottle Coke, for the sum of one Dollar.  $1.00  A buck.  100 cents.  This business model endures.  Coca-cola manufactures the syrup concentrate, and sells it to franchises which mix, carbonate, bottle or can, sell, and distribute the final product. Department 56 Christmas In The City Coca-Cola Bottling Company

Copyright, Coca-Cola, 1947

By 1909 there were nearly 400 Coca-Cola bottling plants.

Dept. 56, Snow Village,
"Coca-Cola Brand Bottling Plant,"#54690

By the 1920's there were more than 1000 bottlers, and Coke was expanding into 44 countries. In the 1990's, $1.5 billion was committed to new bottling facilities, in Africa alone.  It is no wonder that Department 56 included 2 Coca-Cola Bottling plants in their Christmas Village line. http://www.thecoca-colacompany.com/
ourcompany/
historybottling.
html  Dept.56 Retired Brand New Coca-cola Bottling Plant, Snow Village [Item #54690]

Dept. 56, Christmas in the City,

"Vintage Coca-Cola Truck,"

59428

Trucks and Logos  The distribution of bottled Coke required a transportation system, and the Coca-Cola truck was born.  And at this point, it is important to talk about the enduring Coca-Cola logo, because regardless of the size, style, or year of the Coca-Cola truck, they were all identified by the proud display of that logo.

Coca-Cola Truck, 1931,
Ford Model AA,
Image from
http://www.adbranch.com/coca-
cola-delivery-trucks-1930-1940s/

From the very beginning, the Coca-Cola company had employees who understood the important of product branding.  John Pemberton, the man who formulated the original recipe, hired a bookkeeper by the name of Frank Mason Robinson in 1885.  Robinson was the man who came up with the company's name and chose the distinctive cursive for the Coca-Cola label, called the Spencerian Script.

Dept. 56,  Snow Village,
"Coca-Cola Brand Delivery Truck,"
#54798

Trucks used for hauling coke products have always displayed the company logo and have been moving advertisements that came into visual contact with millions of people a week. 

Dept. 56, Snow Village,
"Coca-Cola Brand Delivery Men,"
#54801

Coca-Cola delivery men who drove the trucks have also been honored by Department 56 ...

http://www.beautifullife.info/
advertisment/
history-of-coca-cola-in-ads/

...just as Coca-Cola honored blue collar workers with this ad in 1937.  Even back then they were using the famous Coke phrase, "The pause that refreshes..." 

Dept. 56, Snow Village,
"Santa Comes to Town-2005," #55266

Coca-Cola and Santa Claus Coke advertising has influenced our lives in many ways that are not immediately obvious.  For example, none of us would be jolted to see an image of Santa drinking a Coke.  But why is that?

1931 Coca-Cola ad
http://www.beautifullife.info/
advertisment/
history-of-coca-cola-in-ads/

Well, consider that the Coca-Cola company itself takes credit  for popularizing the modern image of Santa in red suit and white beard.  Here is a quote from the company website:  "Starting in 1931, magazine ads for Coca-Cola featured St. Nick as a kind, jolly man in a red suit.  Because magazines were so widely viewed, and because this image of Santa appeared for more than three decades, the image of Santa most people have to day is largely based on our advertising." http://www.thecoca-colacompany.com/heritage/cokelore_santa.html 

Dept. 56, North Pole Series,
"Coca-Cola Fizz Factory,"
#56754

So what does this have to do with a Christmas miniature village.  Well, you can just image Santa sitting in this whimsical North Pole Series building "Coca-Cola Fizz Factory"....

1953 Coca-Cola ad,
http://www.beautifullife.info/
advertisment/
history-of-coca-cola-in-ads/

...Why, there he is, sipping a bottle of Coke and surrounded by toys!  

Dept. 56, North Pole Series,
"Coca-Cola Taste Test," #56841

The Coke Polar Bear Among marketing gurus, Coca-Cola reigns supreme in  branding and advertising spheres.  Over the years they have had a succession of hugely successful advertising runs, and among my all-time favorites are the ads featuring the polar bears who love Coke.

1993 Coca-Cola ad,
http://www.beautifullife.info/
advertisment/
history-of-coca-cola-in-ads/

In 1993 the beverage company made a major shift in its advertising by introducing the "Always Coca-Cola" campaign.  Creator Ken Stewart of Coke imagined that his Labrador Retriever resembled a polar bear, and Stewart made the creative leap that polar bears could enjoy watching the aurora borealis at the North Pole and drink Coke while they did it!  In order to create naturalistic cartoon images, Coca-Cola's artistic team watched actual films of polar bears to see how they moved, and then made 3-d representations.Dept. 56 North Pole Series Coca-Cola Taste Test

Dept. 56, North Pole Series

"Coca-Cola Sliding Hill,"

#56851

Each commercial took about about 12 weeks for the furry friends to come alive with human attributes.  Coke tried to create bear characters that were "...innocent, fun, and reflect the best attributes we like to call 'human.'  The bears are cute, mischievous, playful and filled with fun." The bears captured the imagination of the public, and  Dept. 56 has celebrated that mood in the whimsical North Pole Series, piece, "Coca-Cola Sliding Hill." http://www.thecoca-colacompany.com/heritage/cokelore_polarbears.html

1994 Winter Olympics
Coca-Cola Campaign

Only a year after the introduction of the "Always Coca-Cola" campaign, the company introduced a series of Olympic ads and  Olympic collector pins-of-the-day featuring very classy and cool polar bears.  Our ursine friends were portrayed as taking part in winter activities like bobsledding, playing hockey, ski jumping, and skating.  To the left is a very cool ski-jumpin', coke-drinkin' polar bear...

1994 Coke Olympic Pin,
http://www.midwestpins.com/
Lillehammer_pins.htm

...and to the right is a collectors pin featuring a speed skating polar bear drinking Coke!  During the Lillehammer Olympic, in fact, Coke sponsored a "Pin of the Day" series which featured a different design each day. The Coke ad regiment drove an impressive 7 % annual increase in volume in the US, though other variables probably also played a part in the returns.