Friday, December 10, 2010

Family Treasures...

Our family has a wonderful collection of nutcrackers. My mother and sister started gifting us with these family treasures about 30 years ago. My sweet husband has also bought me several over the years. Most are from Germany, and they are painted and dressed exquisitely. I thought you might like to browse through the collection. You will see the Nutcracker, the Mouse King, a fur trapper, a chimney sweep, Santa, the three wise men and more...






Huh? Let's take a closer look at that last one...


Although many of our nutcrackers are beautiful and costly, I must admit this one (on the left) holds my heart. It was carved and painted by our son Christopher when he was in the sixth grade. Chris is 23 now, so we've had this treasure for awhile. When Chris was young I would often find him in the garage "creating," and usually that creating had something to do with wood.  We've affectionately named this nutcracker "Frito Bandito" because he has a certain south-of-the-border savoir faire.


Chris spent hours carving Bandito -- not with the latest and greatest wood carving set -- but with a screwdriver! It's amazing what a persistent eleven year old can do with a screwdriver. Frito even has a removable hat for easy storage. That's ingenuity!


We can bauble and decorate our homes with the newest and shiniest things, 
but isn't it true that often our most valuable possessions
are items made in years past by a child's hands? 


 Have a wonderful day!