Merry Christmas 2023

🎄 MERRY CHRISTMAS! 🎄

Blue Monday & Ruby Tuesday Too

(this blog hop comes to an end next week )

Outside 

Donder 

Gingerbread Man says "Hello!"

Wooden porch deer from the Goodwill Bins

Toby the Penguin and 2/3 of the soldiers I got at St. Vincent de Paul this year.

I was asked, "Why Toby?"  Because his little lips (umm... beak) just look like his name would be Toby.

Inside

Stained glass light up house from the Goodwill Bins. It was still in its box.

Peppermint Bark 

Putz house from St. Vincent de Paul last year.

Putz house ornaments from St. Vincent de Paul last year, used as display houses.  I didn't put up the tree this year.

My paternal grandmother's 1940s Putz Mansion. 

Putz Village

The tiny bottle brush trees are from the Dollar Tree!  Eight in a pack.  Most of my others are vintage.

A last Christmas thrifting find, these Mr. and Mrs. Claus salt and pepper shakers in their box from Hong Kong, 1976.  I found them in the Goodwill Bins last week.  I had to dig around to locate the poinsettia leaf tray. 

Spanish nativity figures bought in Barcelona at an outdoor market before Christmas in 1969. (photos not the clearest, their shelf is dark)

The village houses and church.  

The everyday people.  A woman washing clothes in the river, another woman bringing water from the well, and a man with his donkey bringing firewood back to town.

And, not to be forgotten, the Catalan nativity staple, a caganer.   Yes, the famous "pooping man," for caganer means "pooper."  There are several theories as to why he's included.  One is he represents fertility and brings good luck.  I go with the theory that he's to remind us of that life goes on as normal, even as the Christ child was born.  Men gathered fuel for the fire. Women brought water from the well.  People pooped.  

The font in this post is Mountains of Christmas.