Christmas Smokers

Almost thirty years ago, I developed my love for German smokers.

I have never liked nutcrackers, though they seem to be far more popular than smokers. It has something to do with the big, nasty teeth twisted with bad memories from a Night Gallery episode called THE DOLL. I looked it up and couldn't bring myself to put the link OR the picture on this blog. It still gives me the heebie-jeebies 40 years later!

Back on smoker topic: My brother G took me to an import store called The Lion's Den in a small mall on Peoria Ave. called The Stone Horse. The Lion's Den closed many, many years ago. The name of the mall changed from The Stone Horse to a boring name of The Consortium. And the street name remains the same, though this section of Peoria is now called Brookside.

Nothing ever stays the same, does it?

The Lion's Den was where I discovered German Smokers. Remember, this was before the fall of the Berlin Wall and many products were made in East Germany, which made them very inexpensive.

I bought numerous items at The Lion's Den, but this was my first smoker, The Shepherd:

The little lamb has lost it's ear and some of its sawdust fuzz, but I love unwrapping him every year. He was soon followed by my Prussian soldier.

By then, The Lion's Den had closed and I couldn't indulge in my new favorite past time. The Internet was in its infancy so easy access to products such as these was unheard of.

In 1988, my bro G married his lady, F. F is French and an only child, which meant they were getting married in France. . . ROAD TRIP!! Luckily they let me know a year in advance and I could save money for this trip.

I was 27 and I took my first trip to Europe--ALONE, carrying my bro's tuxedo on the plane. While I landed in Paris, my luggage continued the trip to Tel Aviv. All I had was what was packed in my carry-on bag and I had a train to catch to a town called Chaumont.

It was a different time, without all the rules and regulations, so I could live out of my carry-on for quite a few days.

Lots of fun and adventures were had over the next three weeks, some good, some not-so-good. But this blog isn't about my trip, it's about the smokers I bought while I backpacked across Germany, Switzerland and Austria.

I bought three smokers, numerous wooden German ornaments, and a church scene. Yes, I managed to cram these items IN THEIR BOXES into my borrowed backpack. 

3 smokers

church scene

Over the next 27 years, I've slowly grown my collection. I'm very picky about the smoker style that I like, which means I don't buy everyone that catches my eye. This year was the first year that I actually bought a Santa smoker. We bought him at our local Oktoberfest celebration. He's the center of this grouping.

2011 smokers

Do I want to collect more smokers?

You bet I do, but I would enjoy traveling back to Germany to so so. ;-)

Even if I don't get a chance to go back, I'll always enjoy Christmas as I unwrap each and every smoker and relive the memory of how I acquired them.

 . . . yes, I do the same thing with ALL my Christmas ornaments, too.

Merry Christmas!