Vintage Christmas balls. Vintage Christmas decorations: history and photos

From the author: "We found three boxes and one large bag with Christmas decorations on the mezzanine of the landlords."
One of the boxes was dusty, awful, and, moreover, sealed with a stapler to death. For three thousand years no one, apparently, had any interest in its contents. "Cool!" - I thought. - "We must get in!" In the box there were Christmas tree decorations, as in the other two, but - old, quite some patina and unusual, and some (the coolest, well!) Are also broken. But there are still not very many broken ones.
I don’t know anything about this, I cannot date, and I’ll be glad if someday someone tells me more about these fragile beautiful things. And here will be photos. Judging by the aesthetics and some of the subjects, it can be dated. The first photo is the second half of the 1960s, closer to the seventies. Icicles, lanterns, spinning top (second from left, top row). A flashlight on a mount - we repeated toys from the GDR. They came to us en masse around 1967.
The second photo with peas, mushrooms and birches is similar to the late Khrushchev))) 1960-1962.
The third photo is two tops, mid 1960s or earlier. In the 1950s, there were mostly stars.
The fourth photo is icicles. For all I will not say, but the striped quilts on the right are pure 1970s, even the early seventies, when sideboards, floor lamps and coffee tables appeared abruptly.
The fifth photo is with a Chukchi youth. It looks like a confusion of times. Chukchi guy - late 1950s. An orange basket with a dog - either already in the 1980s, or in general a foreign toy, some kind of Polish one, does not look like the GDR. The chicken on the left is also a late period or also an import. Owl, tumbler and squirrel - mid-1960s.
The sixth photo is flashlights. All 1960s. Middle and near the end.
The seventh photo is an acorn and a basket of vegetables or fruits, corn - late Khrushev.
The eighth photo is cones. Including sugar ones - these are all 1960s and maybe a little 1970s. We borrowed sugar from the GDR.
I can't say anything about the Ninth and Tenth photos.
The eleventh photo - bells: bottom row on the left with a tongue + on the right a white ribbed beater similar to the 1960s. The blue bell and top pink are from the 1980s or late 1970s.

I really like this series, such vegetables and fruits, very naturalistic, uneven, pleasantly colored, especially a cool apple and garlic ... and a pepper, and a pea pod)) everything is cool! and I like this "icicle" in birch color.

It is clear that - tops for Christmas trees.

Here are some more incredibly cool stuff! Especially this naive Chukchi youth on the right is good, and the house is under him.

The fungus and the acorn are my favorites here!

I'm not sure about the top row of cones, they look new, the ones in the bottom row are cooler, but the top ones were in the same box, and in general ... I like them too)

These tops with clothespins, like on a transparent star, this is the first time I see them, I really like them.

But this marvelous parrot is alone, completely alone, there was nothing as crazy in the box anymore, not counting one more exotic bird, but she completely suffered and was beaten, so the parrot is lonely and beautiful here, like a romantic hero)

It is with this unexpectedly found that we decorated this spontaneous Christmas tree this year. Spontaneous because Nastya Kryuchevskaya brought it, and we ourselves did not plan to stage anything, we bought only a couple of wreaths, twisted them with ribbons, and okay, it seems ... But Nastya came and brought a tree) For some reason, this is how I like it the most - when things happen by themselves. A thread from there, a thread from here - and a fenny. Nobody was waiting for her, but she is.

Exhibition of old Santa Claus from the collection of Alexander Mikhailovich Tatarsky
This unique exhibition "Frosty CHILDHOOD" was held at the end of 2007 in Moscow in the children's art gallery "Look of the Child". The exhibition was dedicated to the memory of Alexander Mikhailovich Tatarsky, a remarkable director-animator, founder and permanent director of the Moscow animation studio "Pilot", who recently passed away.

The author of the cartoons "Plasticine Crow", "Last Year's Snow Was Falling", "Koloboks are Investigating", the plasticine splash screen for the program "Good Night, Kids" has been collecting a collection of old Santa Clauses for almost ten years. Part of this collection, as well as antique New Year's toys and photographs from personal archives, were presented at the exhibition.

The history of the collection, written by A.M. Tatarsky, this is.

Back in the mid-80s, Alexander Mikhailovich wrote the script for the multi-part animated film "Grandfathers of Different Nations". This was supposed to be a fascinating adventure trip of Santa Claus, who travels around the world, meeting with "his relatives abroad" - Santa Claus from the USA, Yultumte from Sweden, Uvlin Ung from Mongolia, Per Noel from France, Saint Basil from Cyprus, Babbo Natale from Italy and many, many others. Unfortunately, it was not possible to make this film, but interest in the characters responsible for celebrating Christmas and New Years remained.

These characters have seen a lot in their lifetime. A.M. Tatarsky treated them like living beings, knew everyone by sight, communicated with them.

I was at this exhibition - a very warm feeling remains from it.

Unfortunately, it is not known whether the collection of A.M. Tatarsky is being exhibited anywhere now.

Fragment of an article with the founder of the Flea Market art project Marina Smirnova:

Tell us what antique New Year's toys and decorations are of interest to collectors? How much do certain things cost?

Before the revolution, Russian partnerships and artels made copies of German Christmas tree decorations. After 1917, Christmas trees were no longer decorated with toys on religious and Christmas themes, they were replaced by figurines of fairy-tale characters, household items, symbols of the Soviet era.

But the most beautiful toys appeared in the late 50s - early 60s - cardboard, wadded. However, they quickly ceased to be produced, new technologies appeared - the counters were flooded with Christmas balls.

Therefore, the highest prices are just for cardboard and cotton toys. It all depends on the rarity and safety of a particular item. For example, at one Russian Internet auction a cardboard toy went under the hammer for 7-8 thousand rubles, the cost of cotton wool reached 15 thousand rubles per copy.

However, at flea markets and specialized fairs, where many sellers gather at the same time, prices for old Christmas tree decorations are much lower. Toys of the 50s can be bought for 50-100 rubles, the most expensive - wadded - in good condition - for 700 rubles.

Most of all, of course, collections are valued. For example, Soviet factories produced a series of Christmas tree decorations based on the fairy tales "Chippolino" and "Golden Key". The price of a complete collection can exceed 10 thousand rubles.

Many people collect cardboard flags that have now disappeared from sale. They lack the shine, gloss, commercial undertones that are inherent in modern toys. The price of such flags, although they are not considered a great rarity, depending on the state of preservation, can range from 200 to 1000 rubles.

Olga Nikolaevna drove onto the highway, overtaking the peasant carts. Chilled peasants, warming themselves by walking and patting their hands in large leather mittens, walked beside their sleigh, urging on the frosty shaggy horses that were carrying venal oats into the city.

“You also need to buy something for the holiday,” the coachman Rodivonych remarked, “they are bringing oats to sell.

- Look, Ivanovna is taking the cow to the city to sell, - Rodivonych continued to argue aloud, - she didn’t manage to feed the winter, there wasn’t enough forage.

- Is that a widow? Olga Nikolaevna asked.

- Yes; Sidor, her husband, died of consumption, three small children remained.

Olga Nikolaevna felt the purse in the bag. She took a hundred rubles for gifts and purchases for the holidays and for the Christmas tree, and she felt embarrassed and bored at heart.

“Stop, Rodivonych,” she said suddenly. The cart with the cow equaled with Olga Nikolaevna's sleigh.

- Ivanovna, come, are you leading the cow to sell? She asked.

- What to do, Olga Nikolaevna, - there is nothing to feed.

“Don’t sell the cow, here you are,” Olga Nikolaevna said, taking out a purse in the frost with numb fingers and handing Ivanovna a 25-ruble note.

- Take it, Ivanovna, and go home to the children; this is my present for you for the holiday, - added Olga Nikolaevna, hiding the purse and hands in the muff, - Well, let's go, - she turned to Rodivonych.

“And this is the joy of my soul for the holiday,” Olga Nikolaevna whispered softly and remembered how the other day the old nanny gave the beggar a coin and, leaving, crossed herself.

One convoy was overtaken, caught up with the other. A shaggy cow was tied to one of the sledges; in the sleigh sat Baba Ivanovna in her bad, old sheepskin coat and a torn shawl on her head, completely numb with surprise, joy and cold could not say a word. When she finally got ready to thank the lady, she had already driven far away in her chestnut troika, and Ivanovna, crossing herself, thanked God. She tied a 25-ruble piece of paper in the corner of her kerchief and, turning her horse, drove home, thinking about what joy the children would be at home. They cried so much this morning when they saw their cow.

Olga Nikolaevna, having arrived in the city, warmed herself up in a familiar shop, where a crowd of people bought various provisions for the holidays, and ordered purchases to the bustling salesmen. She took off her second fur coat, ordered to unharness the bay and give them food. Then she went to Sushkin's toy shop. The young clerk Sasha bowed very diligently to the rich customer and began to show the toys. For a long time Olga Nikolaevna chose different toys: a doll, dishes, tools, decals and stickers - for each child what he loves. Ilyusha loved horses, they bought him a stable with stalls and horses in them; then tools, and a gun, which fired both cork and peas. Little Masha was bought two dolls and a cart; Lele - a watch with a chain, somersaults and an organ with music. Seryozha was a serious boy, and Olga Nikolaevna bought him an album, a lot of decals and stickers, and a real knife, in which there were nine different tools: a file, a screwdriver, an awl, scissors, a corkscrew, and so on. In addition, a book about birds was ordered from Moscow. Olga Nikolaevna, a black-eyed Tanya, chose a real tea set with pink flowers, a loto with pictures, and also a beautiful work box, in which they put scissors, spools, needles, ribbons, hooks, buttons - everything that is needed for work - and a pretty silver thimble with a red stone at the bottom.

“Well, thank God, I chose everyone,” said Olga Nikolaevna; - Now, Sasha, give me different toys for the guys and all kinds of decorations for the Christmas tree.

Sasha brought a large box and they began to put firecrackers, cardboard boxes, lanterns, wax candles, shiny things, beads and so on. Olga Nikolaevna asked horses and dolls for gifts for the children. It was necessary to choose simpler and cheaper toys for their children and children; 25 rubles were given to Ivanovna and now it was necessary to spend less money. She chose 30 little horses on wheels and asked for the dolls.

- Well, now give me some inexpensive undressed dolls.

- There are no such, - answered Sasha.

- Can not be. And, hello, Nikolai Ivanovich, - Olga Nikolaevna greeted the owner who was entering the shop, her old acquaintance.

“Our compliments to you,” the old man replied.

“I’m asking if there are any dolls, my children will dress them themselves; we need a lot of them for the peasant children and girls.

- Yes, you show, Sasha, the skeletons, the lady may like it.

“I know they won't like it,” Sasha said contemptuously. - Not a master's product. Yes, for the village, will it do ...

And Sasha opened the drawer and took in both hands a whole handful of undressed wooden dolls, which he contemptuously called skeletons. The skeletons began to fuss, the bright light of the lamp illuminated their faces and glossy black heads. They felt cheerful, light, spacious. I was already tired of lying in the box, and the skeletons really wanted to be bought and revived. Olga Nikolaevna counted and bought all forty pieces.

“Well, now that's it,” she said. - Write the bill, and I will go while buying nuts, sweets, gingerbread, apples and various sweets. Then I will come to you for toys and pay the money.

The agile, rogue Sasha began to pack everything, put in two full boxes, and again squeezed the skeletons, wrapped them in thick gray paper, tied them with a rope and threw them onto the box.

Olga Nikolaevna, having finished all the business, and taking away the purchases, finally got ready to go home.

… The dinner went quietly. Olga Nikolaevna told how she went to the city, complained about the cold and told the girls that after dinner they had to pick out shreds and start dressing the skeletons.

- What skeletons? - asked Tanya laughing.

- And these are such dolls, the clerk Sasha called them skeletons. You'll see. They were in a box in a toy shop, they were not shown, and I opened them and brought them out into the light. We'll dress them up in such a way that it's a miracle.

After dinner, the heated skeletons were brought in and immediately poured onto a large table.

- What a disgrace! - said the father. - Yes, this is God knows what rubbish. Some kind of freaks. Only to spoil the taste of children with such an ugliness, - the father grumbled and sat down to read the newspaper.

- Wait, when we dress them, it will not be bad, - said the mother.

- Ha-ha-ha, - Tanya laughed. - Some kind of legs, like sticks with pink shoes ...

“And this snub-nosed one, his black head shines, his face is stupid and what a sticky paint, phew! ..” Seryozha remarked disgustedly.

- Well, dance, dead people, - said Ilyusha, taking two dolls and making them jump.

- Give me one, - asked the little Masha, stretching out her thin little white hands.

The skeletons were very happy. They were warm, light and joyful with the children. They slept like dead sleep in a dark drawer of a toy shop, they were cold and bored. And so they were called to life. Their wooden little bodies began to warm up and come to life, they wanted to dress them up and they will stand on a Christmas tree on a large round table, in the middle of which there will be a small Christmas tree with candles and ornaments. So funny!

- Well, girls, let's go and choose the shreds, - Olga Nikolaevna called Tanya and Masha. In the bedroom, she pulled out the bottom dresser and took out several bundles of shreds. What, what was not there! Here is the remainder of Tanya's red dress; and here is a striped patch from Ilyusha's Russian pantaloons; pieces of ribbons from mom's hat, velvet, remnants from a blue silk pillow, etc. and so on. Tanya and Masha, two real little women, fiddled with the shreds with great enthusiasm. They picked up a bundle of rags and ran into the hall.

Cutting and fitting began; made up all kinds of costumes for the skeletons. Miss Hannah, Olga Nikolaevna, the nanny who was called to help, Tanya, - everyone got to work. Tanya sewed and chopped skirts and sleeves, Miss Hannah and the nanny sewed shirts, jackets and trousers for boys, and Olga Nikolaevna made hats, hats and various adornments.

The first, prettiest skeleton was dressed as an angel. A lush, white muslin shirt, on the head a rim of gold paper, and behind a wooden back there are two muslin wings stretched on a thin frame.

- How lovely! - Tanya admired sweetly, taking the doll from her mother's hands. - Oh, mom, what a cute little angel, someone will get it!

And Tanya, admiring the elegant skeleton, carefully put it aside.

- And what a man's nanny dressed, a miracle! - Ilyusha shouted, picking up a doll in a red shirt and black beanie.

The entertainer Tanya made a Turk in a white turban with a red bottom. The Turkes glued on a mustache and beard, made a long, colorful caftan and wide trousers.

Then another skeletal man was dressed up as an officer in gold epaulettes and with a saber made of silver paper.

A nurse in a kokoshnik, an old woman with white cotton wool hair, and a gypsy woman in a red shawl over her shoulder, and a dancer in a short skirt with flowers on her head, and two soldiers in blue and red uniforms, and a clown with a sharp hat at the end were all dressed up. which the bell was sewn on. There was a cook all in white, and a baby in a cap, and a tsar in a golden crown.

The work went on merrily and quickly. From the ugly naked skeletons, more and more beautiful, colorful, elegant dolls came to life. The queen was very good. Olga Nikolaevna cut out a crown for her from gold paper, made a long velvet dress, and thrust a small fan into a wooden handle.

The children were delighted with the skeletons. Three evenings in a row went on work, and all forty pieces were ready and stood in rows on the table, representing the most colorful, beautiful crowd.

Brave Tanya ran after her father and brought him into the hall.

- Look, dad, is it rubbish now?

- Really these are the freaks that my mother brought. Can not be! Why, this is so charming!

- That's it, dad, you praise us, we worked for three days.

- Well, you revived these wooden dead. A whole people, and even a beautiful, smart people!

The children were delighted that dad himself praised the skeletons, and the next day another work began. They began to gild nuts, make flowers, glue boxes, and put the dolls in the closet.

The skeletons who came to life were no longer bored. Gathered in a spacious closet, dressed, smartly, they patiently waited for the Christmas tree, and had fun in the closet among other toys: animals, cardboard boxes, and other beautiful things.

People post pictures of old Christmas tree decorations and tell stories of their appearance in their homes. Some of these toys are likely to be found in your homes as well.
We have a small collection of old Christmas tree decorations in our family. They came to us in different ways: something was inherited, something was presented by friends, something was found at flea markets. But this Santa Claus with Snegurochka probably has the most interesting story of how they ended up under our Christmas tree. Once my daughter and grandmother went to visit an old neighbor. She started sorting out all sorts of unnecessary things, took out this Santa Claus from the mezzanine and threw him into a heap of garbage for disposal. My daughter took him out and said that she would take him home, because she really, really needed him. Our delight knew no bounds - we never had such a grandfather! We decided that he alone would be sad and that we urgently needed to look for his granddaughter. For several weeks we rushed to various flea markets in search of the necessary Snow Maiden, and now, when we were almost desperate, she was finally found - such an unfortunate woman was lying in a box with assorted dishes and broken records. We immediately understood - this is She, that very only granddaughter! Of course it was bought and solemnly brought to grandfather. Now they do not part with each other and their life slowly flows among the Christmas tree decorations - their peers. And we are very grateful to them for choosing our house to settle in, we hope, for many, many years! Here's a story! Happy New Year, everyone! These New Year's toys were presented to me by my beloved grandmother. Now she is twice a great-grandmother and in January she turns 80! All my Christmas trees from childhood were decorated with these toys ... The oldest is a bird made of cotton wool, the most patriotic is a ball with a red star, the most fabulous are toys on clothespins (a funny clown, a Snow Maiden in a shiny outfit and not at all scary Baba Yaga) ... And of course the New Year's clock, which, it turns out, have been preserved by many ... Our family values ​​these toys very much, despite the fact that over time they lose their shine. They are from the past and keep the spirit of those distant times. These toys have a soul! I still believe in New Year's miracles!
Perhaps no one already knows the full history of these toys. I remember how my mother was decorating the Christmas tree, and I looked, climbing with my feet on the sofa and holding my breath, terribly worried. After all, if a thin thread breaks, the toy will turn into a myriad of multi-colored fragments. But the thread, in my memory, never broke. A lot of time has passed since then. Cool needles with a scent of resin were forced out of the house by a synthetic rival. And the motley plastic balls are not afraid of any fall for a long time. But in the pantry, under the heap of all this festive tinsel, the coveted box with old toys is still kept. “Throw away this old stuff,” Mom advises every year, bumping into the box. - We have accumulated it in our first marriage. You don’t hang it on the tree anyway ”. She, of course, is right, I haven't hung up for a long time. Here are just a thin thread of childhood memories still keeps these toys in the house. My husband has an old grandmother. Once we went to visit her, and she asked for help in disassembling old things. On the mezzanine, my husband and I found an old plywood case. With great difficulty we opened it (the locks were faulty) and ... lo and behold! There, covered with tissue paper, lay several Christmas tree decorations! It turned out that she bought these toys in Moscow when she went to some study courses. Glass toys at that time were a luxury, especially here in the far north. Housemates came to admire them! When grandmother's children were young, Christmas tree decorations took their place on the tree. But for the past fifty years they have been quietly lying in a suitcase on the highest shelf. And now we have hung them on our tree!
In our apartment, 2 things have survived that came to us from our grandmother: a toy and a mirror. For me, both of these things are extraordinarily beautiful and valuable. Next to her grandmother's house was the house of her older friend, whom she helped with the housework. And being already in a weakened state, for kindness and support, a friend gave my grandmother several things dear to her heart during her lifetime. The Christmas toy seems bulky in appearance, but inside it is hollow, fragile and consists of 2 glued parts. Before me, it has already been preserved in a disintegrated form with a frayed ribbon. I once replaced the string and connected both parts together. On the front of the toy there is a place for some kind of image, the presence of which the parents no longer remember. For me and my family, beads have become the main decoration of the New Year tree for many years. These beads were inherited from my grandparents, who died when I was about 7 years old. They were bought by my grandmother when my father was not yet 10 years old, and he is now 53 years old, so it is also the oldest thing in our house. I am sure that my children will keep these beads as carefully as I do.
My grandparents live in Ukraine. I rarely visit them ... maybe once every 3 years and usually in the summer. But one day I decided to make a New Year's gift and come to them for the holiday. When I saw this toy on the tree, I simply could not contain my emotions. I didn't even think that our leaders were once captured on toys! On one ball there were 3 personalities at once: Vladimir Ilyich, Iosif Vissarionovich and Leonid Ilyich. Because I teach history at school, then I immediately began to beg for this toy from the old people, emphasizing that the tree in the history class must be filled with history. But I was told that this is a long-standing gift from friends and gifts are not re-donated. I exchanged this toy for a promise to come in the summer. The exchange took place and I kept my word. New Year's bunny. Cheerful clown. Real retro 50s.
When I was in the 2nd grade (now I am 49 years old), at our school, on the New Year's tree, there was a competition for the best New Year's costume, I was in a snowflake costume made by my mother from gauze and New Year's beads. I thought that my costume was the most beautiful, but after summing up the results of the competition, my outfit went unnoticed. I was very upset. My teacher noticed this. She took two New Year's toys from the school tree: a small yellow teapot and a girl in a flower costume and gave them to me, saying that I have a very beautiful costume. I was delighted and very happy and contented, the mood immediately lifted. It was in 1967, I still remember my kind teacher, whose name was Zoya Stepanovna, and throughout all these years I cherish these New Year's toys, they are the most dear to me!
The story of our toys is funny and a little touching. They were purchased by my grandfather, or rather exchanged for a couple of packs of cigarettes and a "bubble" :) These are the first toys of our family. This story is also funny because the grandfather gave not flowers and jewelry to my grandmother for the birth of my mother, but a Christmas tree and New Year's toys! Since mom was born on New Year's Eve. So for three generations these “family treasures” have been “guarded”.
I had a lot of Christmas tree decorations! Boxes with glass Snow Maidens, sets of cones, balls, garlands ... And every New Year they bought me more and more. But I wanted exactly the same as in the photo! And they were not in our stores! But, my girlfriend had just those! Mom raised her alone and did not spoil her especially, and therefore she had few toys. Of course, I shared my toys with her, gave them away for good, changed. But these: 2 flashlights, a nesting doll and a chicken on clothespins, she did not give it to me and did not even want to change! How I wanted them! Every New Year, Sveta hung them on her Christmas tree, and I would come and look at them with admiration. They were shiny, over time the toys darkened and faded, but then, as a child, they were very beautiful! A few years later, we were already in high school, a friend brought them to me for the New Year and gave them to me. This was the best gift ever! Now I always hang them on my Christmas tree, and my girlfriend comes to celebrate the New Year with me.
I got these toys from my grandmother. Unfortunately, half of them got confused. But there are still 20 pieces left. I decorate my beloved little Christmas tree with them. When friends of parents come to visit, they always say that some special "energy" emanates from my Christmas tree :)
We got this old Christmas tree toy from our grandmother, she took apart the mezzanines 20 years ago and decided to give us this ball. We try to celebrate the New Year at our grandmother's in the village as often as possible. The paint has already worn off on many toys and they have a special "old" smell from the past. Surprisingly, none of the numerous relatives buys modern toys for their grandmother's Christmas tree, everyone wants to see exactly these: unusual, worn ones, who survived various events with their big grandmother's family. This Snow Maiden was left without Santa Claus, but surrounded by toys similar to her.
These three balls seem to me to be the oldest of those Christmas tree decorations that have survived in our family. Although, to be honest, I don't know how old they are. The balls are made of papier-mâché and consist of two halves. You can separate the halves and put a small object inside. I remember these balls all my life, they always hung on my grandmother's tree, and my brother and I were racing to find them on the tree in order to quickly open and find something interesting inside (usually it was candy). Alas, my grandmother is no longer in the world and I did not guess in time to ask where these balls came from. I only remember that they are German. Now the balls are a little cracked, they had to be glued several times, but they still decorate the Christmas tree, and now my daughter is looking for something interesting inside. Once upon a time it was a set of gingerbread with deer. Deer glow in the dark, 35 years have passed, there is only one, the last one. We take care of it!
I am very proud that I have such toys in my collection, I am very careful about them, but nevertheless I use them - every year I hang them on my Christmas tree, because it is a sin to hide such beauty in a velvet box! And what makes me especially happy is that wonderful cardboard decorations, embossed on mother-of-pearl paper, are very well preserved. I liked them more than anyone else, because they could be viewed for a long time, traced on paper with a pencil, and also (most importantly) - they could not be broken! I have a special funny story connected with these cardboard toys - once, when I was little, my parents decided to surprise me - they set up and decorated the tree to their taste with elegant inflated balls and glass fairy-tale characters while I was sleeping. But in the morning I burst into tears, not seeing my favorite cardboard fish, chickens and especially my favorite sailboat on the tree! The parents were confused and could not understand what they did and how they brought their child to tears! Then, of course, we hung my favorite figurines on the tree together - and after that everything immediately fell into place! Memories of childhood - this is what these cardboard, simple, but very dear to my heart, jewelry keep. This is always my favorite toy on the Christmas tree since childhood, when I really wanted to have a dog. She's probably even older than my grandmother. Unfortunately, I don’t know how she came to be with us, but my grandmother no longer remembers. It is stored very carefully and is always hung in the most conspicuous place.
This toy hangs on our Christmas tree every year, from my earliest childhood! And every year, with pleasant nostalgia and even that very childish feeling of a fairy tale, I hang it on the Christmas tree, sit down next to me and looking at it remember the amazing fairy tales that my parents told me on behalf of this funny old forest man! This toy is insanely dear to me and my whole family! The fact is that my grandfather gave this toy to my mom. Then my mom and dad just met and they decided to celebrate the New Year together! While decorating the Christmas tree, dad dropped this luxurious toy and it shattered to smithereens…. Dad spent the next day looking for the same jewelry and found it! Mom was very happy, but they didn’t say anything to grandfather. Since then, this toy hangs on each of our trees. Mom says that this crystal flower blossomed with her and Dad's love.
These skates have been passed down from generation to generation to every woman in my family. My great-great and many more times “great” grandfather brought them from Finland, tied a wedding ring to them and made my great-great and several more times “great” grandmother an offer! I got this toy from my great-grandmother. She made it from improvised means. Since there was nothing before. It was after the war. Of course, we restored it a little. Since this is a great memory. And although now there are thousands of modern toys in stores, but for me this is not more valuable! The toy is almost a century old!
Some time ago, balls with bows came into fashion and my mother decided to throw out all the old toys. I barely saved it, but there are only a few of these left at home, I post them for your judgment. As a child, my sister and I had a favorite New Year's fun: one thought of some kind of toy, and the other asked leading questions about it and tried to guess what toy she had in mind ... Now, of course, it seems like a funny fun, but then it was very interesting, because the Christmas trees they always put big ones, under the ceiling and really had to look for toys on it.
“Call me lady, kiss my fingers” - the words of Veronika Dolina come to mind when I listen to my grandmother's story about her short and tender romance with a Polish man bearing the funny name Leszek. It was somewhere in a small town, I think it was Biala Podlaska. Granny, with a hazy smile on her face, recalls how before celebrating Catholic Christmas, blushing with embarrassment, he said to her for the first time privately, "Dozhe, Madam," for the first time, kissed her hand and held out a small bouquet made in the form of a Christmas tree decoration. “What a wonderful Polish tradition it is to kiss women's hands! What a pity that our men have forgotten how to do this! " She sighs. I know that my grandmother keeps memories of this novel in the most secret corners of her heart and does not tell about them to anyone but me. But every time, on New Year's, she takes this bunch out of a large casket and hangs it on the tree. She looks at me and we smile at each other.
This sweet Christmas toy was given to me by my godmother 11 years ago! It was terribly cold outside and my godmother and I were returning from the park, where we rode on ice slides and made snowmen! It is very strange, but in a 20-degree frost, I craved ice cream! For a long time I begged my godmother to buy me "Icy", but she was not in any! I started crying! And then the godmother gave me this toy, which she bought in the subway passage! I was very happy! Grandma's inheritance.