Santas and Snowmen playing in the snow
Every year the Santas and Snowmen sleep in the basement until the first week in December. Then they march up our spiral stairway, one by one, preparing to help us celebrate the Christmas holidays in style.
Many long years ago I won the five-inch high little fellas in a local raffle at the Aura Hall. Nine of them winked at me from a red, white and black tic-tac-toe board and how I delighted to bring them home.
Little did we suspect that the Santas and Snowmen were clever little tricksters! They would tiptoe off their staid and respectable tic-tac-toe board and perform amazing acts of silliness which resulted in grins on any Scrooge faces.
Santa almost buried in snow
Oh, I can’t even recall all the merriment over the years! One of the first years one of us–we won’t reveal who–set up a tableau in which the hapless fellows marched like lemmings, one following the other, off our living room coffee table. (Please, do not judge us too rashly. We know we have weird senses of humor…)
The second year the Santas and Snowmen drank too much on Christmas Eve, shame on them! Empty beer bottles lay around their fallen bodies. It was a frightful scene. (We laughed so hysterically over this scene that we could barely function…HIGH FIVE for the Drue who thought that one up!) Although I still remain partial to the morbid lemming scene.
The Santas and Snowmen have been found perched ‘way up high among our plants. They hide in the most unsuspecting places resulting in hours of delighted amusement.
You gotta love the smile on this face every Christmas!
In 2009 the crafty little fellows Opened the Door and Walked Outside.
In 2010 they enacted an adventure with a Tin Man and some Popcorn just days after my gall bladder surgery.
In 2012 I told you the history of the Tomfoolery of our Santas and Snowmen.
Who’s to say what else they might do THIS year–besides playing in the snow on a day when school’s been cancelled due to freezing rain. If you have any suggestions to give them, I shall (without peeking of course) print them out anonymously and proffer to one of the tricksters, who look so innocent on their tic-tac-toe board.
Am also interested in hearing of any of your fun holiday traditions. What warms your heart during these darkest days of the year?
Lake Superior Spirit 
This tradition warms my heart and makes me smile. I love your Santas and Snowmen. I have some stuffed animals who like to go on adventures, and one particular reindeer who disappears right before Christmas to help pull Santa’s sleigh, only to reappear in the strangest places. He even managed to get to Hawaii last year even though we left him at home. 😉
Kathy, I love these little guys and would love to begin a fun tradition such as this one. I am seeking something new to create happy memories with my family because this has been such a rough year for everyone and it’s time for some lighthearted joy in our lives. It’s difficult to be playful when the mood is so down, so I fear I will be on my own in this endeavor.
By the way…the snow mostly evaded us here. We did however, get A LOT of rain yesterday and now that the temp has dropped to 9 with a windchill of 11 below, all that water has frozen and is slippery. Tomorrow’s high will be 1 with an even lower windchill…brrrr! The little birdies outside my window are all puffed up…they look so cute ♥
Have a wonderful day in the northwoods! ♥
My innerness is so very excited to find that I would not have to miss them this year, that I have blown right past hopping up and down and clapping in my chair to tears. Now, I just feel confused. No one really seems to want… and it was always the few days of the year that I could celebrate unmolested. I appreciate your making a post of it so very very much Kathy. Thank you.
The santas are sooo cute! : )
How fun!
Oh what a FUN tradition — their little red-cheeked, smiling faces are contagious!
Our holidays revolve around making “consumables” that get eaten (as opposed to stored. Although I suspect they get “stored” in our waistlines). The funnest (and messiest) are red and green popcorn balls.
Kathy:
Perhaps your Santas & Snowmen could serve you & Barry breakfast in bed on Christmas morning.
Nancy
I love your Santas&Snowmen Maybe they’ll inspire me for our Christmas challenge. The secret ingredient this year is sugar.
What a wonderful tradition!
I’m so glad those Santas went to the right person. You are the right one- right? 🙂 Very cute Kathy.
I just love this annual tradition and delight!!! Thank you!
Ohh! The Santas and the Snowmen have emerged from the basement! I am so pleased to see they are out and about and having a fun old time again, playing tricks on Kathy and Barry and all their friends and relations. Very exciting days are ahead!!
Yours is truly a household of creativity and delight, which brings light to the darkness in ALL of our days!
Have to have a bit of mischief around the holidays, and who better to carry it off than the snowman and Santa. Maybe this year they should somehow reproduce–turn into a crowd. Maybe Snow Madam could take a romp in the manger. Oops, maybe that’s sacrilegious.
Hugs from Ecuador,
Kathy
Got a manger ?
I’ll leave the rest to your wicked imagination Kathy.
So sweet! And very creative, too!
I grinned mightily when I saw these little santas and snowmen 🙂 Looking forward to their shenanigans and the continued tradition!
I suggest a Flash Mob Dance for the entire community led by the funny little group who live in your basement until Christmas…would stretch out those little legs.
I love the stories and remember them from years past. Glad to see you are out again causing mischievous!
We were gifted a very special Nativity Set made out of ceramics one year. The figures had all been painted so carefully by hand. My mom would wrap them up, ever-so-painstakingly, in tissue after Christmas each year. But still– one year, the head of one of the shepherds slipped right off. It was a clean slice– body intact, head intact, just separated from each other. Well. My sisters and I had a FIELD DAY with that development. One year (heaven forbid!), the manger contained a disembodied shepherd’s head instead of the Baby Jesus. Another year, we brought out the set early– at Halloween– and featured a Headless Shepherd as the centerpiece. My mom would fuss and fume (in a good-spirited way), but truth be told– that Nativity Set became so much more special to our holiday traditions when we were able to have fun with it. 🙂
Our other long-standing holiday tradition was to make a giant Advent Calendar and do a different “fun” activity every day leading up to Christmas. One day, we would put up our Christmas tree; another day, we would go for a walk to see the light display at the golf course, etc. Super memories of those Advent calendars!
I love the escapades of your Santas and Snowmen…looking forward to their antics. 🙂
I love this tradition of yours, Kathy, and was wondering if we’d see Santa and the Snowmen this year. 🙂 We have the Christmas Lava Lamp tradition, from the year, long ago, when we didn’t put up a tree (I can’t remember the reason why). It’s one of my favorite parts of Christmas now, the lighting of the Lava Lamp.
I always enjoy seeing what your Santas and Snowmen are up to! I don’t know if I have the time and energy for my Christmas tradition of the Snow Village. There have been years that zombies have invaded the village or police cars have terrorized the poor citizens, lol!
I love to read about people’s Christmas traditions and their origins. One day I might tell the story of why I have an artificial tree in spite of my family’s long-standing tradition of chopping down a real tree for the season. ❤
They are sooooo CUTE!!! I love snowmen…one of these years I’m going to have a Christmas tree that’s ONLY decorated with snowman ornaments! 😉