MY WEIRD SANTAS

Six or seven years ago I started buying these things in dollar stores. You know, they're cheap and weird, the perfect thing to collect. After a couple of Christmases, I had a nice little collection going, which seems to get a little bigger every year because I pretty much always include some dollar store action for the Yule. For the last couple of years, I haven't really bothered with getting them out for lack of space, but this year I've brought them back.

And boy are they weird. For instance, this 1950s looking evil Santa.



Or this Gandalf-as-Santa model.



Some are less weird and more whimsical, like this one that looks like it's riffing on children's book art.



Some of these things just challenge my brain. What the hell's going on with this one? It's a candle holder, yes, but what's up with the design? It's a big floating Santa head, but buried in his beard is a sort of English looking Father Christmas guy. Why?



Here's another whimsical Santa, a candle, but it's still pretty damned bizarre, what with its cone shape and single dot eyes.



This one may be my favorite. It's something of an Arabic Santa, perched on a flying carpet, arms crossed like I Dream of Jeannie. Of course, Christmas isn't particularly Islamic, and this "Arabic" Santa is as white as yogurt, but I suppose these strange contradictions are what makes it so neat.



Finally, here's a group shot of about a third of the overall collection. Some weird stuff, for sure.



Maybe I can post a few more pics of these strange pieces of pop trash before the Xmas magic starts to fade.

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