it's all about the face

I am a picky Santa collector, and I imagine that most other collectors would agree they are as well. An otherwise stunningly made Santa can very easily be discounted because of one thing: the face.

For me, the face is 50% of the entire equation. If I hate the face, I'll never buy the jolly old elf.

One of my personal pet peeves is handcrafted clay faces. I know these are a popular item with a lot of collectors, but I find a lot of the resulting faces are scary or wrinkly or old-apple-pie-like, and it creeps me out the same way that wax figurines do.

For me, the penultimate Santa face is Haddon Sundblom's Santa. (Non-Santa fanatics know this as "the Coca Cola Santa".) And yes, I know it's traditionalist and mainstream but for better or worse, that's the Santa Claus I picture in my head.

It's one of the reasons I love Tom Browning's work. He captures the warmth and the spirit so perfectly. If I had an enormous home, I'd fill every room with his paintings.

Other Santa faces I enjoy are the ones by Dennis Brown, the faces that Fitz & Floyd use in their Santas and the longer faces of Bill Evans.

I have very few or no elf-like faces, apple pie faces, mean faces, wizard faces or grizzled faces, since to me they're all just wrong.

A critical component of the face is the beard. For cloth dolls, I don't care if the beard is fabric or of the same material (clay or ceramic) as the face, but please please please make it look like a real beard and not like Santa cut off a little girl's hair and stuck it to his face, all blond ringlets. It should look clean and not unkempt, of decent length rather than flowing to his waist (if I wanted to buy old man winter or a wizard I wouldn't buy one in a Santa suit, thank you).

As in life, we respond to the faces we're attracted to. When I walk past my Santa collection every day from November 15th to the New Year, I want to be able to smile and get a little lift from all the faces beaming back at me.

Like I said, it's all about the face.

Permanent link to this entry
Posted: October 09, 2004 at 07:37 PM

disco santa

You know, one day when I have a bit of time I'll write a nice long post about "right" Santas and "wrong" Santas. It's different for every collector, and everyone has their own opinions.

But for now, I'll say that there are very good reasons why I've never really liked the Possible Dreams Santas.

Because this is just so wrong.

Permanent link to this entry
Posted: July 15, 2004 at 09:58 AM

we do not sell anything here

Amusingly, while browsing Froogle for sites that sold Gregorian Santas, I found this very site in the second page of listings:

Just for the record, folks, if you've come here via other means... I don't sell anything here, just drool over what other people sell. :)

Permanent link to this entry
Posted: September 13, 2003 at 12:47 PM

history of Santa Claus

Browsing around recently for cool Santa sites, found a sub-site on the History Channel web site, all about the history of Santa Claus. One of the better done sites you'll find on the topic.

I can't find it on their site, but A&E did a fabulous Biography episode on Santa Claus a few years back. I taped it from TV (since I can't seem to find it online or in stores) and watch it every Christmas.

I share a birthday with Saint Nicholas, you know. Explains a lot, don't you think?

Permanent link to this entry
Posted: September 12, 2003 at 11:43 AM

make your own

I still toy with the idea of making my own cloth santa at some point. I still don't know how to sew very well, but I could practice. Could be fun. But one thing I'd almost definitely want to do is find a good bisque Santa head, preferably with beard in bisque (for some reason, I find those more attractive than inches of yarn as a beard). That way I could concentrate on making clothes and a hat and some other accoutrements.

Permanent link to this entry
Posted: August 26, 2003 at 06:43 AM

reasons to believe

Reasons to Believe have launched their new web site, and it's got so many more Santa goodies I hardly know where to start. Well, that's not exactly true. Dennis Brown makes Santa sculptures so beautiful it makes me ache, and his Check'n it Twice is something I would die to buy if I had the money. I do have one, a signature reproduction called Santa in Toyland, and it was one of the best buys I ever made.

Permanent link to this entry
Posted: July 25, 2003 at 10:21 AM

twas six months before Christmas

My mom was always a Christmas nut. Somewhere along the way, she infected me as well. And it grew into a big, big love of the jolly old elf himself, Santa Claus. I suppose I've been collecting for ten years or so, but only seriously for the last few years.

What kind of a collector am I? Not the kind that is in it for the money, that's for sure. I don't care how much it costs - $5, $500 - as long as it looks cute and would fit well within my collection, I want it.

This site is a way to keep track of what I have, what I want, and other new finds I come across along the way.

And to all, a very good night... :)

Permanent link to this entry
Posted: July 25, 2003 at 08:57 AM