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The tag accompanying this Kreiss creature reads “We
Left: Ready to serve up Christmas punch: Welcome Your Suggestions With Enthusiasm!” Really?
a somewhat solemn Santa mug, KREISS CERAMICS. Have a friend
marked “Riddell, 1951.”
with a weird and wacky sense of humor?
Here’s just the gift to jump-start a
Below: The Holt-Howard “tree tray” for collection: a weird and
snacks came in various sizes, to accommodate
all appetites. This one is 10” l. wacky “Psycho Ceramic”
from Kreiss! For fun-
loving fans of the 1950s
CHRISTMAS SERVING DISHES. and ‘60s, these quirky figurines provided plenty of
Like those Annalee Christmas dolls, chuckles. Although one horrified reviewer classified
holiday serving dishes stop by for a brief Kreiss novelties as an assortment of “deformed blobs,
visit and then, like Santa, disappear for eccentric hillbillies, and fat, drunken Santas,” these
another year. That makes them the ideal aggressively ugly, yet still winningly winsome figurals
collectible for those whose walls and have continued to amass fans over the decades. After
shelves are already chock-full. Shapes and all, who can resist a menacing “Psycho” creature with
purposes are many, from Santa coffee enormous teeth and devilish eyebrows, and a tag
mugs to tree-shaped tidbit trays. In the announcing, “We Welcome Your Suggestions With One of the
1950s and ‘60s, when “decorating for the Enthusiasm?” Most, under $25. best-known Kreiss
holidays” meant “decorating everything Psycho Ceramics. The
for the holidays,” serving dishes like LADY HEAD VASES. For florists of the 1950s and original hang tag read
these were omnipresent. And, since ‘60s, “Lady Head Vases” “The Doc Said
many were mass-produced imports, they were a lifesaver. These Something About A
Split Personality.”
remain readily available, and all set to be diminutive depictions of
pleasin’ for the season. Most are available elegant ladies (well, at least
at $25 and under. of their heads and shoul-
ders), featured openings in
DECORATIVE HAIR COMBS. Now here’s a way to brighten up a the hairdos or hats, just
dingy dresser top: with a collection of decorative hair combs! Although right for a
few of today’s fashionable hairstyles call for them, jeweled combs, many handful of spare posies
in graceful fan shapes, that would otherwise be
were the crowning glory discarded. No floral
for a lady’s crowning glory inventory went to waste,
from the mid-1800s until and buyers went home
the 1920s; then the world with a unique alternative
flipped its wig for bobbed “Valerie” lady head vase by to boring, everyday vases.
hair. Fashioned from a Betty Lou Nichols, put to its That uniqueness retains its
variety of materials ranging intended use. appeal, making the vases
from celluloid and tor- an ideal gift for those who All the trimmings:
toiseshell to ivory and jet, appreciate colorful decorative ceramics. And, while the Napco “ribbon
in a rainbow of colors, and prices for some rarities can shoot into the stratosphere, lady” head vase came
in various sizes.
in sizes from 5-1/2” to 10- an attractive startup selection can still be found at $50 This one is 4” h.
1/2”, decorative combs are and under.
attractive accent pieces
Fan shape decorative hair Faux tortoiseshell hair that even folks with crew
comb, with blue rhinestones comb with lace pattern. cuts will enjoy. Prices start
on green, black teeth. at about $25.

HAZELLE MARIONETTES. Hazelle Rollins had the world on a
string. From her headquarters in Kansas City, thousands of “Hazelle
Marionettes” made their way across America, delighting youngsters
from the 1930s into the ‘80s. Thanks to their “airplane control sticks,”
Hazelle marionettes could be manipulated by even the clumsiest among
us. Characters were based on pop culture favorites, from Batman and
Robin to Daniel Boone, plus such fantasy figures as “Alice in
Wonderland” and the entire Wizard of Oz gang. Those interested in
recapturing a childhood memory (even those with no intention of
putting on puppet shows), will enjoy a “Hazelle” hanging around the
house. $50 and under.

A montage
of Hazelle
marionettes: Cover of The Golden Book Magazine for So many suggestions, so little time!
Hazelle Rollins July 1929. The illustration of an evening “Christmas Gift Ideas” from
creations on display serenader is by Boris Artzybasheff. Better Homes & Gardens, 1961.
at the Puppetry
Arts Institute, MAGAZINES WITH GREAT COVERS & CONTENTS. Now,
Independence, here’s a two-fer: a gift just as nice inside as it is outside! History buffs, and
Missouri. those with a yen for paper ephemera, will appreciate vintage magazines
(Photo by Hank with beautiful cover images, and page after page of interesting, entertaining
Kuhlmann) content. Such a-bit-off-the-beaten-track publications as The Golden
Book Magazine and Children’s Play Mate are time capsules of their eras.

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