Toys, toys, toys

We've covered the calendars with verses, pictures, chocolate and bits of old Christmas Cards. Today, we move onto TOYS.














This had to be an incredible coup for some marketing expert at German-based toy manufacturing company Playmobil. They produce a new themed calendar every year, always with the same setup but different backgrounds and a different series of little toys in 24 numbered boxes. The novelty has worn off for the children who live here, but now I've become addicted! (We don't have a dozen of these stashed around the house...we use them for one season, then pass them on to young friends for the next year. A little TLC and careful storage and the paperboard base and gift boxes are good for several rounds).

Of course, what the packaging never mentions is that the whole setup comes very much "unassembled". The first year we had one, I opened it about 11 PM on November 30, expecting to assemble a background, hang up the "banner" with the gift boxes and be done. Not so! Not only did each little box have to be assembled and stuffed, but quite a few of the little people and furniture items and sleighs had to be assembled from smaller Playmobil "stock parts"! At about 12:15 AM, I was finished...

Some things are predictable each year. There will be children. There will be animals. There will be a Santa character and the Santa character will be in box #24.

Except this year. And that's all I'm saying.

(As an aside, Alex informs me that the Playmobil toys circulated in other countries can be a bit "edgier" than those on the American market. Toy collectors with the right connections can find little plastic devils and harlots. Nice!)